MRH Blasts Carnahan, Moves Into District Title Game

It’s no secret what drives and fuels the Maplewood Richmond Heights boys basketball team. Everything starts and ends on the defensive side of the ball.

The second-seeded Blue Devils smothered Carnahan from the opening tip-off until the final buzzer sounded, forcing 27 turnovers, as MRH rolled to a 79-38 victory in the Class 3, District 5 semifinals Wednesday night.

Next up for MRH (16-11) is top-seeded Cardinal Ritter (21-5), which cruised past Metro St. Louis by a similar margin of 79-37 following the Blue Devils’ win.

“That’s part of our offense,” MRH head coach Corey Frazier said of his ball-hawking, full-court pressure. “I mean, we’re clicking a little bit. We’re getting better every game.

“I want to make sure the kids get their rest because Monday night was a late night, we practiced hard Tuesday and then played again tonight. We’ll practice again (Thursday) and hopefully come out ready Friday night.”

Jake Hensel and Tony King set the tone on both sides of the ball, creating havoc with steals on defense and then combining to score MRH’s initial 16 points.

Hensel started the game on a personal 7-0 run, including a conventional three-point play while King drained a 3-pointer for a quick 10-0 lead. King then added six more points, hitting two jumpers sandwiched around a pair of free throws for a 16-1 advantage.

While Carnahan failed to make a field goal in the first quarter, managing only three free throws, Chris Debose had a tip-in basket followed by a Marcus Taylor layup before Hensel found Debose for another score that gave MRH a 22-3 lead after the opening period.

The Blue Devils tallied the first seven points of the second quarter on baskets from Taylor, Hensel and King, the latter being a 3-pointer, for a commanding 29-3 advantage.

It wasn’t until the 5:39 mark of the second quarter when the Cougars finally made their first shot from the floor as Steven Baynham had a putback while being fouled. Baynham scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds to pace Carnahan.

King had two more baskets in the quarter while Eric Liksa also hit a pair of shots to help MRH take a 39-11 lead into halftime.

“I’m not going to say we’re in a sense of urgency right now because Tony is a guy who has been here before. He is calm right now, but I like his energy,” Frazier said. “We’re not playing to lose. We’re playing to keep going. We’re not worried about losing a basketball game. We’ve lost several games going through our tough schedule and everything else this season. We’re prepared for battle no matter what happens.”

The second half was more of the same as the Blue Devils simply outmanned the Cougars with their quickness, athleticism and depth.

Of MRH’s 12 players, 10 of them reached the scoring column led by King’s 22 points. Taylor provided 12 points and six rebounds, Hagens added 11 points and Hensel chipped in nine points.

Liksa had seven points followed by Corey Fazier Jr. with six, Debose four and Wes Williams and Greg Jarrett three apiece. Aaron Spudich grabbed a game-high nine boards to go along with his two points.

“We’re just trying to get everyone focused,” Frazier said. “We may need our guys coming off the bench down the stretch. You never know. So we try to have them as prepared as our starters because we play a lot of guys.”

With two district wins down and a rigorous regular-season schedule behind them, the Blue Devils are as prepared as they possibly can be going into the district championship against Cardinal Ritter.

The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.

“People want to see the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds play against each other,” Frazier said. “I’ve known Cardinal Ritter’s program for years. I know most of their players. Cameron (Biedscheid) played for me over the summer. So there is a lot of familiarity for us and for them.

That first quarter might be a sloppy quarter, but whoever settles down and executes down the stretch will win the game. We’re ready to get it on.”

Box Score 

CARNAHAN (38) – Amos 2 0-0 4, Baynham 6 5-7 18, Dobson 3 1-3 9, McNeil 0 0-0 0, Joiner 0 0-0 0, Reid 0 2-2 2, Scott 2 0-0 5. Totals 13 8-12 38.

MRH (79) – Hensel 4 1-1 9, Hagens 5 1-2 11, King 9 2-2 22, Taylor 6 0-0 12, Spudich 1 0-0 2, Liksa 3 0-0 7, Frazier Jr. 3 0-0 6, Dubose 2 0-0 4, Jarrett 1 1-2 3, Williams 1 0-0 3, Lee 0 0-0 0. Totals 35 5-7 79.

CAR    3          8          19        8 – 38

MRH   22        17        24        16 – 79

3-Pointers – Carnahan 4 (Dobson 2, Baynham, Scott), MRH 4 (King 2, Liksa, Williams). Rebounds – Carnahan 26 (Baynham 8), MRH 35 (Spudich 9). Turnovers – Carnahan 27, MRH 12. Fouls – Carnahan 9, MRH 13. Fouled Out – None. Records – Carnahan finishes 4-14 and MRH is 16-11