Three-Pointer Lifts U City To Overtime Win In First Round Of Meramec Tournament

KIRKWOOD -- With the game on the line and the clock running down against No. 6-ranked Marquette High Tuesday night in a first-round game at the prestigious Meramec Holiday Basketball Tournament, University City boys basketball coach David Gammon wasn’t sure what, if anything, his team was going to do to win the game.

The coach had called a play, but with the Lions down a point and less than 30 seconds left in overtime, Gammon could see his team was a little anxious. And he wasn’t sure if his squad would run the play or not.

“I was sitting there thinking, ‘what are we going to do here?’” Gammon said. “Then he took the shot, and I thought, ‘oh, that’s what we're going to do.’”

The ‘he’ in question, was U. City senior Alex Henry, a kid who made a name for himself on the football field for the Lions last season as the fourth-leading receiver in the area, with 1,231 yards and 14 touchdowns.

But on Tuesday, Henry proved to be the man on the basketball court for the Lions as well, after knocking down a clutch three-pointer with 28.2 seconds left in that overtime that gave U. City a 56-54 win over the highly-ranked Mustangs.

“Oh man, it felt good coming off,” Henry said, as several jubilant teammates high-fived and celebrated behind him. “I had it lined up the whole time."

"I dipped in a couple times, and (the defender) wasn’t paying attention to me. So I was just hoping that once (teammate George Brown) penetrated and kicked it out….. man, I can’t explain it. I was just hoping it went in," said Henry.

It did, and it gave U. City a miraculous lead, after the Lions had blown an eight-point fourth-quarter lead and a two-point overtime lead as well.

Marquette senior Ryan Rosburg, a 6’8 behemoth whose headed to Mizzou next season, led the Mustangs back with a brilliant fourth-quarter and overtime, that nearly allowed his team to snatch victory from the jaws of a certain defeat.

Rosburg dominated the paint for 28 points, 21 rebounds, and at least five blocked shots, including a series of rejections in the final minute of regulation that allowed Marquette to grab a 50-48 lead with just 8.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

But U. City wouldn’t die, thanks mostly to senior Travon Williams, who led the Lions with 20 points on Tuesday, none bigger than the two free throws he made with 3.2 seconds left in regulation, after Rosburg fouled him on a last-second drive attempt.

In overtime, Williams made a sensational driving layup against three defenders that gave U. City a 52-51 lead, and he even helped keep alive a play moments later that allowed teammate Avion Ashford to add a free throw that gave the Lions a 53-51 advantage.

But that’s when Rosburg went back to work, and gave the Mustangs a 54-53 lead with a putback layup off a teammate’s miss with 1:02 left in the game.

“I thought in the first half, we did a good job of playing him tough, and keeping him from catching the ball,” Gammon said. “But Rosburg is unlike anything we’ve faced before. It was hard to hold him back.”

Fortunately, the Mustangs left just a bit too much time on the clock for the Lions, paving the way for Henry’s big-time three-ball to win the game.

“One of the reasons why I’m so glad Alex has worked his way back onto the team, is he’s just not scared,” Gammon said. “You know, you’ve got to have some warriors out there that aren’t timid. And that kid is just fearless out there.”

The victory lifted U. City to 7-2 on the season, but they won’t get much time to revel in Tuesday’s win, they’ll be right back in action in the second round of the Meramec Tournament, against Suburban South Conference rival Webster Groves on Wednesday.

The Statesmen defeated St. Charles West in their first round game on Tuesday, and will meet U. City at Meramec, Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The winner of that game will advance to the tournament semifinals on Thursday, with a chance to play for the championship on Friday.

“We always love getting to play Webster,” Gammon said. “(Coach Jay Blossom) is such a great guy, and he’s always been very helpful to me. So it’s always fun to play against Webster. And I’m a Webster alum, so that makes it fun too.”

LIONS RECRUITING NOTES: Scouts from as many as six colleges, including Southwestern Illinois College, were on hand to watch and evaluate U. City’s Travon Williams again.

The senior scoring machine has received interest from a number of schools throughout the Midwest, but probably won’t decide which school he’ll attend next season until after he’s taken all his recruiting visits and his entrance exam test scores come back later this winter.

Football star Alex Henry has gone on several recruiting trips already, and has named Tennessee-Martin, Murray State, and SIU-Carbondale as his top three choices for next season.