MRH Wins Battle of the Boards and District Championship over John Burroughs

The Hot Read: Maplewood Richmond Heights' team of nine seniors won their first Class 3 District 4 basketball championship, against John Burroughs Friday night. The Blue Devils dominated the boards, as they came back from a first quarter 6-point deficit to win 55-41. The big match-up was between top players Kahlid Hagens of MRH and John Burrough's Ezekiel Elliot. Hagens finished with 23 and Elliot with 11.

The game ball goes to: MRH senior center DeVontai Halfacre, who took over under the basket. "They couldn’t do anything with his size in there. Rebounds and put-backs. His knack for the ball, offensively, was tremendous," MRH coach Corey Frazier said. Halfacre finished with 10 points, 7 rebounds and a block.

See more game photos at Maplewood-Brentwood Patch Facebook.

MRH scoring leaders: Kahlid Hagens- 23, Corey Frazier- 11, DeVontai Halfacre- 10, Aaron Collins- 4

John Burroughs scoring leaders: Foyesade Oluokun - 19, Ezekiel Elliot - 11, Trevor Bain - 5, James Carney - 4

Quotable I, MRH Coach Corey Frazier: "Their best player (Elliot) was guarding him (Hagens), he was guarding him back, so it was a good duel to watch both those kids. Elliot showed me lot tonight. A lot of heart. But I think Hagens separated himself, took over the game, and made everything count for us when it really mattered."

Quotable II, Burroughs coach Steve Willcutt: "We had to handle pressure and we had to keep them off the glass, we didn’t keep them off the glass. They just killed us on the offensive rebounds. That was the difference in the game."

Team Records: MRH stands at 23-5, John Burroughs finishes its season at 23-3

What's Next: MRH goes on to play the winner of the Carnahan (18-9) vs. Madison Prep (26-2) game. That sectional game will be on Feb. 27 at Lindenwood University at 6 p.m.

Are you a big fan of the Blue Devils? You'll also want to see:

• MRH Seniors Down Hazelwood Central: Action and Senior Night Photos
• Blue Devils Boys Defeat Previously Unbeaten Sikeston
• Hagens' Big Dunk Rattles Carnahan in MRH Win