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<p>Grain Valley and Rock Bridge played one of the most exciting games of the postseason last season. Rock Bridge prevailed in a four overtime thriller in the first round of the district playoffs.</p>
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<p>The two teams met again on Tuesday night in the first round of the Class 6, District 7 tournament at Grain Valley.</p>
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<p>Once again, the two teams needed overtime to settle the issue. This time, Grain Valley came away with a 37-35 victory in a tough low-scoring game.</p>
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<p>Here is look at the Top Five Stars from the Grain Valley-Rock Bridge game.</p>
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<p>NO. 1 STAR: Samuel Pendergrass (Grain Valley)</p>
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<p>The 6'7" 2026 forward scored a game-high 14 points as he displayed a very physical presence in the low post. When his team was struggling early, he scored the first eight points of the game. He was getting good seals in the post and finishing very well. He also added a couple of buckets late in regulation. He was controlling the action inside with his size and physicality. </p>
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<p>******</p>
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<p>No. 2 STAR: [player_tooltip player_id='1775703' first='Eli' last='Herbert'] (Grain Valley): The 6'4" 2026 guard scored 10 points on the evening. The Liberty U. recruit was the main focus of the Bruins' defense, but he came through with some big buckets when his team needed it. The biggest one came when he scored on a tough drive in the lane with 30 seconds in overtime to break a 35-35 tie. It turned out to be the winning points of the game.</p>
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<p>******</p>
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<p></p>
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<p>NO. 3 STAR: Bookee Kritza (Rock Bridge)</p>
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<p>The 6'2" 2027 guard scored a team-high 13 points for the Bruins. He was at his best when he was slashing in the lane and scoring touch buckets in traffic. He was in attack mode throughout the game. He showed good body control as he finished well with both hands on his drives.</p>
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<p>*****</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/IMG_9760.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/03/IMG_9760.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-3539787" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
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<p>NO. 4 STAR: Anthony Juarez (Grain Valley)</p>
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<p>The 6'4" 2026 forward scored eight points as he provided some timely perimeter shooting for the Eagles. With the score tied 23-23 in the third quarter, he hit back to back 3-pointers to give the Eagles a 29-23 lead. He has a quick release and a nice shooting stroke from long distance.</p>
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<p>******</p>
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<p>NO. 5 STAR: [player_tooltip player_id='2207940' first='Donovan' last='Parris'] (Rock Bridge)</p>
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<p>The 6'2" 2026 guard scored seven points, including the driving layup at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime. He drove straight through the middle of the defense and scored on a left-handed layup. He also knocked down an open 3-pointer in the third quarter.</p>
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<p></p>
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<p></p>
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Grain Valley and Rock Bridge played one of the most exciting games of the postseason last season. Rock Bridge prevailed in a four overtime thriller in the first round of the district playoffs.
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