Basketball

Mark Ruark wasn't there when Trae Robinson collapsed on the basketball court. But when Ruark, Saxony Lutheran's principal, saw the video, it scared him. Robinson, who played basketball for Saxony Lutheran last season, was on the defensive end of the court during an AAU tournament game July 29 in Kansas City, Missouri, when he suddenly stood straight up and then fell flat on the floor like a tree hitting the ground, according to Ruark...

Local traveling team SEMO Elite Basketball is bound for national competition this week at the AAU National Championships in Orlando, Florida. The team is one of two SEMO Elite Basketball teams coached by Tommy Delph of Cape Girardeau, who uses basketball as a tool to keep children out of trouble, instill life values and introduce them to college recruitment possibilities...

Two of the athletes in attendance Saturday night were no strangers to the Semoball Awards. Kennett's Hadley Hilburn and Poplar Bluff's Morgan McAtee became the first-ever four-time Semoball Awards finalists. Both athletes were recognized during the event's fourth installment, held at Southeast Missouri Sate's River Campus in Cape Girardeau...

The Semoball Cup ended up being a battle of the Bulldogs that needed overtime to decide. Megan Heisserer's golden goal to lift Notre Dame to the Class 2 soccer title also happened to clinch the Cup. In the closest finish in the early history of the award, Notre Dame edged Van Buren by 4.79 points in the standings that determine which area school had the most athletically successful school year...

From across Southeast Missouri, people descended upon Cape Girardeau on Saturday night for the region's premier sports awards show. More than 150 student-athletes from 57 area high schools were on hand for the Fourth Annual Semoball Awards presented by SoutheastHEALTH at the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall on Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus, as awards were handed out in 25 sports categories...

June has always been a busy month for Kirk Chronister. It's time to bale hay and tend cattle on his 130-acre ranch in northern Butler County. This, however, is the first June in some time in which Chronister isn't also in a gym coaching. It was at the beginning of the month when his retirement started to sink in...

Oak Ridge has a new boys basketball coach. The board of education confirmed Chris Trimmer's hire in April, according to Oak Ridge school District superintendent Dr. Adrian Eftink. Most recently, Trimmer coached at Valle Catholic. He stepped down after the 2015-16 season...

After coaching in the same conference as the Meadow Heights boys basketball team the last three seasons, Corey Brownsberger was familiar with the program. At Leopold, his teams faced off against the Panthers at least two times a season, a regular-season meeting and a Mississippi Valley Conference tournament matchup. ...

Headline SEMO Sizzle Sho-Me Showcase Tournament Champs SEMO Sizzle 7th grade girls basketball team is off to a 13-2 start as they went 4-0 last weekend in the 8th grade division of the Sho-Me Showcase held at Jefferson Junior College in Hillsboro, MO. ...

We reveal winter sport SBA finalists and chat with one of them — a wrestler coming off a severe neck injury.

A week or two before Armani Vermillion walked into the old men's gym unannounced, ready to start a new chapter of his life, Bubba Wheetley had heard the rumblings. A new kid was coming to Advance, his players said. Wheetley, the Advance boys basketball coach, was used to such rumors, so he didn't put too much stock in the most recent gossip. ...

Jersey number: 10 Height: 6-foot-3 Position: Point guard AAU/travel team: Perryville Plans after graduation: Attend Lindenwood University and major in sports management Favorite team tradition: Team meal before big games Favorite memory from this season: Putting in 40 points against Park Hills...

At a summer tournament about two hours away from home, Ethan Evans watched his star player hold her own -- even stand out -- when facing Class 4 and 5 schools, and realized this season would be different. Leah Cauble was ready to take a step forward, Evans thought. The Oran girls basketball player had averaged more than 25 points per game a year earlier as a freshman, and she looked even more impressive in this mid-July tournament in Arnold, Missouri...

Jersey number: 30 Height: 5-foot-9 Position: Guard Favorite team tradition: Praying before every game Favorite memory from this season: Winning third in conference Favorite spot on the floor to shoot from: 3-point line Favorite gym to play in: Chaffee...

Dustin Wengert is coming home. Wengert grew up in Perryville, and next season he'll be directing the Perryville boys basketball team after the Perryville Board of Education approved the hire in Tuesday's meeting. The current Notre Dame athletic director graduated from the town's private school, St. Vincent, and later coached a variety of Indians sports teams. This time he'll be coaching their crosstown rival, replacing Justin Dreyer on the sidelines...

After nine years, Oak Ridge boys basketball will have a new coach next season. Adam Stoneking won't be returning to the sidelines, saying his contract wasn't renewed at a recent school board meeting. "I was just informed that I would not be the basketball coach next year," Stoneking said. "At a board meeting they decided not to renew my contract."...

Headline Semo Rainmakers 16U Win 5th Annual Arch Challenge The Semo Rainmakers 16U Boys Basketball Team WON their 2nd Tournament at the 5th Annual Arch Challenge. The event was held April 7-9th in St. Charles, Missouri. Pictured in back, from left, is Braden Noel, Trevor Ochs, and Dawson Compas. ...

