Bishop LeBlond knocks off top seed in Class 3 District 15; advances to championship against East Buchanan
By Calvin Silvers
Classes 1-3 continued their district basketball tournaments, and on Thursday it was back to the boys side, as they had semifinal play. The hot competition continued out in Gower, Missouri, where two Class 3 District 15 matchups took place.
The first semifinal contest was between four-seeded Bishop LeBlond and one-seeded KIPP KC Legacy. This game began physically and would remain physical throughout the entirety of the contest. The Gators’ defense played into that advantage, starting the contest off with a steal and lay-up.
Later on in the quarter, with LeBlond down 5-3, the full-court press from the Gators again disrupted the Golden Eagles, and Legacy’s Chaz White had two steals to start off the night pushing his team to a 7-3 lead.
It would be Jacob Winkelbauer for LeBlond who would use his size down low to chip away at the Gator lead, and the Golden Eagles would only be down 13-12 heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter was all KIPP from the start. White would again be a factor, this time on the offensive side as he splashed home a 3-pointer. Ensuing possessions and Vincent Moss would tally two points down low, and the Gators would build up a 24-19 lead.
With under three minutes left, Winkelbauer started a drive as he converted on a lay-up. Not too long after, Gannon Sowell would spot up and let it fly from 3-point land, and Winkelbauer would hit a last second shot down in the paint to cut KIPP’s lead to 28-27 heading into halftime.
Flip of the script in the third quarter, as it was LeBlond that would be hot from the start. A run was once again started by Winkelbauer down low and Sowell would contribute with some points down low to build a 36-30 lead.
The Gators were brought out of a small slump thanks to King Smith, who hit two big shots on the left side of the court to propel the Gators back to a 39-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Golden Eagle Chris Miljavac would tie the game back at 39 with a 3-point shot in the right corner, and would extend it to a two-point lead after hitting their free-throws. The run would continue for LeBlond, as they were able to build a 47-40 advantage.
The Gators were the one-seed for a reason, as they quickly chipped away and found themselves only down 50-49 with 1:31 remaining. Moss would connect on a shot, giving his team the 51-50 advantage before LeBlond’s Sowell hit a corner three to retake the lead, 53-51.
Next possession, L J Torrence for KIPP went up against two defenders, but somehow got the finish at the rim to tie the game. Now tied, LeBlond would pass the ball in-bounds under their hoop, and Trey Ike was able to get open under the hoop, where he had to rise over two defenders for the finish.
It would be Torrence for the sideways fade away, but his shot went over the hoop, and LeBlond escaped with a 55-53 victory. Sowell finished with 20 points, including six 3-pointers in the contest. Winkelbauer finished with 13 points.
LeBlond will play in the championship game against The East Buchanan Bulldogs in the championship game on Saturday, after the Bulldogs won 76-59 over the St. Pius X Warriors.
