Oak Hill Academy forward Mario Kegler (4) dunks during first quarter action of the 2016 Tournament of Champions first round. (Photo: Guillermo Hernandez Martinez, News-Leader)
The 2016 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions opened play Thursday afternoon at JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo. The national high school boys basketball tournament is considered the most well-attended event of its kind in the country.
Here’s what happened on Thursday:
Chaminade 67, Christ the King 48 FINAL
Ex-Drury basketball player Frank Bennett returned to Springfield and coached a St. Louis team to victory.
Chaminade (St. Louis) advanced to Friday’s semifinal with a 67-48 win over Christ the King (Middle Village, Queens, New York).
Duke signee Jayson Tatum has a first half double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Chaminade.
The Red Devils enter the game as the No. 1-ranked Class 5 team in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association state rankings.
Jared Rivers led Christ the King in scoring with 13 points.
The winning team will face Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) Friday at 9:30 p.m. in the championship semifinals at JQH Arena.
Sierra Canyon 63, Kickapoo 41 FINAL
Kickapoo fell victim to cold shooting in a loss to Sierra Canyon. The Chiefs shot for a field goal percentage of 31.5 and made just two of the 19 3-pointers they attempted.
Cody Riley scored 18 first half points for the Trailblazers and finished with 30 points to lead all scorers. Riley is a junior with scholarship offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Kansas, USC and Maryland.
Sierra Canyon will play in the semifinals Friday at 9:30 p.m. Kickapoo falls into the consolation bracket and will play a 6 p.m. game.
Oak Hill 73, Bolivar 38 FINAL
The defending champions of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions jumped into control early against Class 4 Bolivar.
Lindell Wigginton went 4-for-4 from the three-point line on the way to 16 first half points. The native of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada finished with 20 to lead all scorers.
Oak Hill forced Bolivar to turn over the ball 10 times in the first half, hindering the Liberators’ offense. Brandon Emmert led Bolivar with 11 points.
Rainier Beach 74, Bishop Gorman 71
The Vikings of Rainier Beach managed to cling to victory in the opening game of the 2016 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions Thursday night at JQH Arena.
Bishop Gorman trailed Rainier Beach by 15 points at halftime, but the Gaels erased the deficit in the second half to tie the score at 71 points with 21 seconds left in the game. Sam Cunliffe hit two key free throws to put the win on ice for the Vikings.
Cunliffe, an Arizona State signee, led Rainier Beach with 26 points. Sophomore Kevin Porter had 19 points for the Vikings.
Bishop Gorman junior Chuck O’Bannon led all scorers with 31 points and displayed why college teams such as UCLA, Arizona, Kansas and Missouri are interested in landing him.
Gonzaga commit Zach Collins, a 6-foot-11 forward, had a double-double for Bishop Gorman with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
For up-to-the-minute info on all the games, follow the News-Leader’s Rance Burger on Twitter @RanceBurgerNL.
