The St. Louis U. High basketball team fended off Hazelwood Central in the Class 6, District 5 semifinals Tuesday, with a 41-38 win over the Hawks at the Danis Field House. After struggling early, SLUH battled back to maintain at least a one-possession lead for much of the game before a late push from Hazelwood Central threatened to send the game to overtime. 

SLUH (7-9) snapped its four game losing streak with the win, giving the Jr. Bills their first victory in over a month. The second seed in the tournament, SLUH will now square off against top seeded Pattonville (21-1) tonight in the district championship.

SLUH continued its offensive struggles early, posting just five points in the first quarter. Hazelwood Central capitalized on SLUH’s poor start, mounting an early 9-5 lead heading into the second quarter.

Junior Nick Kramer, SLUH’s leading scorer with 18.8 points per game, took over in the second half to put the Jr. Bills in front. Following a 10-0 Hazelwood Central run that put SLUH down by seven, Kramer scored 12 consecutive points, including three consecutive three-pointers and an “and-one” to put SLUH up 21-16 at the half. Kramer scored 14 points total in the quarter, more than Hazelwood Central combined for as a team in the second.

Hazelwood Central’s Jhordan Covington-Berry answered SLUH’s run with seven consecutive points of his own at the start of the second half. His streak knotted the game at 23 a piece, but it was all Hazelwood Central could muster in the quarter. SLUH closed the third up 28-23, a lead they would keep for the remainder of the game.

With just under a minute to play in the fourth and the Jr. Bills up nine, Hazelwood Central connected on back-to-back triples to trim SLUH’s lead to just three. SLUH turned the ball over, giving the Hawks one last chance to tie the game and send it to overtime with six seconds left. Sophomore Zachary Ortwerth snagged the rebound on Hazelwood Central’s miss, and SLUH hung on to advance to the district title game.

Kramer led all scorers with 22 points in the game. Sophomore Aaron Walker Jr. added 11 points for SLUH in the win.

SLUH’s defense, which entered the game allowing an average of just 49 points per game, stymied Hazelwood Central, which shot just 14-for-49 from the floor. The Jr. Bills also benefited from a great deal of free-throw luck, as Hazelwood Central, 51.5% from the free-throw line this season, missed all eight of its attempts at the line.

The Jr. Bills will face Pattonville on the road Friday night with a spot to sectionals on the line. Pattonville, the top seed in the tournament, has won 13 consecutive games, beating its opponents by an average of over 31 points during that span. They defeated Ritenour 81-46 Tuesday to advance to the district finals.

Pattonville junior guard Kellen Thames leads his team across the board with 19.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game this season. He is shooting an impressive 52.1% from the floor and added a game high 21 points in the team’s win versus Ritenour. Senior guard Alijah Carter compliments Thames with 16.2 points per game, one of four Pattonville scorers averaging over 12 points per game.

The game will start at 6:00 p.m. and will be live streamed on MSHSAA TV for $10. With a win, SLUH would advance to sectionals for the first time 2016—a team that finished third in the State Tournament that year.