The St. Louis U. High basketball team was scheduled to play games vs. Chaminade, Soldan, and Hazelwood East in the span of six days, but due to the inclement weather, only the game against Chaminade on Feb. 12 was played. Returning from a brief quarantine, SLUH (6-7, 1-4 MCC) led Chaminade late into the third quarter after a strong first half performance, but failed to create and make shots in the fourth quarter. Chaminade (16-1, 7-0 MCC) won its eighth straight contest versus SLUH—a streak dating back to 2017—and 12th consecutive game this season.

SLUH started the game cold, shooting 0 for 6 from the field and turning the ball over twice. However, Chaminade struggled out of the gates early as well, failing to capitalize on SLUH’s offensive woes and building up just a 4-0 lead in the first three and a half minutes of the game.

SLUH battled back quickly with a 6-0 run. The Jr. Bills scored their first points of the game on an Aaron Walker Jr. three-pointer, and then junior Nick Kramer drew a charge on the defensive end. Sophomore Zachary Ortwerth scored through a sea of defenders, drawing a foul and making his and-one free throw. After a poor offensive start to the game, both teams’ offenses found and converted on high percentage field goal attempts.

SLUH finished the quarter with a promising 19-13 lead. The Jr. Bills hit four three-pointers in the quarter, two coming from Kramer, including one as the buzzer sounded. Kramer led all scorers in the first quarter with eight points.

The second quarter was the Nick Kramer show, as the sharpshooter connected from beyond the arc on SLUH’s second and third possessions of the quarter, pushing the lead to 27-17. After a timeout, Chaminade responded with a 12-4 run. SLUH led at the half, 33-30.

Tarris Reed Jr., who went off for 20 points and 11 rebounds in Chaminade’s win vs. SLUH on Feb. 5, was quiet on the offensive end in the first half, with just six points and three turnovers. After exploiting many height mismatches in the previous mismatch, Reed Jr. was unable to find any rhythm offensively, flustered by the continual double-team of Kramer and Ortwerth each time he had the ball in the post.

Chaminade outscored SLUH 20-13 in the third quarter to take a 50-46 lead, capitalizing on lots of open three-point attempts to regain the lead for the first time since early in the first quarter. The Jr. Bills struggled offensively in the quarter; Kramer scored just two points and could not replicate his first half success from the perimeter, missing all three of his three-point attempts.

Chaminade and SLUH both played lockdown defense in the fourth, and Chaminade allowed SLUH very few chances to trim the lead to one possession. On the chances SLUH did have, the Jr. Bills failed to make their shots. 

Trailing 57-54 with 57 seconds to play, SLUH had a prime chance to tie the game or cut it to one. After head coach Erwin Claggett called a timeout, Kramer found the ball on the wing. He shot-faked, took a dribble to his left, but was blocked by Chaminade guard Damien Mayo Jr. 

Chaminade was flawless in the final minute at the free throw line, going on to win 61-54 and remain unbeaten in MCC play.

SLUH was scheduled to play Soldan and Hazelwood East at home on Feb. 16 and 17, but the inclement weather postponed the games to later dates. The Jr. Bills have now had four games postponed in the last two weeks. The District Tournament is scheduled to begin on Feb. 27, but it is unclear if or when those games will be played.

The Jr. Bills are scheduled to face Jesuit rival De Smet for the first time this season with a road matchup tonight. Despite the loss of Missouri commit Yaya Keita, the 23rd ranked center nationwide in the class of 2021 according to Rivals, the Spartans have put together a solid 10-6 season thus far. But, like SLUH, De Smet has struggled in conference play, posting a subpar 1-4 record in MCC play.