Town and Country - EJ Williams never saw her coming.
A senior guard for the Westminster boys' basketball team, Williams had been working hard on the court with the hope of a game-tying or game-winning shot in the final seconds. The way the winter went, it would not have been out of the question.
Only Braxton Stacker had other ideas.
Stacker, a senior guard to Cardinal Ritter, chased Williams and pushed the ball from behind to give the Lions a 50-48 win over Westminster in the Class 5 District 3 Championship in Westminster on Saturday night.
"I was able to pull it off," Stacker said.
3 small school in the STLhighschoolsports.com rankings and Class 5 champion, Ritter (19-9) advanced to play at 7:45 p.m. from No. 9 small school St. Dominic's (23-5). March 12 at St. Louis Community College-Mermec.
The Lions have won six games in a row and have won 12 of their last 13 games. 3 seed in the District behind No. 1 Westminster and No. 2 Dee Smet, Ritter had the toughest road to the District Championship in Missouri and lived to play another day.
The 2020 Class 3 champions, the Lions were unconcerned about the Wildcats team, which was the best in the state throughout the season. With hard wins over CBC and Vashon and an impressive performance at Chaminade, Westminster (26–2, No. 1 small school) looked like a team that could finish the season as a champion. But the defending champions were not ready to give up their title.
"They've beaten top teams across the state. I expected it [to come in the last play]," said Ritter coach Ryan Johnson. "But it was good for my team to find a way to accomplish this."
The stacker was in motion all night at both ends of the court. A 6-foot-5 Murray stat signe, Stacker scored 16 points, participated in nine rebounds and blocked two shots. His second block was the masterpiece of Hustle. He and Westminster junior guard Coby Williams ran each other into the backcourt for a loose ball. Williams won the race and threw the ball the other way. Caleb Thompson goes for a wide open layup, only for Stacker to come flying and bat the ball off the rim and backboard. The Wildcats recovered the loose ball but missed their next shot and Ritter spoiled the rebound.
"I was just going out, trying to play and leaving it all on the line," Stacker said. "He went upstairs, I jumped too far, didn't know I was going to be there, trying not to be foul and thankfully I made a play."
Senior guard Jordan Nichols scored 16 points and made five rebounds. He was particularly effective early in the game as he penetrated through the teeth of Westminster's defense and reached the rim where he was able to attract several fouls. A four-year varsity veteran, Nichols hit all eight of his free throw attempts in the first half.
"It was intense for real," Nichols said. "The crowd was loud, it was hard to focus on those free throws and knock them down."
Ritter led 25-19 at halftime and extended that lead to 36-29 going into the fourth quarter.
Westminster began the final period with an 8–2 run, reducing the lead to 38–37 when Coby Williams dropped a 3-pointer with 6:08 to play. He finished with 10 points, two rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Westminster tied the game at 39 in less than a minute when Thompson dropped a mid-range shot. He finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
Ritter responded as Stacker took a jumper who missed but chased down his shot and was able to catch the rebound and stick it back with 5:05 to play. The Lions would not give up the lead for the rest of the game.
"Amazing basketball," Johnson said. "They make plays like this, with loose balls were few and far between (makes all the difference)."
EJ Williams made a hustle of his own and he stole the inbound pass from the Ritter timeout and went the other way for an easy lay-up that took a 45-43 lead with 1:43 to go.
Ritter senior position Robert Lewis downed a tough runner near the paint to give the Lions some breathing room with 1:07. Lewis finished with seven points, five rebounds and a block.
Lewis had a chance to snow the game with 22 seconds to play, but made it 50-45 by hitting only one of his two free throws. Westminster senior guard Kaysen Lawrence dropped a 3-pointer, making the score 50-48, with 8 seconds to play.
Lawrence finished with 14 points. A significant part of Westminster's offense, Lawrence had to struggle with every neat look she could get all night.
Westminster coach Dale Ribble said, "He did a good job on some of our ball screen action, where we ran some stuff for Keeson." "I thought they did a really good job of sticking to that."
After Lawrence went inside a 3-pointer, Ritter passed the ball to Stacker, who was quickly fouled. He stepped over the free throw line and missed both to leave the door open for the Wildcats.
When he threw the ball away to seal the victory, he immediately struck it off.
After the hard-fought victory, Ritter celebrated fiercely. It still survives on a playoff road that has been down before.
"The job isn't done," Johnson said. "We are delighted to have another opportunity to be back on that road."
Westminster wondered what could have happened. A rebound here, a loose ball there and maybe the Wildcats will still be playing. Despite Saturday's result, Ribble couldn't say enough about his team this season.
"I am very proud of my team and our senior class," said Ribble. “He has left a legacy here at Westminster that will last a lifetime. The group has done some landmark work for Westminster boys' basketball.