The first day of the 2009 Saints Classic just came to a close after four great games.  Shawnee Mission Northwest beat Mill Valley, Washburn-Rural beat Shawnee Mission South, Saint Thomas Aquinas beat Northeast-KCMO and Bishop Miege beat Bishop Carroll. Yes, I did really go to all four of the games and sit just to watch and write for you lovely people.

SMNW 67       Mill Valley 40

The SMNW Cougars were led by Ryan Arel.  This kid is impressive.  He has a smooth shot and knows how to move with the ball he finished with 23 points.  The team as a whole moves together and is dangerous with crisp passes and quick transition game.  It is no surprise why these guys are so highly regarded.  AJ Spencer also impressed me.  He moves well in the lane and cuts for lay-ups easily.  He did however leave the game with an apparent ankle injury which was wrapped with ice.

The Mill Valley Jaguars were over-all out played.  They were led by senior Sterling Roaf who finished with 7 points.  They seemed to be thrown off by the match-zone and had trouble when they were contained to the half-court game.

Washburn-Rural 61      Shawnee Mission South 37

The Washburn Rural Junior Blues showed up with only four “super-fans”, but brought the intensity it took to win the game.   They were led by Bobby Chipman who finished with 17. 

The SMS Raiders were led by junior Will Spradling who finished the game with 18 after starting the game 3-4 from three-point-range to score his teams only nine points in the first quarter.

The game seemed to go well, and I apologize that my coverage is a little weak.  I snuck home for pot roast during the game.

Saint Thomas Aquinas 61         Northeast-KCMO 50

Aquinas students were let out of school over a half-hour early from school, so that generated excitement for the game.  The Saints started with an interesting line-up because normal starter Beau Bourquin sat out the first half.  In his place Mike Rzeszut started.  Zach Bourquin led scorers with 21 points while Kevin Sweeney and Beau each contributed 10.  The Saints looked pretty good coming off a tough loss to Blue Valley Northwest in league play.

Northeast was impressively led by Daylen Robinson who with 25 points scored half of their total.  He was versatile hitting three-pointers, jumpshots and a couple free-throws. He was fast and powerful with the ball. Overall, he was an impressive player and the Aquinas players agreed that he was one of the fastest players that they have guarded.

Bishop Miege 60          Bishop Carroll 43

Miege was led by their traditional trifecta of Rodney Givens, Trevor Relefor and Justin McCay.  They all scored in double-figures while Releford led the team with 17 points.  His older brother, current KU player, Travis Releford looked on.  One of the most fascinating plays of the night was a monster-dunk by Curtis Okafor which sent the whole gym into shock.  It was powerful and perfect.  From the way the team played, it is not hard to realize their unbeaten status and they will be a force as tournament play continues.  They are also the defending champions.

The Bishop Carroll Golden Eagles were led by stand-out junior Blake Bell.  He finished the game with 21 points.  Bell is also recognized for his football skills.  Listed at 6-6 200, he is a powerful and versatile quarterback and power-forward.  Scoring almost half of his team’s 43 points is was obvious that he was the star of his team.  For a while it even appeared that he would never miss.

After an exciting first day, the brackets are updated and the next round begins.  Tomorrow look for:

Northeast-KCMO vs. Mill Valley @ 3:00

SMS vs. Bishop Carroll @ 4:45

Washburn Rural vs. Bishop Miege @ 6:30

STA vs. SMNW @ 8:00