Schools

McCluer North is King of the Hill for Second Consecutive Year

North hands Nixa just their second loss in a 30-win season, to win the state title.

Columbia--Somewhere, wherever B.J. Young is traveling with the Arkansas basketball team, he is obviously thinking of his former teammates. Last year, Young scored 21 points in a 10-point title win over Troy, Mo.

Jordan Granger, who will play next for Auburn in the SEC went one better. He had 26 points in a 69-60 win over the team from Southwest Missouri.

That completed 's successful defense of their title, their third earned in the past seven years. Coach Randy Reed is starting to run out of fingers for championship rings.

Find out what's happening in Ladue-Frontenacwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

He doesn't mind. The Stars won the game at the free throw line and in the lane. They converted 18 of 20 free throws, and out-rebounded the Eagles 41 to 23.

See more photos at the Florissant Patch Facebook page.

Find out what's happening in Ladue-Frontenacwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Percentage wise, McCluer North outshot Nixa 49 percent to 43 percent.

Three players scored 59 of the 69 North Star points. That was Granger with 26 (18 in the first half), 18 for Galen Brown and 15 for Dorian Holland.

"I'm elated to be back in the championship game and to win it," said Reed, who knows a thing or two about winning from his days at Vashon, Forest Park Community College and Kansas State.

"This is one of the smartest teams I've ever coached," he said. "They listened to me. They bought into what I sold them, and they learned from my past experiences."

"We shot well, we hit free throws down the stretch and we stayed out of foul trouble," said Reed.

"They (Nixa) went to a zone and caused us problems. That was smart. I would have done that. We called time out and re-focused ourselves."

Reed Marveled at the play of Granger who hauled down 16 rebounds and was a red hot 11 of 17 from the field.

"He was just great out there," said his coach.

Granger was thrilled to go out in style. "We put in a lot of hard work. We want everyone to notice us," said the senior star.

Nixa lost the season opener to Columbia Rockbridge 77-69 November 23, and then reeled off 30 consecutive wins.

"We battled them hard. We had it tied up with 2:41 left in the game (54-54)," said their coach Jay Osbourne.

"Obviously, this wasn't what we anticipated. You've got to give credit to McCluer North. They are a really great team. But I'm really proud of our kids," said the Nixa coach.

The North Stars, crowned the Missouri Class 5 champs finished with a near-perfect 28-1 record. Their only loss was to St. Francis Borgia of Washington, 48-46 in the Borgia Thanksgiving tournament.

Only three points separated North from a perfect season. No matter, the celebration ia well underway.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Ladue-Frontenac