U-City Boys Stifle Westminster With Defense and Slam; Win District Semifinal

CLAYTON--The University City High varsity boys basketball team has been on a roll lately.

Heading into Wednesday’s Class 4 District 6 semifinal game at Clayton High against Westminster Christian Academy, the Lions had won nine of their previous 12 contests thanks to a mixture of high-flying offense and stifling, high-pressure defense.

On Wednesday though, U-City gave a virtuoso performance, holding a very good Westminster ballclub to 29 percent shooting, and forcing 24 turnovers in a 49-40 win over the Wildcats.

“We’ve worked all season on our man-to-man defense,” U-City head coach David Gannon said. “It wasn’t pretty at the beginning of the season. But we just stuck with it, and the kids are now starting to understand the concept of team defense, not just individual defense.”

The Lions, who never trailed, were brilliant on defense right from the outset, holding Westminster without a point for the first seven minutes of the game.  

The Wildcats did get going a bit in the second quarter, pulling as close as 16-13 two minutes before halftime. But U-City, sparked by a fastbreak jam by senior Demond Tillman, reeled off a quick 7-1 spurt to take a 23-14 lead into intermission.

“All night long, it seemed like we picked the right time to step up on defense,” Gannon said. “The kids were talking more, communicating more on defense, and it showed in our play.”

That was especially evident in the fourth quarter, when U-City took firm control of the game. Senior Brandon Wagner got the Lions started early in the fourth, when he drained back-to-back three-pointers that gave the Lions a 39-29 lead.

From that point on, U-City turned up the D, and never let Westminster get closer than nine points.

“I hope this sets a precedent for the rest of our season, however long that is,” Gannon said. “Going into next year, we have to know that defense is what’s going to win us games.”

Three U-City players reached double-figures in scoring Wednesday night. Wagner and Junior Travon Williams each had 11, while sophomore Jeffrey McGhee had a game-high 12 points for the Lions, who now boast a 17-9 record.

Williams made sure he put a proper exclamation point on the win, when he drove down the lane with less than a minute left, for a highlight reel monster jam that brought all the U-City fans to their feet, and had the entire Lions bench pointing and high-fiving.

“That was pretty amazing,” Gannon said. “He’s done probably three dunks I can remember right off the top of my head that were just incredible this year. You certainly don’t expect a junior to be able to do that.”

The high-flying and rim-rocking Lions will be looking to win their first boys basketball district championship since 1986, when they face top-seeded Clayton High in the championship game Friday.

U-City suffered one of its worst losses of the season on Feb. 7 when it last played Clayton at Clayton.

The Greyhounds (21-6) torched U-City to in an 82-64 win that night, and Gannon said there was very little he liked about how his team played that night.

“I think we were a bit overhyped (emotionally) in that game,” Gannon said. “There’s a lot of friendships between the two teams, and guys were too excited to play. This time, I think they realize, it’s about business. There’s no more time to mess around, you’ve just got to win.”

The Lions will be looking to do just that when Friday’s championship game at Clayton High School tips off at 8 p.m.