March 16,2019

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. --- These two teams had combined for 18 trips to the Final Four and six state championships.

CBC had been there 10 times, Rock Bridge eight. Close.

CBC had won six state championships and Rock Bridge had won, well ... you can do the math.

After decades of waiting, however, the wait is finally over for this school, this program, these fans and especially veteran Hall of Fame, 31-year head coach of the Bruins, Jim Scanlon.

Rock Bridge scored six straight points in a critical 32-second span when it counted most in the final minute, as the Bruins outlasted the Cadets 63-59 in the Class 5 State Championship game Saturday night at JQH Arena.

How sweet it is ... finally.

"I'm happy for our guys, they deserve this," Scanlon told the NFHS Network after the game. "Our fans deserve it, everybody deserves it ... I'm just happy for everybody at Rock Bridge."

The Bruins have a special class of six seniors, let by the multi-talented trio of Isaiah Mosley, JaMonta Black and Dajuan Harris.

On this night, they combined for 52 of the team's 63 points.

"We have six seniors and that's a lot," Scanlon said. "And we've got some pretty good juniors, too.

"But when you've got six seniors and you have six good ones, you've got a chance."

This was a high-level battle between two richly-talented teams.

The eighth-ranked Cadets (24-8), who beat the fifth-ranked Bruins (25-3) 67-66 in January, held a 17-15 lead after one quarter and a follow-shot at the halftime buzzer left them with 32-31 lead at the break.

The 6-5 Mosley --- who still hasn't decided on a college, but Mizzou is in the mix --- scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half.

"Isaiah kind of carried us in the first half and we knew he needed help," Scanlon said. "We finally got it in the second half."

But it didn't come until the fourth quarter, as Ari Jackson  hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer and give CBC a 45-37 after three.

The Bruins were at their best when it counted most, as they outscored the Cadets 26-14 in the final frame. CBC had a 57-55 lead after a three-point play by Caleb Love with 1:14 to play, before Rock Bridge tied it with 49 seconds left on a short jumper by Harris.

Bruins forced two critical turnovers down the stretch, leading to four straight points by Black to all but end it at 61-57 with just 17 seconds left.

"We made some plays on defense and we kind of got them rattled a little bit --- I just had a feeling we'd make some plays," Scanlon said. "I don't know why, I don't know if I dreamed it or what. But I just knew we had to make some plays because it was going to be a hard-fought game."

It certainly was. And at the end, decades of waiting were basically washed away in 32 seconds.

Was it worth the wait?

On this night, it absolutely was.

Chris Leuckel

One to go: Lady Jays
start fast, finish fast
in semifinal win

Lady Hornets use early 15-1 burst
to deny Lady Jays first state title

The Rock Bridge Bruins and head coach Jim Scanlon (left) celebrate the school's first boys basketball state championship Saturday night in Springfield.

Finishing in style:
Hornets take third
in Class 1 tourney

Loeffler's Link

March 16, 2019

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. --- It hurts, it stings, but these Jefferson City players, coaches and  fans should appreciate what they enjoyed the past four months.

A wonderful journey,

The end of this journey for the Lady Jays just wasn't very wonderful, that's all.

It was quite the opposite, just like Saturday night's Class 5 State Championship game could not have been any different to Friday's semifinal --- or any other game this season, for that matter.

North Kansas City ripped open a 15-1 in the game's first seven minutes and was never seriously threatened, as the Hornets claimed the state crown with a 43-34 over the Lady Jays in the finale of the Missouri 2018-19 high school basketball game at JQH Arena.

It was the first state championship for the North Kansas City program, while Jefferson City is still seeking its first.

Against Parkway Central on Friday, the Lady Jays bolted to an 11-0 lead in the first three minutes and that paved the way for a wire-to-wire 14-point victory.

But on this night, Jefferson City was on the business end of the game-opening salvo.

The top-ranked Lady Jays (29-2) actually had an early 1-0 lead, before the second-ranked Lady Hornets (29-2) took charge with 15 straight points. Chandler Prater hit a trio of 3-pointers, scoring nine of her game-high 23 points during the surge for the winners.

Meanwhile, Jefferson City missed its first nine shots from the field in dropping into the 14-point deficit. The Lady Jays are not an explosive offensive team built to rally from those kind of deficits, so basically, that was that.

The Lady Hornets led 26-16 at the half and 35-22 entering the fourth quarter. Like the Lady Jays have done to so many teams this season, North Kansas City could have gone scoreless in the final eight minutes and still won.

Jefferson City finished a frigid 11-of-47 from the field (23 percent), including 2-of-20 on 3-pointers (10 percent). Senior Caitlin Anderson finished her splendid career on a rough note, going just 2-of-15 from the field, but still led the team with 10 points.

Lousy ending, to be sure, but what a wonderful journey it was.

State champions! Bruins break
through to capture first crown