CBC tops Cardinal Ritter: Standouts

<p>The basketball rivalry between CBC and Cardinal Ritter has been a good one throughout the years and has reached a new level in recent years with both head coaches being friends, former CBC high school teammates and having coached with each other. </p> <p>CBC’s Justin Tatum and Ritter’s Ryan Johnson were teammates on CBC’s state championship team back in 1997 that also included All-American Larry Hughes. Tatum and Johnson have gone on become state championship winning coaches who have turned their respective programs into two of the elites in the state of Missouri. </p> <p>Last year’s CBC-Ritter matchup saw the visiting Cadets pull out an 83-82 victory behind 40 points from McDonald’s All-American and area player of the year [player_tooltip player_id="580366" first="Caleb" last="Love"], who is now at the University of North Carolina. </p> <p>On Thursday afternoon, Ritter traveled to CBC seeking revenge and gave the Cadets all they could handle in a back-and-forth contest. But it was CBC, which blew a 15-point lead in the second half, that emerged with a 74-69 victory down the stretch.</p> <p>Here is a quick look at some of the standouts from this non-conference showdown:</p> <p><strong>CBC (2-0)</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="984502" first="Rob" last="Martin"], 5-10, junior, G</strong></p> <p>Martin led CBC with 17 points and, like usual, provided a steady hand throughout all four quarters, with drives to the basket, knocking down mid-range pull-ups and setting up his teammates for open shots. He scored five points in the first quarter and then four points in each of the remaining three quarters. He came up clutch down the stretch to help the Cadets pull out the victory. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="994449" first="Chevy" last="Brenson"], 6-4, senior, G</strong></p> <p>The former University of Illinois football commitment – he’s reopened his recruiting since former coach Lovie Smith was fired – was a key contributor to CBC’s semifinalist squad a year ago and is now leading the way as just one of two seniors on the roster. Brenson has battled foul trouble in the Cadets’ first two games, but was able to stay in the game late and, along with Martin, made a difference down the stretch. He scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="985417" first="Mikhail" last="Abdul-Hamid"], 6-5, junior, G</strong></p> <p>Abdul-Hamid has one of the sweetest 3-point strokes around and when he’s on, it’s fun to watch. He got hot in the first quarter against Ritter, knocking down three 3-pointers, on his way to 12 first-half points. He didn’t score in the second half, but those first-half points were critical.</p> <p><strong>Eric Holmes, 6-8, junior, F</strong></p> <p>Holmes was a surprise addition to the Cadets’ starting lineup and made a huge impact. He was active inside on both ends of the floor and finished with a career-high 10 points. As good as CBC has been the past few seasons, they’ve done it without much size inside. If Holmes, the tallest player on the roster, can continue to make an impact on the boards and defensively this team could go to another level. </p> <p><strong>Cardinal Ritter (3-3)</strong></p> <p>NOTE: The Lions fell to 3-3 with the loss, but those three losses have come against Springfield Kickapoo, Chaminade and now CBC – arguably the top three Class 6 schools in the state. Ritter, which won the Class 3 championship a year ago, will be a formidable force in Class 4 this spring.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="824116" first="Mario" last="Fleming"], senior, G-F</strong></p> <p>Fleming and the Lions came out shooting the ball well early against CBC, knocking down four 3-pointers in a little more than one quarter. Fleming set the tone early with nine points in the first quarter and 13 points in the first half, including two 3-pointers. He helped stretch an athletic CBC defense to help teammates get open looks and finished with a game-high 19 points. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="984505" first="Luther" last="Burden"], junior, G</strong></p> <p>The University of Oklahoma football commit is worth the price of admission in basketball too. Burden was scoreless in the first quarter but still finished with 15 points, including nine in the third quarter that helped fuel Ritter’s comeback. He hit a buzzer beater from near mid court to close the third quarter. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1045827" first="Braxton" last="Stacker"], junior, G</strong></p> <p>Yet another dangerous scoring option for the Lions, Stacker scored nine of his 14 points in the second half to put Cardinal Ritter in position to pull out the victory.</p>