COLUMBIA — Tristan Smith acclimated himself to Mizzou Arena so splendidly well over the weekend that, even as a conquering hometown hero, he jokingly quipped he didn’t want to return to Chadwick.
As Smith so keenly noted, Mizzou’s Norm Stewart Court and its 94 feet long x 50 feet wide dimensions proved to be a perfect fit for the Class 1 state champion Cardinals.
With college courts measuring 10 feet longer than high school courts, that just meant more room for Chadwick to wreck havoc on Braymer and thus amplify the overwhelming advantage the Cardinals had in their full-court press.
Chadwick exposed Braymer’s suspect ball-handling, as the Cardinals cruised to a rewarding 67-38 Class 1 title tilt victory Saturday.
“The way we get up and press, especially in a gym that is so much bigger than what we're used to, helps us a lot,” Smith said. “I don't want to go back to Chadwick and play on our court after playing on this court.”
Braymer’s methodical backcourt was no match opposite Chadwick’s frenetic and unrelenting defense, with the Cardinals forcing 19 Bobcats turnovers, including 12 in the decisive first half.
Chadwick totaled 24 points off of Braymer turnovers.
The game played out just as the Cardinals planned and hoped it would.
“We watched them (and) I did think it was a good matchup for us,” Chadwick forward Clayton Garrison of his mindset entering the game. “We’ve got fast guys and they have bigger guys. Everybody knows our defense is pretty good. We jumped on them, got turnovers and easy buckets.”
“We thought we could put some pressure on them full-court and we've felt all year our half-court defense has been solid,” coach Shawn Guerin said.
As confident as the Cardinals were in their defense, they surely weren’t complacent. They displayed a killer instinct, bolting to early leads of 13-3, 27-11 and 33-19 and never letting up.
“The guys played their tails off,” Guerin said. “We use the word intensity a lot. Our energy was great. We handled ourselves well. Our defense showed up.”
“Shawn asks us before every game what word are we looking for and we all say, ‘Intensity,” Smith said. “That’s what separates us from every other Class 1 school in the state.”
There was much separating Chadwick from Braymer:
— Chadwick owned a 46-14 advantage in points in the paint
— Garrison collected 24 points, 15 rebounds, five steals, four assists and one blocked shot and had just one turnover.
— Guard Grady Preston scored 14 first-half points on his way to a 21-point night in his Cardinals finale. He was 9-of-13 shooting from the field.
— Smith contributed 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.
— Braymer shot 29 percent (12-of-42). The Bobcats were 3-of-20 from 3-point land.
— Chadwick was guilty of a modest seven turnovers.
With the turbo clock nearly put in effect, for a state championship game mind you, the proceedings were anticlimactic and not exactly fulfilling from a basketball fan’s perspective.
Insiders predicted that the actual Class 1 state championship game would be the Chadwick-Green City semifinal matchup and indeed that was the case. Matter of fact, Green City, Richland, South Iron and Niangua — all victims on the Cardinals’ memorable road to their program’s first state championship — put up a much better fight than Braymer (22-10). Sorry not sorry, truth hurts Braymer fans.
“We could have had some of those teams in the Final Four, South Iron and Richland,” Garrison said.
“That was a great team that was deserving of being here,” Guerin said diplomatically, although unconvincingly. "We made a list of the top 7-8 teams we played all year and did we feel like Braymer was in the top seven? I'm not saying they are a bad team. Don't take that the wrong way, no disrespect at all. But we played a good schedule.”
Chadwick’s 29 wins are a school record. This was the Cardinals’ fourth straight season reaching 20 wins. They ran into South Iron in the post-season the past three years, with the Panthers going on to win the Class 1 championship each year.
While basking in the glow of their championship, the Cardinals’ veterans were mindful of their former teammates who arguably were Final Four worthy also.
“Once you're a part of Chadwick basketball, I don't think you ever leave,” Smith said. “It sucks those boys didn't get to do the things we have. It's unfair sometimes how things are set up. I wish they would have felt what it's like to be in the spot we are in now.”
“We were so close to beating South Iron last year,” Garrison said. “I told them we were going to try to do it for them this year. We did our job.”