Headline Semo Rainmakers 10th Grade Boys Basketball Win Championship The Semo Rainmakers 10th Grade Boys Basketball team wins Championship at The Southeast Showdown Tournament, that was held on March 25th-26th in Cape Girardeau, MO. As pictured from left to right:...

The state champion Oran boys basketball team swept the top all-state honors in Class 2. Eagles senior Max Priggel was named Player of the Year, while Joe Shoemaker took home honors as Coach of the Year, headlining a local list of Missouri Basketball Coaches Association all-state recipients, which were revealed Thursday...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Jackson girls basketball coach Tyler Abernathy was honored as SEMO Conference Girls Coach of the Year, Chaylea Mosby continued the Dexter Lady Bearcats' tradition of Bob Gray Award winners and Fred Thatch became the fifth Sikeston player to win the John Gibbs Award...

In the 11th episode of the Semoball Podcast, Southeast Missourian sports editor and podcast host Josh Mlot sits down with Saxony Lutheran coach Chris Crawford inside the illustrious Semoball Studios to talk basketball, soccer and more.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Even though the season came to an end one game short of state, Jackson senior guard Rylee Stafford was in good spirits Saturday. Rather than focus on the Indians' 44-36 loss to St. Joseph's Academy in their MSHSAA Class 5 quarterfinal at Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University, Stafford chose to look at the big picture...

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- Jacob Friess walked off to thunderous applause. It was not for the reason he hoped. Friess and the Jackson boys basketball team were overwhelmed and outgunned, as Chaminade rolled to a 79-46 victory in a MSHSAA Class 5 quarterfinal Saturday at Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The man who tasked himself with returning a rich tradition to Advance boys basketball stuttered. He stopped. He caught his breath and stared at the table in front of him. Minutes following a so-close-but-not-quite-there loss to Walnut Grove, 65-62, in Saturday's MSHSAA Class 1 championship, Hornets coach Bubba Wheetley couldn't get the words out...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — For Oran sophomore Jacob Shoemaker, Saturday was years in the making. After all, he had been dreaming about this moment — winning a boys basketball state championship — since the day he was born. So minutes after Oran captured its first-ever state title by defeating Crane 70-63 at Mizzou Arena, he struggled to put the moment he had been envisioning for over a decade into words. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Sometimes you just meet your match. In a state title game in which one shot would have made the difference, the Advance boys basketball team didn’t find the one it needed while Walnut Grove rallied behind its 3-point shooting, hit big free throws in the final seconds and celebrated a 65-62 win in the MSHSAA Class 1 State Championship on Saturday afternoon at Mizzou Arena on the campus of the University of Missouri...

COLUMBIA, Mo. — For Oran girls basketball coach Ethan Evans, Friday night seemed eerily similar to Thursday. Once again, the Eagles struggled to hit shots. This time, it was in the MSHSAA Class 2 third-place game, not the semifinal. But the result was the same: a defeat...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- With two starters on the bench, the Oran girls basketball team appeared to be pulling away late in the first half. The Eagles opened up a 14-point lead with less than four minutes remaining in the first half of their first-ever MSHSAA Class 2 semifinal, and coach Ethan Evans saw an opportunity to build up an insurmountable lead...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Moments after the Advance boys basketball team secured its first trip to a state title game in 42 years, Hornets coach Bubba Wheetley sat between players Armani Vermillion and Preston Wuebker in the postgame press conference at Mizzou Arena...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Forty-eight years ago, the Oran boys basketball team had a chance at a state title, only to have a controversial game-altering call haunt the program. Now the Eagles will have a shot at redemption. Despite serious foul trouble and an early deficit, the Eagles stiffened up on defense late in the game, hit clutch free throws down the stretch and watched Sacred Heart self destruct at the line en route to a 64-59 victory in a Class 2 semifinal Thursday afternoon at the Hearnes Center.. ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- With the Advance boys basketball team leading by just three points after three quarters, an Armani Vermillion drive saw the ball slip through the hoop, bodies fall to the ground and the whistle blow. And in that moment, the entire complexion of the game changed...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- Getting hot might've been the worst thing to happen to the Jackson boys basketball team Wednesday night, but it was how the Indians responded that propelled them forward. Despite trailing by 10 points in the first quarter and closing the first half lacking the necessary assertiveness on offense, Jackson opened the second half on a decisive 16-0 run to vault to victory over Fort Zumwalt West, 67-53, in a Class 5 sectional at Jefferson College...

HILLSBORO, Mo. -- It's not easy to reach a state quarterfinal. The last decade of futility for the Jackson girls basketball team is a testament to that. But on Wednesday night, the Indians made it look easy. Jackson led the entire way, blitzing Fort Zumwalt South with its size and athleticism and rolling to a 69-44 victory in a Class 5 sectional at Jefferson College...

ADVANCE, Mo. -- Shortly after practice on Monday, Advance boys basketball coach Bubba Wheetley points up at the wall along the north side of the gymnasium at Advance High School. He's not pointing at the banners that line the view in orange and black, like everything else in the gym, but at a more temporary installation...

