All 3 Ferguson-Florissant Boys Basketball Teams Open Winter Hot

BY JIM WIENERS

Three high schools in the Ferguson-Florissant School District are off to good starts in Boys Basketball, through three weeks of the season.

McCluer North is coming off a Class Five State Championship season last winter and opened this season last week with a pair of wins in the Troy/Peoples Bank Invitational. The Stars defeated Suburban North Conference rival Hazelwood East, 73-45, and held off host Troy Buchanan, 65-63. The tournament had only five teams, including another Suburban North team — Riverview Gardens — and Wentzville-Holt.

Four players have led the Stars after their first two games of this season in scoring with double figures per game. Femi John has averaged 20.5 points, Anthony Booker has averaged 16.5 points, Torres Roundtree has averaged 11.5 per game and Bobby Peebles has averaged 10 points. In other statistics Roundtree has 23 rebounds, an 11.5 average, and 13 assists; Booker has 25 rebounds, including 13 on defense and has averaged 12. 5 per game to go along with four shot blocks, Peebles has 12 rebounds and six steals and John has 15 rebounds.

McCluer High opened the season 4-1 including a 2-1 mark and a third-place finish in the Pattonville Invitational. The only blemish for McCluer came in the Pattonville Invitational, a 64-60 loss to CBC. At the Pattonville Invitational McCluer defeated Suburban North rival Hazelwood West, 60-51, and Chaminade, 65-61.

McCluer also win at Parkway West, 58-55, and at home over previously unbeaten Jennings, 74-64.

Four McCluer players average double figures in scoring through five games including Lonnie Boga, 21.2 per game, Shaquille Boga, 15.4 per game, Andre Martin, 11.8 per game, and Jerrel Partlow, 10.2 per game. In addition Lonnie Boga has 61 rebounds, a 12.2 per game average, and 15 shot blocks, Martin has 28 assists and 18 steals and Shaquille Boga has 24 assists.

Barring appearances in tournaments during the season McCluer hosts McCluer North on Jan. 29. McCluer and McCluer North are in Class Five, District Seven to be played Feb. 17-21.

McCluer South-Berkeley has played the most games of all the Ferguson-Florissant high schools, seven prior to Dec. 11 and are unbeaten so far, Four of the seven wins came Nov.23-30 in the Lebanon, Ill. Tournament and MS-Berkeley defeated four Illinois high schools — Red Bud, 54-40, Sparta, 72-37, Madison, 70-65, and Columbia, 43-30. Last week MS-Berkeley won at home over University City, 60-57, won a Suburban East Conference game at Affton, 64-33, and won a Midwest Showdown Shootout game at the University of Missouri-St. Louis over Memphis (Tenn.) Mitchell, 69-63.

Antonio Campbell averages 11.2 points per game, Gerald Jones, who has 40 assists and 25 steals, nearly has 10 rebounds per game and Abel Tillman has blocked 30 shots.

Barring in-season tournaments MS-Berkeley is not scheduled to play McCluer North nor McCluer High. MS-Berkeley is scheduled to host Class Four, District Five in mid to late February.

BOYS BASKETBALL NOTES: Riverview Gardens played their second tournament in two weeks and went 2-1 at the Troy/Peoples Bank Invitational. Riverview (4-2) opened with a 70-48 loss to Troy-Buchanan, then defeated Wentzville-Holt, 63-43 and Suburban North rival Hazelwood East, 57-46.

Albert Meeks scored 15 against Troy-Buchanan, 27 against Wentzville Holt and 19 against Hazelwood East.

Trinity Catholic plays North County Tech Thursday in St. Peters at the Lutheran High-St. Charles County Cougar Classic, Thursday, 6:30. The winner plays Friday, 8:15 p.m. against Lutheran-St. Charles County or Crystal City while the loser plays Friday at 5 p.m. The eight-team tourney closes Saturday with games at 3:30 (seventh place), 5 p.m. (consolation championship), 6:30 (third place) and 8:15 first place-championship).

Trinity (3-3 overall, 1-2 Archdiocesan Athletic Association) split two AAA road games last week, winning at Lutheran-St. Charles County, 51-34, and losing at Cardinal Ritter, 56-48 in St. Louis. North Tech, 2-1 with new head coach Victor Jordan, has wins over Logos, 68-41, and Yeshiva, 68-37, while losing at Visual & Performing Arts (St. Louis), 51-42.
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