Class 1 Championship Standouts: Dora vs St. Elizabeth

<p>Dora and St. Elizabeth squared off in JQH Arena Friday night with the Class 1 State Championship on the line. After heartbreak ended Dora’s season in the title game last year, the Falcons finished the job this time with a 59-49 victory. They finish their magical run with a 32-2 record. Here’s a look at the standouts from the Class 1 title tilt:</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em>Most Valuable Player</em></strong></span>: <em><strong>6’2 Jr [player_tooltip player_id="824115" first="Isaac" last="Haney"] | Dora</strong></em></p> <p>Isaac followed up his sensational semi-final performance with another dominant showing in Dora’s championship victory. He buried two triples early and knocked down a deep dagger three late in the game. He was effective as always slicing and dicing his way into the lane and dishing to teammates or cashing in around the bucket. He was a man on a mission this weekend and capped things off with a game high 25 points and 6 rebounds.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Paint Patrol</strong></em></span>: <strong>6’4 Jr Waylon Masters | Dora, 6’7 Sr [player_tooltip player_id="822923" first="Ross" last="Struemph"] &amp; 6’4 Sr Brady Heckemeyer | St. Elizabeth</strong></p> <p>Masters was masterful for Dora in the championship win. He did an excellent job defending the paint against a tall, long St. Elizabeth team. He battled on the glass and was an uber-efficient finisher at the rim. Waylon finished with 16 points on 8 of 10 from the floor and hauled in 7 rebounds.</p> <p>Struemph was excellent Thursday night in the semi-finals, and while he didn’t have his best game in the final he made his presence felt to cap off a tremendous career. The big man scored 10 points in the lane, eclipsing the 2000 point mark for his career. He also collected 4 rebounds. Heckemeyer was tough in the paint as well, pumping in 11 points and just missing a double-double with 9 big rebounds for the Hornets. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Stat Sheet Stuffers</strong></em></span>: <em><strong>5’11 Jr’s Bryson/Mason/[player_tooltip player_id="824208" first="Auston" last="Luna"] | Dora</strong></em></p> <p>The Luna trio made valuable contributions up and down the stat sheet in route to a big championship win. Bryson had 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. He had a pair of big baskets later in the game including a tough hoop and harm finish. Bryson had 8 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He has a great nose for the ball and seems to always be in the right place at the right time. Auston only scored 1 point but had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals to make his mark on the game. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Sharp-shooting Hornets</strong></em></span>: <em><strong>5’10 Sr Coltin Green, 6’4 Sr [player_tooltip player_id="822978" first="Nolan" last="Heckemeyer"] &amp; 6’4 Jr Carson Kesel | St. Elizabeth</strong></em></p> <p>This Hornets trio combined to knock down 6 three pointers on the game, with each knocking down two a piece individually. They combined for 23 of St. Elizabeth’s 49 points on the night and kept them very much in the game until the very end.</p>