Chaminade forgot about SLUH. They forgot to give the student section a place to sit as 70-plus SLUH students were forced to stand clumped together in the corner of the gym. They forgot that even without Nick Kramer, this Jr. Bills team has more talent than ever before. But most importantly, they forgot that the Saint Louis U. High basketball team has all the momentum in the world and look like they cannot be stopped. SLUH (12-6) upset the MCC favorites Chaminade (14-6) 72-69 last Friday during their McBride night. 

The game did not start as planned. Chaminade, led by seniors Nilaven Daniels (21.0 points per game) and BJ Ward (15.8 ppg), got out of the gate hot. A few miscues on the defensive side of the ball gave Chaminade some easy looks and within two minutes they had seven to SLUH’s zero. But junior Charlie Isom-McCall broke the scoring drought with a mid-range jumpshot and after that, SLUH never looked back. Isom-McCall continued to contribute as well as senior Zach Ortwerth and junior Jalen Jones. SLUH was down 14-11 after one. 

“We started slow on offense but we came together near the end of the quarter and I was able to get points on the board,” said Jones. 

But the first quarter was not the type of ball that has won games for this year's team. Defensively, they were not as strong as they were against CBC and offensively, senior captain and leading scorer AJ Walker could not find any rhythm and was shut down completely. 

“We came out a little slow,” said Walker. “But we managed to pick things up pretty quick. Our defense was solid down the stretch and we managed to go on a run. I made free throws and layups down the stretch and managed to get another road MCC win. It’s all coming together,” Walker said with a big smile on his face.

Luckily, Walker picked it up quickly in the second. SLUH’s first possession was a designed play that gave him an open look in the corner and he nailed the three-ball. The Jr. Bills were rolling offensively. Sophomore Landon Pace, senior Trey Phillips, and Isom-McCall each made layups and senior Cal Kreuter caught fire from three, ending the night with a season high 11 points. 

Facing two of the top six scorers in the city, SLUH struggled to contain Chaminade offensively. BJ Ward and company hit four threes which kept Chaminade in control of the entire second quarter. SLUH went into the halftime break down five, 34-29. 

“For the second half, we made an effort to stop Chaminade’s three-point shooting,” said Kreuter. “They had a few threes early and we stopped them after that.”

The Red Devils put on a shooting clinic, making eight three-pointers in the first half.Coming into the second half the Bills knew that they were going to have to limit the Chaminade three-point air raid if they wanted to win. 

The Jr. Bills started the third quarter with an airballed three by Isom-McCall and then an offensive rebound by Ortwerth. Ortwerth backed his man down from the three point line and drew a shooting foul right under the basket. 

The Red Devils and Bills traded buckets early throughout the beginning of the third quarter. Each time the Jr. Bills thought they were within two, Chaminade went down and got a bucket of their own. Three point plays were flowing for both teams, coming from behind the arc or the foul on the layup. 

Kreuter put the Jr. Bills up 43-41 with a three-pointer coming off the handoff, but the Devils came down and got the foul on the made layup to tie it back up with 4 minutes left in the quarter.

The third quarter was a momentum shifting quarter and SLUH got their first lead of the game; however, this lead was only one point and Chaminade had the firepower to take back the game in the final quarter on their home court. SLUH needed breathing room. And they found it from their bench. Pace put in a wide open layup from Walker and the next possession Senior Cayman Butler tipped in a missed shot by Walker. SLUH’s lead extended to five and they never trailed again, ending in a 72-69 win. 

For the second straight game, the Jr. Bills showed their improved ability to close out games. They were knocking down their foul shots at a season high rate. The veteran guard tandem of Walker and Kreuter didn’t turn the ball over. And most importantly, the players avoided making any mistakes that could let Chaminade back into the game. 

“The end of those games are all about our mentality, being smart with the ball and not turning it over,” said Kreuter. 

With just six games left, this SLUH team is shaping up the be the highest ranked team since 2016, when they made it to the state semifinals with Brandon McKissic ’17. For the seniors, these games mean everything.

“Coming into the last few games is surreal,” said Ortwerth recalling his past four years. “It feels good to be playing well with these guys and coming out with a few big wins on the road. I hope we keep this streak going.”

SLUH will head to De Smet tonight looking for revenge after the Spartans beat the Jr. Bills 61-59 in December. A win would mean more than extending their win streak to six. It would mean beating every single MCC team in a season for the first time since 2016. 

“Beating every MCC team has been our goal since the beginning of the season,” said Kreuter. “We had low expectations going into the season so it feels good to have the opportunity to take over first place in the conference.”

SLUH plays at De Smet tonight at 6:30.