Seniors lead Chaminade past top-seed CBC to win Missouri Class 6 District 3 championship
ST. LOUIS – BJ Ward and Nilavan Daniels were ready for the moment.
The Chaminade senior guards came up clutch in the fourth quarter on Monday night, combining for 19 points in a 26-point quarter, as the Red Devils emerged with a 66-60 victory over rival Christian Brothers College to win the Class 6 District 3 championship at St. Louis University High School.
“It’s our fourth time winning districts," Daniels said. "We lost to them the first two times (this season). We had to get our lick back. We did it as a team. It’s amazing that we can pull through adversity like this. It was an up-and-down game. It wasn’t a straight line. But we pulled through and it’s an amazing feeling.”
Daniels scored 11 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter. Ward, who is headed to Southeast Missouri State next year, scored 15 points on the night and eight of those came in the final quarter.
“It’s like we all come together when we all need to and then in the fourth quarter we all needed to come together and we came out with a W," Ward said.
The No. 10 team in the SBLive Missouri Power 25 boys basketball rankings, Chaminade (21-8), advances to face Troy Buchanan (24-5) in the quarterfinals on Friday night at Lindenwood University.
The Red Devils are one win away from their fourth straight trip to the Missouri semifinals, and Ward and Daniels have been key contributors for most of that stretch.
“They are seniors and on top of that they are really good kids and they do things the right way," Chaminade coach Frank Bennett said of his team's dynamic duo. "So off the court they are fantastic and on the court, they’ve given so much to this program, so it means that much more to see those guys be able to celebrate.”
The Red Devils trailed 13-7 after one quarter, led 30-24 at halftime but then trailed 41-40 going into the fourth quarter.
Chaminade knocked down 18 of 21 free throws as part of a 26-point fourth quarter. Daniels made nine of 10 at the free throw line in the final quarter and, when he did miss, he snagged the rebound to retain possession and was then fouled.
“We knew that they were going to give us their all – two seniors who don’t want to lose," CBC coach Justin Tatum said of Ward and Daniels. "They were short-handed so much, and they did great. We didn’t want to have them on the free throw line but they made their free throws when they had that opportunity.”
Sam Piontek, a senior guard, scored 13 points for Chaminade, including 11 in the first half, while sophomore Madden Irving added 10.
CBC, ranked 14th in the SBLive Missouri Power 25, finished an up-and-down season at 18-11 after winning the Missouri Class 6 championship a year ago – and beating Chaminade in the semifinals.
The new-look Cadets played well down the stretch of the season, winning close games against Cardinal Ritter, Cape Girardeau Central and Miller Career Academy as part of a five-game win streak.
CBC junior guard Anthony Gause finished with a game-high 26 points. He scored 19 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Ali Booker, a senior guard, added 10 points.
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Here is a look at the game from photographer Nate Latsch:
Chaminade-CBC boys basketball
Photo by Nate Latsch
Nate Latsch photo
