Chadwick boys basketball claims program’s first state title in dominant fashion

By Chris Parker

Chadwick entered the Class 1 state championship game chasing a history that they were reminded of every practice.

There is a banner in Chadwick’s home gym commemorating the boys basketball team’s best ever season: a third place state finish with a 28-3 record in 1997.

“I played on the team in 1997. We talked about it all year. They just kept eyeing that banner. We were 28-3. The best record in the history of Chadwick,” Chadwick coach Shawn Guerin said. “They eye-balled that banner all year long, and I said I will gladly pass it off to you. They just went 29-3 today. They are the only boys team in the history of Chadwick to be state champions.”

They will need to make room for a 2024 banner in the gym after Chadwick dominated Braymer 67-38 in the Class 1 state championship game on Saturday.

The Cardinals dominated from tip to buzzer.

They led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter and 16 in the second quarter. Defensively, Chadwick forced 18 turnovers in the game with 15 steals. Chadwick scored 24 points off turnovers and outscored Braymer 46-14 in the paint.

“Our energy was great,” Guerin said. “We use the word intensity a lot. We want to practice hard and play hard.”

Clayton Garrison led the charge with 24 points, 15 rebounds and five steals. Grady Preston added in 21 points and Tristan Smith had 11.

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME

The victory put Chadwick’s motto ‘we thing’ on full display, as the players on the court fed off the energy from a large crowd who made the trip up to Columbia.

“We started this thing six or seven years ago (saying) it is a ‘we’ thing,” Guerin said. “It isn’t just those nine guys on the floor. It is the coaches. We knew if it starts in the locker room that it then goes to the staff and then it will go to the community. It takes everything to make this whole thing happen. It is a we thing. There is a huge sign in our that says ‘we thing’. We believe in it. We say it every huddle and it takes all of them.”

Chadwick (29-3) graduates three seniors in Preston, Mason Rogers and Seth Combs.

The returning players will hope to take the lessons learned from the seniors and put it towards a run at another state championship.

“It is the greatest feeling in the world playing with these older guys,” freshman Creek Guerin said. “You learn so much from them. It is going to be sad seeing them gone, but we learned so much from them hopefully we can take their spots.”