Vashon tops Simeon in Missouri-Illinois boys basketball showdown at Bank of O'Fallon Shootout
O’FALLON, Ill. – Vashon basketball coach Tony Irons wasn’t feeling great when the talented Wolverines’ treacherous early season schedule left them with as many losses as wins after 14 games.
“We knew we the caliber of competition that we were playing was high level and we weren’t playing our best basketball,” Irons said. “But at the same time we knew that we just had to continue to chip away and figure some stuff out and I think we’re starting to do that now. We still have to get contributions from some of our guys, but I think that’s going to come.”
Irons wasn’t feeling right after his team’s impressive 56-46 victory over Chicago Simeon on Saturday night at the Bank of O’Fallon Shootout at O’Fallon High School either, but for a different reason.
The six-state state championship coach was fighting a cold, though a 10-point victory over the top-ranked team in Illinois and its legendary coach had to make him feel a little better.
“It’s big, man,” Irons said of his team’s fifth straight win. “We know how incredible their program is. Me and Coach (Robert) Smith, we’re like family. We’re really close. He’s like a big brother to me. We have a lot of respect for them. At the same time, we’re competitors and we want to beat them. It was special just for us to be able to go out here and show that when we play really well we can beat anybody.”
The Wolverines proved that the last two weeks with impressive wins over the top team in Kansas City, Staley, and now the top team in Chicago. And on Saturday Irons’ squad showed the kind of depth it will need to win another championship in a few weeks.
Southern Illinois Carbondale signee Kennard Davis Jr. led Vashon with 17 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs, and earned the game’s Most Valuable Player award. But sophomore guard Dierre Hill Jr. stepped up with another big game with 15 points, including two 3-pointers, and Cameron Stovall stepped up with 13 points and was plus-15 for the game.
Seniors Stovall and Anthoni Sanford (seven points) combined for 20 points — roughly twice their combined season average – and were clutch in making seven of eight from the free throw line.
“They’ve accepted their roles,” Irons said. “They are going to come in and they are going play hard and give us everything that they’ve got. I thought offensively tonight Cam was sensational. I thought Ant was big in the first half.”
Asked to assess the Wolverines’ turnaround over the past few weeks, with big wins over Staley and Simeon, Stovall said: “We just woke up. We had a bad start to the season. We didn’t take it to heart. We just picked it up in practice and started moving better, started moving way better.”
After being tied at 13 after one quarter and knotted at 25 at halftime, Vashon (12-7) made its move in the second half.
The Wolverines made 11 of 19 shot attempts in the second half, including both of the Wolverines’ 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter.
Simeon, meanwhile, made just three of nine field goal attempts in the fourth quarter and missed half of its six free throw attempts. The Wolverines from Chicago fell to 23-3 on the year.
“We played last night, took a five-hour bus down here,” Simeon coach Robert Smith said. “We left right after the game last night, got here about 1:45, 2 o’clock. Just no legs, for the most part. Pretty much that was really it. Miles (Rubin) was having stomach problems. That’s why he didn’t play as much as he normally plays.”
Jalen Griffith led Simeon with 10 points, while Miles Rubin and Wesley Rubin each added nine.
“I thought it was a good game,” Smith said. “They played really well. You can’t take anything away from them. They played really well. Executed what they needed to execute on both ends of the floor. For us it has to be a short memory. We have a big game on Tuesday. This is for show, more than anything.”
Bank of O'Fallon Shootout: Vashon vs. Simeon
