After several rescheduled games and delays, the St. Louis U. High Jr. Bills finally returned to the hardwood. SLUH dropped its first two games with close losses to MICDS and CBC, then rallied with two consecutive wins, downing Bishop DuBourg and University City before losing the final game of the five-game stretch to Vianney.

The Jr. Bills’ finally kicked off their season on Dec. 15 with a 57-50 loss to MICDS at home. SLUH fell behind early 9-2 and played from behind for the majority of the game, but managed to tie the game 25-25 at the half. Despite a back-and-forth beginning to the third quarter, the Rams took an eight point lead heading into the fourth quarter. SLUH led for just 29 seconds in the game and failed to trim MICDS’ lead to any less than six points, ultimately falling to 0-1. MICDS, now 9-0, advanced to 3-0 with the win.

SLUH’s small lineup proved costly against MICDS. The Rams dominated SLUH on the glass, grabbing 48 rebounds to the Jr. Bills’ 24, including 20 offensive rebounds. A trio of three MICDS seniors, Aaron Hendricks (13), Brandon Mitchell-Day (10),  and Nick Roper (13), finished with double-digits in the rebound column. SLUH’s leading rebounder was sophomore Zachary Orthwerth, who grabbed seven rebounds in the losing effort.

The Jr. Bills’ perimeter defense stymied MICDS’ three-point attack, holding the Rams to just 28.6% from beyond the arc, which remains their worst three-point percentage through their nine games. Senior sharpshooter Hasani Span, who is 33 for 64 on three-point attempts this season, did not make a single three-pointer for the first time this season. SLUH failed to capitalize on the strong defensive performance, shooting just 28.3 percent from the field, the team’s worst shooting performance through the first five games. Junior Nick Kramer led the Jr. Bills with an 18-point performance.

After the loss to MICDS, the SLUH traveled to CBC for their first MCC matchup on Dec. 18. The Jr. Bills started off hot, taking an early 13-7 lead behind Kramer’s eight points. CBC junior Robert Martin Jr.’s steal and layup just before the end of the quarter closed the gap to four.

SLUH continued to slow the pace in the second quarter and still clung to a one-point lead with 1:54 left to play in the half. CBC finally began capitalizing on SLUH’s offensive mistakes, converting a pair of turnovers and missed shots into a 10-2 run. The Cadets closed the half with a 30-21 lead.

The Cadets sustained their momentum into the second half, pushing their lead to a game-high 13 points at the 5:16 mark in the third quarter. But after head coach Erwin Claggett used a timeout, SLUH dominated the next five minutes, erasing CBC’s lead with a 14-3 run, capped off by a monstrous, posterizing dunk from Kramer that knotted the score at 37.

A very competitive fourth quarter followed the Jr. Bills run, with neither team holding more than a one-possession lead for the first six minutes. Ortwerth knotted the score at 46 with 1:50 to go, but CBC’s Martin Jr. responded with a long two to put the Cadets in the lead. The Jr. Bills needed three fouls in order to reach the bonus and send the Cadets to the free-throw line, but unfortunately fouled Chevalier Benson in the process of a made layup. Benson converted the and-one and ended SLUH’s chances at its first victory, pushing CBC to a 54-46 victory.

Kramer’s 21 points and 12 rebounds gave SLUH plenty of chances to win the game, but the lack of offense around Kramer again cost the Jr. Bills a chance to win. The team shot just 30.4 percent from the field and turned the ball over 17 times, nine more times than CBC.

“As a team, we have to execute our offensive game-plan better,” Kramer said. “We’ve got to make more passes and move the ball better to create easier shots.”

“As a team, we have to execute our offensive game-plan better. We’ve got to make more passes and move the ball better to create easier shots.”

Nick Kramer

After a brief Christmas break, SLUH squared off against Bishop DuBourg on Dec. 30 in a dominant performance from start to finish. Five Jr. Bills scored in double figures en route to an 84-41 victory. SLUH’s 84-point performance was the team’s best of the season by over 34 points, highlighted by sophomore Aaron Walker Jr.’s career-high 19 points.

SLUH hosted then 6-0 University City on New Year’s Eve, a game that turned out to be another defensive showdown for SLUH. Like in previous games against MICDS and CBC, the Jr. Bills found themselves playing from behind for the majority of the game. SLUH trailed 22-17 at the half, but cut the lead to just one by the end of the third quarter. 

It was not until Walker Jr. connected on a short jump shot with 4:58 to play that SLUH took its first lead of the game. The bucket put the Jr. Bills up 35-34, but University City battled back, taking a narrow 38-37 lead with just over a minute to play on junior Carleton Thomas’ layup. 

After Kramer had his shot blocked with 24.7 seconds to go, the Jr. Bills had no other choice but to foul University City’s leading scorer, senior Jalen Hampton. Hampton converted the first free throw to make the score 39-37, but left the second one long. Kramer snagged the rebound, pushed up to halfcourt, and found junior Luke Johnston all alone in the corner of the court; Johnston drained the go-ahead three with just 10.1 seconds left in the game. 

With one last chance to win, University City found a phenomenal look for senior sharpshooter Brandon Ming that just rimmed out, spoiling University City’s undefeated season. The Jr. Bill’s moved to 2-2 with the dramatic win.

“It felt really good,” said Johnston, who led the team with 14 points. “We knew we needed to win that game and I am glad we did. We didn’t play perfect by any means but it was the best all around effort we have given all year and we are working on surpassing that.”

Despite another poor offensive performance, the Jr. Bills’ defense paved the way for SLUH’s second victory. University City entered the game averaging 71.7 points in its six games, but was held to its fewest this season against SLUH by a significant margin.

To cap off the five-game slate, SLUH hosted Vianney on Jan. 8 for the team’s second conference matchup. Like their games versus MICDS and CBC, the Jr. Bills played a very competitive first half, trailing Vianney by only two, 25-23, at the half. 

But SLUH’s defense was unable to hold Vianney’s duo of guards, Ethan Lattimore and Adam Sausele, in check in the second half. Lattimore finished with 23 points, including three three-pointers and 11 free throws, and Sausele added 13 points and three threes as well. Vianney connected on 12 consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter to push its lead to double digits before eventually winning the game 63-51. The 25 points allowed in the fourth quarter were SLUH’s worst in a single quarter this season.

Despite the 2-3 start, SLUH has had one of its best defensive starts to a season since Claggett took over as head coach in 2013. The Jr. Bills have allowed an average of just 50.6 points per game, the third best start to a season through five games during Claggett’s tenure and best since the 2015-2016 team, who earned third place at the State Tournament.

SLUH will look to get back to .500 on the season and earn its first MCC win with a rematch on the road vs. Vianney. The game will begin at 6:15 p.m. and will be live streamed on Vianney’s Griffin TV.