On the night of Monday, the 28^th, the eyes of the local high school basketball world fell upon 425 S. Lindbergh Boulevard with the intent of watching a rematch, four years in the making, between two of the best programs in the state. A battle of public versus private, city versus county, “The V” versus “The Nade.” Closed to the public, only a select number of family members from both schools were allowed to attend the game in person, with everyone else tuning in via live stream. Social media had become a battleground hours before the game, as alumni from both teams pledged their support with full confidence.

Vashon — with wins over McKinley, Sumner, South Iron, and St. Louis Christian Academy — came into the contest 4-0. Senior forward Nick Kern and senior guard Keshon Gilbert arrived both averaging over 10 points a game. The Wolverines didn’t bring much size with them, their tallest player being 6’5; however, they made up for it with a veteran team made up of mostly juniors and seniors.

6’5 Nick Kern beat Tarris Reed on the jump-ball, giving the Wolverines the first possession of the night. Vashon’s Trevon Love received a pass in the half court, drove to the rim, missed the shot, grabbed his own rebound, and made a put back layup to give the away team the first lead of the game. CCP responded on the other end however with a Nilavan Daniels 3. From there, Chaminade went on a 12-2 run off of shots from Daniels, Nate Straughter, and Reed. Vashon scored the last 4 points of the quarter however coming off layups from Keshon Gilbert and Trevon Love. After the first eight minutes, the score was Chaminade 14, Vashon 8.

To open the second frame, Recko Baily threw a lob pass high in the air to Keshon Gilbert, who couldn’t quite slam the ball down, but he was still able to settle for a lay in. A successful trip to the free-throw line by Reed paired with a Nilavan Daniels layup was answered by layups from Trevon Love and Kennard Davis, as well as one free-throw by Nick Kern. The score stood at 18-15 in favor of Chaminade when Nick Kern swished a three pointer in front of the Vashon faithful to tie the game at 4:12 left in the first half.

Tarris Reed quickly responded with a short footed Eurostep-like layup, but Kern was feeling it from downtown as the VCU sunk another three pointer, giving Vashon a 21-20 lead. Multiple trips to the free throw line by the Wolverines and a three pointer by Filip Sinobad put the score at 23-24 in favor of Vashon headed into halftime.

During the mid-game intermission, Coach Bennett told his players, “Their pressure is hurrying you guys up… If you play with some soundness in the half court, you’ll get whatever you want.” Having not faced a full court press like Vashon’s thus far into the season, Coach Bennett viewed the Wolverines tenacious defense as a “Great test for us.” He made his message clear to his squad: beat the press and get the ball into the half court.

Gilbert, a Nevada State commit, started to heat up in the second half, scoring the first five points of the third quarter off a three pointer and an offensive put back. The two sides continued trade socres back-and-fourth: A Nilavan Daniels float here, a Nick Kern three there, two free throws from Tarris Reed, a layup by Keshon Gilbert. Chaminade found themselves down six when Nate Straughter fired off a three from deep behind the arc, cutting the deficit to 31-34. As each team continued to score, it was a Tarris Reed layup right at the buzzer which sent the score to 36-38, Wolverines on top, headed into the fourth.

Monday Night’s last eight minutes began with a thrilling start: Keshon Gilbert finished at the rim with an up & under layup, Tarris Reed sunk two free throws, and then a Nick Kern travel gave the Red Devils the ball back which lead to Reed getting a spinning layup to fall while being fouled, and the four-star big man proceeded to hit the free-throw, putting Chaminade back on top for the first time since the second quarter. Kennard Davis then drove to the rim and scored a layup, but Reed followed that up with a jumper at the block to reclaim the lead. A thunderous block by CCP’s big man stopped a Vashon score and prompted Coach Bennett to call a timeout with 4:55 remaining in the ball game.

Daniels came out of the timeout with a 3, giving Chaminade a 4-point lead. For a split second in time, it felt as if the home team might start to pull away. Gilbert had other plans, however. The senior guard hit a corner 3, cutting his squad’s deficit to 1. He then proceeded to hit an and-1 layup, and just like that, Vashon was back up 48-46.

Damien Mayo hit a layup to tie the game, and the Wolverines couldn’t find bottom of the basket on the following possession, thus giving the ball back to the Chaminade. A Nilavan Daniels charge led to a CCP turnover, but Nate Straughter made up for it with a steal and a transition layup giving the Red Devils a 50-48 lead. Coach Tony Irons called timeout with 1:42 left to pause the game. Kennard Davis proceeded to go up-and-under to tie the game, and Coach Bennett called his own timeout. On the Red Devil inbounds, Trevon Love stole the ball, passed it to Keshon Gilbert who then hit a reverse layup and-one to bring the score to 50-53, Vashon. A CCP timeout followed.

After the home team got into the half court, BJ Ward found himself open enough to hit a potentially game tying three… the sophomore air balled, and a foul fest followed. Game, Set, Match.  Chaminade lost 55-52.

Overall Record: 4-1

MCC Record: 1-0

Next Game: Wednesday January 6^th away against Miller Career Academy 6:00.

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