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By Cody Thorn I Photos by Cheap Seats Photography  

SPRINGFIELD – A week after falling into third place for state championships, Vashon has forged a tie for second all-time in the MHSAA record books.

The Wolverines rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Father Tolton Catholic, 57-49, in the championship game on Saturday night at JQH Arena.

The title is No. 13 overall in 23 appearances in the Show-Me Showdown and now three in a row and could’ve been four straight had the 2020 season not been wiped out. Now, the Wolverines are tied with Charleston again, which passed them temporarily after winning the Class 3 titles last week.

During the past six completed seasons, the Wolverines have five titles under coach Tony Irons.

Vashon (27-4) will lose only one player to graduation and all five starters return.

“We know that we're going to be a target might be on our back a little bit next year just because we return a lot,” Irons said.”And I mean, we're just going to have to continue to grow and continue to develop and these guys got to get a lot stronger and stuff like that.”

The Wolverines, which ended the season with eight straight wins, took a 32-23 lead into the break and built a 12-point cushion early in the third quarter.

The Columbia parochial school went on a 13-4 run to pull within three (40-37) thanks to 11 points from Pepperdine-bound Jevon Porter.

Going into the fourth down by five, the Trailblazers (22-9) continued to push and five straight points from Porter – who had 29 points and nine rebounds – gave Tolton a 45-44 lead.

“You know, he's a special player,” Tolton coach Jeremy Osborne said of the little brother Denver Nuggets star Michael Porter Jr. “He's a special kid first and foremost, but on the basketball court too. You find ways to get him the ball and find ways to involve him more. We didn't do that enough in the first half; that was on us. In the second half, you know, he's getting some good looks and getting going. It doesn't take them long to get hot.”

A layup inside by Evens Appolon, the 6-foot-11 Haitian, gave the Trailblazer a 47-44 lead with 3:40 to play.

Vashon, though, flexed its muscles and took a 50-47 lead with 1:55 left following four free throws from Kennard Davis, who had a team-high 15 points for the Wolverines. Porter had a dunk that pulled Tolton with one, but Davis had a layup with 1:30 left to make it a three-point game again.

A turnover and missed 3-pointer by Tolton then led to fouls and Christian Williams hit 3 of 4 to seal the win. The freshman guard attempted only four free throws all season heading into the game.

“We just had to stay poised. You know, we've been in this situation before,” Irons said. “That's a testament to the schedule we tried to put together this year. We've been down before we've played against a lot of great players.”

THIRD PLACE

New Madrid County Central 64, Pembroke Hill 51

The Eagles used a big third quarter to pull away from the Raiders on Saturday afternoon at JQH Arena.

Pembroke Hill, from Kansas City, led 25-13 at halftime but was held to six points in the third quarter. That is when Central (21-8) made its move, opening on a 15-0 run. Senior forward Marcelous Phillips had seven of the points, including a dunk. Jadis Jones added a dunk and jumper as well, as the Eagles took advantage of seven turnovers and three missed shots by Pembroke Hill. The 15-point lead was trimmed to nine, 40-31, going into the fourth.

Baskets by Devin Conley and Max Sprott helped Pembroke Hill (21-6) pull within seven twice in the fourth. An 8-0 run over the final two minutes locked up the win.

NMCC had four in double figures, led by 22 points from Jones, a 6-foot-5 forward. Shamar Williamson (14), Kenyon King (13) and Phillips (11) followed in scoring.

Conley scored 19, while Sprott finished with 11 for Pembroke Hill. The Raiders lost back-to-back games for the first time all year. This was Pembroke Hill’s first trophy since 2007 and the seventh overall. 

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