Barstow boys throttle Madison Prep, advance to Missouri Class 3 state title game
Barstow teammates Jeriah Horne and Jacob Gilyard walked into the postgame interview room inside the Hearnes Center on Thursday, only a few moments after the Knights routed Madison Prep 61-48 in the Missouri Class 3 state semifinals.
As Horne pulled out a folding chair, ready to take a seat behind the table and discuss his 27-point performance, Gilyard motioned to switch seats.
“That’s where we sat last year,” Gilyard said. “Change it up.”
“Good idea,” Horne responded.
Indeed, Barstow will play for the Missouri Class 3 state championship for the second consecutive season when it faces Strafford at 6:20 p.m. Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
But it’s hopeful for a better result this time around. Barstow lost a nine-point game to Cardinal Ritter in the state title game last March.
As a result, the Knights are doing everything they can — even switching seats in the interview room — to ensure Saturday produces a different result.
Barstow, 28-2, is seeking its first state championship since 1995.
“This is when things start to change,” Barstow coach Billy Thomas said. “We’re trying to figure out what it was that cost us to lose ourselves in the last two minutes of that ballgame last year.”
Barstow jumped on Madison Prep early Thursday, and it never let up.
Horne scored 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. Shea Rush took the reins in the fourth quarter, providing a pair of emphatic two-handed slams to put the exclamation points on the victory. Rush scored 10 points in the final quarter, part of a 13-point game.
Thomas warned his players earlier in the week that Madison Prep would serve as the team’s most physical opponent of the season. It didn’t matter. Barstow still held the Bears to 30.4 percent shooting and won the rebounding edge by nine.
“That’s our focus,” Gilyard said. “In all our practices, we start with (defensive) closeout drills. That’s just our main goal — be a defensive team. Get stops first, and then go score.”
Class 2 boys: Mid-Buchanan
Mid-Buchanan earned a spot in the Missouri Class 2 boys championship game with a 60-53 victory against Canton in the semifinals Thursday.
The Dragons, 30-1, will face Scott Country Central at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Mizzou Arena.
Austin Scaggs had 18 points and seven rebounds in the semifinal win; Garet Moulden added 17 points; and Bradyn Kemper scored 15.
This story was originally published March 12, 2015 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Barstow boys throttle Madison Prep, advance to Missouri Class 3 state title game."