De Smet defeats CBC to claim share of first Metro Catholic Conference title since 2006
CREVE COEUR, Mo. – The De Smet basketball team hadn’t won even a share of a Metro Catholic Conference championship since way back in 2006.
“I was born in 2004,” said Justin Duff, De Smet’s standout senior shooting guard. “I was two years old.”
Duff scored a game-high 24 points as the Spartans clinched at least a share of the conference crown with a 68-66 victory over visiting CBC on Friday night, holding off the reigning Missouri Class 6 champions as a last-second 3-point attempt was off the mark.
“To be a senior and to get an MCC title would be something very special,” Duff said.
The No. 10 team in the SBLive Missouri Power 25 rankings, De Smet (17-5) improved to 5-1 in league play with conference games against Chaminade and Vianney remaining. CBC, which is ranked 15th in the Power 25, fell to 13-10 overall and 5-3 in league games.
“It’s special,” De Smet coach Kent Williams said. “It’s special for these guys, it’s special for me and it’s special for the school. This is a tough conference every year and to put ourselves in position where we’re actually guaranteed a tie for first place, that’s why I came to the school. I knew the tradition. Blake Ahearn’s a friend of mine. Knew all the stories about (Steve) Stipanovich. Knew all the stories about the state championships. I had a De Smet teammate when I was in AAU. I just heard all the stories about how successful it was.
“Obviously when I came to take it over, it had been down for a while. My goal from Day 1 was mission back to tradition to try to get this thing back where we’re the team they’re talking about, top of the league or at least competing for a chance to get to this moment. And here we are. That was tough. When you’re trying to climb a mountain it’s never easy and that was tough. It was a big win for our guys.”
The Spartans were led by the senior duo of Duff and 6-foot-7 center Patrick Origliasso.
Duff’s game-high 24 points included 14 points and four 3-pointers in the first half as the Spartans jumped out to an early advantage. Origliasso added 17 points, including 11 in the first half.
“He’s a shot-maker,” Williams said of Duff. “He’s been doing it his whole career. He’s a 1,000-point scorer. He’s moving up fast on the 3-point list, chasing down Blake Ahearn too. I have to double-check those numbers. … He took the shots that were his shots. He trusted his teammates.”
Freshman guard DeAnthony McJames scored nine points and sophomore guards Riley Massey and Dillon Duff added eight points apiece.
“Other guys stepped up and Pat and Justin were huge as seniors for us in a big game like this,” Williams said.
“Our point guard, Riley, he did a really good job of handling the ball,” Justin Duff said. “Our big man, Pat, did a great job of finishing down low. We did a really good job, I think everyone collectively, just defending the ball and getting rebounds and free throws. Free throws were huge down the stretch and we hit them.”
De Smet made 12 of 15 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. CBC cut the deficit to one point twice in the final 65 seconds, but both times the Spartans answered with free throws at the other end.
Junior guard Anthony Gause led CBC with 20 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, and junior guard Nassir Binion scored 16. Senior forward Bobby Alford scored 11 and sophomore forward Terron Garrett added eight.
“It’s special to win it in this league, because this is the best conference in the state,” Williams said.
CBC at De Smet boys basketball
