COLUMBIA — For 45 minutes Thursday, the Drexel boys basketball team sat in its locker room. No one spoke. Few even moved.

Still in disbelief over the way its Class 1 semifinal game unfolded — a one-point overtime loss to Eminence — a disappointed group of Drexel players wondered how they would prepare for a third-place game Friday.

Finally, senior Trevor Cooley offered his thoughts.

“I’ve tried kicking in doors. I’ve tried everything,” Cooley said. “The best way to handle it, I figured, was to be positive.”

A day later, Cooley and his teammates carried over that positive energy to the floor, and they responded with a 75-50 dismantling of Meadville in the Class 1 third-place game Friday at Mizzou Arena.

Cooley nearly recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Javyn Johnston had a team-best 24 points, and C.J. Bolton added 23.

The top-ranked team in Class 1 entering the state tournament, Drexel finished the season 30-2. A group of five seniors — who have been playing together since the fourth grade — finished off its 99th career victory.

“It would’ve been nice to get that last one to give us 100 for their career,” Drexel coach Dennis Bolton said. “But it was an outstanding ride.”

West Platte leading scorer out

The lone remaining undefeated team in Missouri took a significant loss Thursday.

West Platte will play without its leading scorer, Adam Roe, when it faces Salisbury in the Class 2 state championship game at 3:10 p.m. on Saturday at Mizzou Arena.

An all-state selection last year as a sophomore, Roe suffered a knee injury with 1:35 remaining in the team’s semifinal win Thursday against Iberia. Doctors informed Roe on Friday morning they believe he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but they won’t know for certain until they receive the results of his magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).