The Jackson boys and girls basketball teams have a long tradition of district championships, but success beyond has been elusive for both in recent years. Each will again take a shot at keeping their seasons alive and earning a state quarterfinal berth as they play in sectionals tonight...

In the 10th episode of the Semoball Podcast (we've reached double digits!) host Josh Mlot (@semoballjosh) is joined by Southeast Missourian high school sports reporter Phillip Suitts (@semoballphillip) to chat about the three area teams heading to Columbia this week for the Show-Me Showdown final four in Classes 1-3...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- It was a banner day for the Oran basketball teams Saturday. Oran's boys overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit to beat Hartville 55-52 before the Lady Eagles followed with an equally thrilling 72-69 win over Neelyville in the Class 2 quarterfinal at the Bess Activity Center...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- With less than two minutes left in the third quarter of a Class 3 quarterfinal, the Saxony Lutheran boys basketball team had cut the deficit to 10, the closest it had been since midway through the second. The Crusaders' faithful rose to their feet as Whitfield took the ball to the other end of the court...

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- Suddenly, with minutes remaining in the game, the Saxony Lutheran girls basketball team led for the first time all day. A return trip to state, with an entirely new starting lineup, was within its grasp. But with the game on the line, Aijha Blackwell and Whitfield proved too much to overcome, as a familiar issue reared its head for Saxony: an inability to beat the other team down the floor on defense...

VAN BUREN, Mo. -- When the Advance boys basketball team walked into the locker room at halftime, trailing by nine points to Eminence, Hornets senior Preston Wuebker had a message for his team. "Man, we came in at halftime, and we were down," Wuebker said. "I came in last, and I was just like, 'Calm down. We were down nine to South Iron two years ago. We are still in this ball game. We've got a whole half a game to play.'"...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Before the biggest game of the season, Jackson girls basketball coach Tyler Abernathy didn't deviate from routine. The message he gave his team prior to its Class 5 District 1 championship game against No. 2 Poplar Bluff was the same as every other game before it: play hard and have fun...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Gavin Harris saved Jackson's season with a couple clutch shots Thursday night. The junior sank a game-tying 3-pointer with 7 seconds left to force overtime and hit a pair of free throws late, lifting the second-seeded Indians to a 75-73 victory over top-seeded Poplar Bluff in the Class 5 District 1 championship at Poplar Bluff High School...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- There's no question that the Sikeston and Cape Girardeau Central boys basketball teams are familiar foes, and when they met -- again -- for a district title, the Bulldogs used that to their advantage. Top-seeded Sikeston knew exactly what it needed to do to slow the second-seeded Tigers, who didn't have an answer for the Bulldogs' skill in a 76-55 loss in the Class 4 District 1 championship on Thursday night at Ste. Genevieve High School...

Leah Cauble may earn the spotlight for the Oran girls basketball team, but with the season on the line and its star facing 40 minutes of double teams, the rest of the Eagles found a way to pick up the slack. Puxico held Cauble to just eight points in the first half and remained as close as three points early in the second half, but Oran kept plugging away -- and pulling away -- for a 73-54 victory in a Class 2 sectional Wednesday night at Jackson High School...

Nothing was going to stop Cole Priggel. Not the Hayti defense, not a kick to the eye. With his left eye swelling shut after a scrum for a loose ball left the Oran boys basketball guard with a nasty battle scar, Priggel scored 28 points and the Eagles defense locked things down in the waning moments to scrape out a gritty 53-47 win over Hayti in a Class 2 sectional Wednesday night at Jackson High School...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Third-seeded Sikeston girls basketball snatched momentum from the outset, survived Notre Dame's push and then pulled away, getting a monster effort from Larysa McClellon to down second-seeded Notre Dame 70-55 in a Class 4 District 1 semifinal Tuesday at Ste. Genevieve High School...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Leading by a bucket at halftime of a Class 5 District 1 semifinal Tuesday night, the Jackson boys basketball team didn't allow Fox to score for the next 5 minutes, 22 seconds. The Warriors had scored just once over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the first half, but Jackson didn't take advantage...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Looking to advance in the postseason against a crosstown rival in a gym miles away, the Cape Central boys basketball team turned to one of its hallmarks -- a suffocating defense. The second-seeded Tigers harassed Notre Dame in a full-court press for much of the night and made it difficult for the third-seeded Bulldogs to get open shots in their half-court offense...

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Jackson girls basketball team managed just 17 first-half points Monday in its Class 5 District 1 semifinal. Fortunately, the Indians defense was better. Jackson opened the second half with a 9-2 run by forcing turnovers on five of Seckman's first six possessions to build a double-digit lead and cruise to a 47-32 win over the Jaguars at Poplar Bluff High School...

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- For 22 minutes, the Perryville boys basketball team gave Dexter everything it could handle. But when the Bearcats hit full stride, the Pirates had no answer. Fourth-seeded Dexter used an 11-4 run to end the third quarter and open a 13-point lead before finishing things out for a 69-57 victory in a quarterfinal of the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 Tournament at Ste. Genevieve High School...