By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
In games, Clayton Garrison and Tristan Smith are the star players for the defending Class 1 state champion Chadwick Cardinals.
But in other settings, especially practices, Chadwick’s only two seniors are targets for relentless ribbing from their younger, boisterous teammates.
“They all call me ‘Unc’ and stuff, making fun of me,” Smith said.
Said Garrison: “It’s constant from them. They’re always chirping that we’re the old guys.”
Smith, who turned 18 before the start of basketball season, has limited options for retaliation.
“They know I can’t fight them because I’m 18,” Smith said. “So they’re like, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ I can’t do anything, and they know it.
“It’s fine. I’ve grown up with these guys, so we all jab at each other from time to time.”
It’s a form of team camaraderie that you find at a school like Chadwick, with an enrollment of 73 and a town population of about 350.
“If you came to our practices, you’d be like, ‘Oh, my goodness,” said Chadwick coach Shawn Guerin. “These sophomores and freshmen are non-stop on these guys. But they’ve been friends their whole lives. They grew up together, they’re all buddies.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Amid all the trash talk, Chadwick’s established veterans have meshed well with the young blood.
The Cardinals defeated Southwest Missouri RUSH 52-40 on Monday night to win the championship of the 2024 Walnut Grove Holiday Classic.
Garrison scored a game-high 23 and was named tournament MVP. Smith and sophomore forward Prestin Kinyon each scored 11.
But it was an inauspicious start for Chadwick (6-3 overall, No. 1 in Class 1 MBCA state rankings). The Cardinals were held scoreless for nearly six minutes after the opening tip and trailed 9-6 after the first quarter.
“I think we just got off to a slow start, and I’m going to give RUSH props for that because they are a good basketball team. They’re long, athletic and they cause problems in that spread zone defense,” Guerin said. “We talked about it in practice (Sunday) night – we knew what they were going to do. If we could not turn the ball over and maybe a make shot early on, we’d be OK.
“We finally got it going, and it was good to see.”
Smith made back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter to give Chadwick its first lead (19-18) and ignite a run.
After leading 22-18 at halftime, Chadwick’s lead swelled to 14 late in the third quarter on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Creek Guerin.
“Definitely not how we drew it up at the start of the game,” Garrison said. “It was a struggle for sure, but we stuck with it and got it together. We’ll have to clean up in practice before the next game.”
Smith and Kinyon also made the all-tournament team for Chadwick, who has enhanced its regular season schedule as the defending Class 1 state champions.
The Cardinals travel to the Tipton Shootout later this week for a pair of neutral site games: Montgomery County (Jan. 3) and Harrisburg (Jan. 4).
The Cardinals will also play in the Mountain View (Liberty) Shootout and Stockton Tournament during the month of January.
In early February, the Cardinals will host perennial state title contender Hartville. In its season opener, Chadwick played Class 5 Rolla to a close loss.
Two seniors graduated from Chadwick’s 2024 state title squad, but a talented (and talkative) freshmen class has helped fill in the gaps. Seven of the 11 players on Chadwick’s roster are freshmen or sophomores.
“Last year, we were still trying to find ourselves at this point,” Guerin said. “The system has always been the same for the last eight or nine years. We were trying to find ways to make adjustments that we couldn’t make three or four years ago.
“The (older) guys just took up the slack, and the younger guys have followed along. They’ve done a great job. These freshmen that we’re putting in big-time games have handled themselves well.”
Chadwick 52, RUSH 40
RUSH 9 9 9 13 — 40
Chadwick 6 16 22 8 — 52
RUSH – Josh Graves 11, Jace Allen 10, Kellen Hathcock 6, Brady Bishop 4, Ben Graves 4, Gabe Weisbrod 3, Dylan Hildebrand 2
Chadwick – Clayton Garrison 23, Tristan Smith 11, Prestin Kinyon 11, Creek Guerin 5, Thayor Little 2
THIRD PLACE: Billings vs. Lamar 68, Billings 55 – FINAL – PHOTOS
Billings – 13-12-13-17 — 55
Lamar – 22-12-20-14 — 68
B: Kaiden Blakemore 16, Chance Shaffer 9, Colin Moore 6, Griffin Moore 6, Justin Bos 5, Mason Gearing 5, Dylan Edwards 4, Brock Harter 2, Blake Long 2
L: Talon Timmons 17, Terren Williams 10, Luke Tabakian 9, Alex Wilkerson 9, Eli Ngugi 7, Vance Breshears 4, Trey Pittsenbarger 4, Trent Torbeck 3, Terren Williams 2, Xavier Romero 2, Logan Martin 1
FIFTH PLACE: Ash Grove 66, Hollister 64 – FINAL – PHOTOS
Ash Grove – 15-14-22-15 — 66
Hollister – 10-17-22-15 — 64
A: Easton Rust 24, Dylan Gray 16, Kyler Reese 11, Colin Denney 5, Ty Messley 4, Jaden Hance 4, Joseph Jolivette 2
H: Owen Houser 18, Tyler Carpenter 16, Caleb Donathan 10, Layton Donohew 8, Riley Wallace 8, Aaron Dang 4
CONSOLATION: Walnut Grove 73, Morrisville 40 – FINAL – PHOTOS
Morrisville – 6-12-10-12 — 40
Walnut Grove – 23-20-17-13 — 73
M: Gavin McKinney 9, Darren Bruegman 7, Kolton Arthur 6, Tarekegn Gianfaldoni 4, Cash Graves 3, Kohyn Raney 3, Coltin Jett 2, Blake Salyer 2
W: Chase Brown 16, Ethan Kelley 14, Ryder Boone 11, Sam Voris 11, Diesl Phillips 7, Montana McVay 6, Kaden Albert 5, Case Shuler 2, Charlie Smith 1
