John Burroughs Hangs On to Defeat Mehlville

John Burroughs senior Alex Spencer is well aware of his primary roles on the Bomber basketball team this fall.

"I am there to defend and to shoot the ball," Spencer said.

Spencer shot it well late in the Bombers' 63-57 win over Mehlville in the first game of pool play in the Chaminade Tournament Tuesday night.

Spencer hit a pair of 3-pointers and Trevor Bain hit another in the final minutes as John Burroughs was able to hold off the Panther upset bid.

"I like to have the ball in that situation," Spencer said. "We just did not lock down defensively in the first half and coach (Steve Wilcutt) gave it to us at halftime and lit a fire. We did a much better job in the third quarter. They were better than we thought."

Mehlville, which came into the game with just one win, stayed with the Bombers throughout the game and had chances to win until the final seconds.

The game was tied 17-17 after the first quarter and Mehlville took its biggest lead of the game at 32-24 after a 3-pointer by Armin Toric late in the first half. But Ezekiel Elliott hit a 3-pointer and Amos Shinkle scored on an offensive rebound in the final moments and the Panther lead was down to 32-29 at halftime.

The Bombers came out with renewed energy on defense in the second half. Their pressure caused four Panther turnovers in just over a minute and Foye Oluokun scored three field goals, including a dunk, to give the Bombers their first lead since early in the second quarter.

But Mehlville battled back and took the lead early in the fourth quarter after a steal and lay-up by Demarcus Travis.

The fourth quarter was a wild one as both teams went back and forth with big shots. Brendan Merz hit a pair of 3-pointers for the Panthers and Travis made another with 19 seconds left to make it a one-possession game at 60-57 before the Bombers closed it out at the free throw line.

"The first half was not a good one for us," Wilcutt said. "We are playing a little more uptempo this year but we should not give up 32 points. We did a better job in the third quarter and only gave up six. Fortunately we were able to make the plays, the shots and the free throws when we needed to. Mehlville looked much better than a one-win team. They played very hard."

Oluokun finished with 23 points for the Bombers while Elliott had 14 and Shinkle 12. The Bombers will play their other pool play game Thursday at 7 p.m. against Parkway Central.

Travis came off the bench to score 15 to lead Mehlville. Adis Mujakic added 12 and Merz 11 for the Panthers, who play Parkway Central in another pool play game Wednesday at 7 p.m.

"That was the best game we played all season," Mehlville coach Andy Guethle said. "It was a very encouraging performance. The effort was there and hopefully the by-product will be some wins. You have to give them credit. They hit their free throws and 3's at the end."

The tournament, which also features Chaminade, Bayless and Pattonville in the other pool, will conclude Friday.