By Chris Parker
Defending Class 1 state champion Chadwick found itself in a battle through the first half of its Class 1 state semifinal matchup against Wheatland.
Chadwick led throughout the first quarter, but in the second quarter Wheatland turned it on and led by as many as four points. The Cardinals clawed back into the lead to carry a 27-25 advantage into the half.
Everything changed in the third quarter.
Chadwick held Wheatland to one third-quarter point and poured it on offensively on the way to a 60-30 win.
“At halftime we discussed what we needed to do differently. I think we thought we could put some pressure on them early. They handled the pressure pretty well. We made an adjustment at halftime, and we knew we had to talk better on the high screens,” Chadwick head coach Shawn Guerin said. “CG (Clayton Garrison) did a good job on the high screens. Tristan (Smith) is our leader on the back line. He really does a good job of talking and on the shifts where we need to go.”
Smith was a catalyst for some easy buckets off steals that helped get Chadwick rolling in the third quarter
“They say basketball is a game of momentum,” Smith said. “Once we started getting those easy buckets everything just started flowing and coming to us, more energy. The crowd was going crazy, and we are all going crazy. It is an energy thing for us.”
For Garrison’s part, he did a little bit of everything, coming one block shy of a triple-double with 18 points, 17 rebounds and 9 assists.
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“I know that whenever we get going on defense that is how we get our offensive buckets faster,” Garrison said. “I knew that if I could get rebounds off their missed shots and get blocked shots then we could get up and down the floor.”
The Chadwick defense held Wheatland without a made field goal in the second half until the 2:28 mark of the fourth quarter. The Mules went 2-for-18 from the field in the second half.
The big lead allowed for Chadwick to get 10 total players into the game. A late basket by one of those players could have Garrison looking much differently in the near future.
“They (non-starters) talk to us about going in the game all the time. I told one of them that I would buzz my head if he had two points, and he got two points tonight,” Garrison said. “I don’t know if I will do it.”
“The kid brought it up after the game and all I hear (from Garrison) is ‘I didn’t shake on it’,” Smith said.
While Chadwick found room for levity in the waning stages of Friday’s semifinal win, Saturday will be all business.
“We started a mission five months ago. We were here last year. We won it. We were the hunter last year. Now we are the hunted. We have been the hunted for four months straight. We get everybody’s best shot everywhere we go. Tomorrow we are going to get the best shot from (St. Eilzabeth). These guys have to be ready for that if we are going to be state champions. We made the schedule to prepare them for this moment and hopefully it pans out,” Guerin said. “The message for these guys is you have to want it more than they want it.”
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Chadwick plays St. Elizabeth in the Class 1 state championship game at 6 pm on Saturday at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
For Wheatland, Saturday’s third place game will mark the end of the careers for three seniors
“We don’t want this half, this game, to define what they (the seniors) have done for us. This is the first group (of seniors) to win 80 games. They have been very consistent. We won district their freshman year and been in the district championship all four years,” Wheatland head coach Brian Pearson said. “It is not just the wins, but it is the way they have carried themselves. We are tough on them and demand a lot of them. We demand them being at practice. If you can walk, we want you at practice. They have fought through sickness and injuries to make sure they are there setting the standard for our younger kids. Off the court, character-wise you couldn’t ask for better people. They are good students for our younger kids to look up to. They set a great example. I could not be prouder to coach high-character kids like that. You are catching us on a bad taste right now, but overall if you step back and look, I couldn’t be more proud of the three dudes I am sitting up here with.”
Wheatland will play Braymer in the Class 1 third place game at 12 pm.
The senior group wants their last act in a Wheatland uniform to be a winning one.
“I try to set and example to (the younger kids) because when I was their age, I remember watching our high school team and wanting to play on that team and do great things,” Wheatland senior Braden Sawyer said. “Now we are here, and my last game is tomorrow. I really want to show everyone that if you put in the work and if you have good teammates and you work together then you can do anything.”
