By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
There’s no doubt now – the Logan-Rogersville Wildcats belong with the state’s best.
The Wildcats punched their ticket to the final four on Saturday afternoon with an exhilarating 60-53 home win over No. 3-ranked Tolton Catholic in the Class 4 state quarterfinals.
“I’m drenched, I’m tired and I’m spent, but I’m happy,” said Wildcats coach John Schaefer. “Our crowd right here is the reason we won. Our kids played better than they played all year, and they did what they needed to do to win. I couldn’t be happier.”
Logan-Rogersville (27-3 overall) flew under the radar this season. The Wildcats weren’t state-ranked in Class 4 until early February.
They will compete in Columbia next weekend for a shot at the program’s second-ever state championship.
“At the beginning of the year, everyone was telling us that we wouldn’t be as good as we were last year and all that,” said Logan-Rogersville senior guard Ross Lawrence. “That kind of lit a fire under us. It made us work hard every day in practice.
“We got to come out today and show what we’ve been working on.”
The Wildcats will play No. 4-ranked John Burroughs (26-4 overall) at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 15 at Mizzou Arena in the Class 4 state semifinals.
Before Saturday’s game, Schaefer had a simple message to his team – one that he may bring up again next week.
“You belong here,” Schaefer said. “A lot of that was getting over that hump and thinking they’re not as good as some past teams. They just proved they belong.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
The Wildcats were certainly ready for high-level postseason basketball on Saturday, none more so than freshman sensation Chase Branham.
He provided an early lift with 12 points in the first quarter. Only foul trouble – he left the game after picking up his third foul midway through the second – kept Branham from doing more damage.
“My teammates just fed me the ball, and we do a great job of playing off one another,” Branham said. “That’s how they get me going, and that’s how I get them going.”
Branham finished with a game-high 25 points, doing so against a Tolton Catholic team that was led by future Division I guards Aaron Rowe (Mizzou) and Zay Wilson.
“He doesn’t know any better,” Schaefer said of Branham. “He’s a freshman. He’s not even figured it out yet. We want him to stay in that mentality for a long time. He’s a special kid.”
Logan-Rogersville’s lead swelled up to 12 in the first half.
“Coach Schaefer said the first quarter would set the tone for the rest of the game,” Lawrence said. “If we led after the first quarter, we could win the game from there. That sold it for me and everyone else.”
Tolton Catholic drew much closer in the second half and made it a one-possession game on several occasions. The Wildcats never caved.
With Tolton Catholic’s defense keying on Branham and senior post Scott Metz, Lawrence stepped up with crucial scoring in the fourth quarter.
He scored seven of his 13 points in the final frame, including a pair of layups against Tolton Catholic’s pressure defense.
“I noticed our offense was kind of sticking and we weren’t moving much,” Lawrence said. “I just thought, ‘I need to take it in my own hands for a couple of possessions and get our motivation back.’”
Said Schaefer: “Ross is a put-his-head-down guy and go. He’s a baseball player. He just knows one speed: throw hard, run hard, hit hard.”
Logan-Rogersville sealed the win at the free throw line, going 10–for-14 in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats were 24-for-31 at the stripe overall.
Tolton Catholic, a private school from Columbia, made just 16 of its 29 free throw attempts. Rowe and Wilson finished with 13 points apiece.
Metz, who battled foul trouble much of the game, added 18 points for Logan-Rogersville. He was 10-for-11 at the free throw line; his basket with 2:20 left put the Wildcats ahead 52-47.
Next weekend will be Logan-Rogersville’s seventh final four appearance in program history, and second under Schaefer (2019). The Wildcats won their lone state championship in 1982.
“We’re pretty skilled, basketball-wise. We’re more athletic than people give us credit for,” Schaefer said. “This team has just kept evolving. They’ve gotten a lot better than they were at the start of the year.”
Logan-Rogersville 60, Tolton Catholic 53
Tolton Catholic 11 11 14 17 — 53
Logan-Rogersville 18 10 12 20 — 60
Father Tolton (18-10 overall) – Aaron Rowe 13, Zay Wilson 13, Blake Pingeton 11, Javar Galbreath 11, Will Fretwell 4, Vladyslav Iefimenko 1
Logan-Rogersville (27-3 overall) – Chase Branham 25, Scott Metz 18, Ross Lawrence 13, Jase Pettifurd 2, Bryce Marshall 1, Stewart McDonald 1
