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By Jim Wieners

Hazelwood Central Varsity Basketball Teams, Boys and Girls, began the 2014-15 seasons with tip-off Tournament championships.

“It’s exciting,” said girls head coach Wendy Reeves Dec. 6 after her Hawk ladies won the Northwest-Cedar Hill Tournament. One day earlier, Dec. 5 the Hawk men won the Jerry Boeckman Memorial St. John Vianney Invitational.

Lucky 13 Hawks Repeat At Vianney

St. John Vianney High School, which opened in 1960, was having their 48th annual tournament and it became a memorial for a 30-year basketball coach who was a 37-year faculty member since 1966 and passed away in 2007. But over 25 percent of the tournament championships, 13 of them have been won by Hazelwood Central. Nine of those championships have been won in the last 11 years including the last two.

Boys head coach Josh Martin, who have coached the last nine Vianney-Boeckman Tournament titles, said the tournament is great with great people. “Coming to Vianney it’s exciting and great for us (and) it’s always a challenge.”

That challenge comes even stronger when the Hawks play in the championship game Dec. 5 against the host Golden Griffins, one of two teams that won tournament during the last 11 years (2011) Hazelwood Central did not. Hazelwood Central won the title game going away, 60-47,

Until late in the third quarter the game went back and forth as the Hawks led by no more than seven in the third quarter while the Griffins led by no more than five during the second. The final 9:18 of the game including the last 1:18 of the third quarter went all Hawks in breaking a 34-34 tie and outscoring the Griffins 26-13 to seal the tournament championship. “We were able to make stops (on defense) and make high percentage shots,” Martin said.

Xavier Sneed, who led the football Hawks with seven touchdown receptions, led the hoops team by scoring 21 points including making eight out of 10 free throws while Dominique Dobbs added 16. Both Sneed and Dobbs are juniors. Carte’Are Gordon led Vianney with 21 points.

Hazelwood Central got to the championship final with a 60-51 semifinal win Dec. 3 over 2012 tournament champion Belleville (Ill.) West, who finished fourth in the tournament. The Hawks took advantage of poor free-throw shooting by Belleville West as the Maroons hit only 11 of 26 from the charity stripe. Sneed led the Hawks with 26 points while Eugene Moore led the Maroons with 16.

Hazelwood Central, the tourney’s top seed, opened the tournament Dec. 1 with a 76-54 win over Vashon, who went 0-3 in the tournament. Sneed scored 21 points while Dobbs added 16. The Hawks will be at Vashon Dec. 13, 5:30 in the 8th Annual Midwest Showdown Shootout against Memphis (Tenn.) Houston.

Hawk Ladies Win In Cedar Hill

Northwest High School, located in the eastern rural area of Cedar Hill off Missouri Highway 30, held their girls tournament for the fourth year but for Hazelwood Central it was their first appearance. And it was a championship appearance.

Hazelwood Central won the tournament title game Dec. 6 defeating Ladue-Horton Watkins, 56-46. The Hawks overcame first-half foul trouble and led through most of the game breaking an 8-8 tie late in the first quarter and never trailed after that. Among the 10 players that scored out of 11 that scored Shannyn Triplett scored 13 points while Tournament Most Valuable Player Jessica Jordan added 12.

“We just got much more depth,” Reeves said compared to playing just about eight last year. “We’re still trying to work together.’ Mallory Meeks and Kourtney White were named to the All-Tournament Team.

Hazelwood Central rolled to their Dec. 4 semifinal win over Waynesville 57-38 as 12 Lady Hawks played 12 and 10 of them scored. Jordan led the Hawks with 13 points while Meeks added 11.

Hazelwood Central opened the tournament Dec. 1 with a 54-50 win over Ursuline Academy as a 14-8 fourth quarter for the Hawks overcame a 42-40 Bears’ lead after three quarters. The Hawks led 21-7 after one quarter and 34-24 at halftime but the Bears went on an 18-6 third-quarter tear.

With 12 players playing nine scored including 15 from Jordan and 12 from Kelsie Williams.

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