On Wednesday Night, the Chaminade varsity basketball team traveled to Danis Field House and beat the St. Louis University High Jr. Billikens for the eighth straight time.

Following the victory over their Jesuit rivals, CCP moved to 5-0 in the Metro Catholic Conference and are now just three wins away from going undefeated in conference play. Winning the MCC would be a first for every player on the team as Chaminade has not won the conference since the 2018 season. With the conference title clearly in sight, the Red Devils’ had all the motivation they needed in their 64-40 victory over the Jr. Billikens.

After Tarris Reed Jr. won the opening tip, the first 5 minutes and 40 seconds of the first quarter were filled with mostly slow, ugly basketball. Damien Mayo scored Chaminade’s first seven points with a layup, a put-back off his own miss and a three pointer. Unfortunately, Nick Kramer came out with that same spark, as the junior guard had six of SLUH’s first nine points. After seeing the 6’4 combo guard nail a three pointer off a baseline inbounds pass, Coach Frank Bennett called timeout trailing 9-7.

Coming out of the timeout, senior Mark Jackson sank a transition three and Chaminade kept the lead for the remainder of the game. The scoring kept up with a two-handed dunk by Tarris Reed. Following the monster jam, CCP’s 6’10 center hit a three throw and that would do it for Chaminade’s first quarter scoring, ending the quarter on top 13-11.

Filip Sinobad got in on the scoring when he drained a corner three pointer. SLUH’s Nicholas Witcher quickly responded with a three of his own however, cutting the lead to 16-14. A Chaminade five-point swing followed due to a Nilavan Daniels trey ball at the top of the arch as well as a Nate Straughter layup. While SLUH would proceed to only score four more first half points, Damien Mayo and Nate Straughter kept the Chaminade buckets coming bringing the score to 30-18 headed into halftime.

During the fifteen-minute intermission, Coach Bennett complimented the squad on their first half performance, specifically the second quarter, “Our turnovers are down, you’re looking to make the extra pass, and you’re hitting shots.” There was a focused optimism going into the second half.

To open the third quarter, Tarris Reed received the ball in the paint, put his shoulder down, and forced his way under the basket to knockdown a layup. Aaron Walker Jr. responded with a layup of his own. Reed kept up the scoring by going one-for-two at the charity strike and then slamming down a rim-rattling dunk which sent the CCP bench to their feet. A Jaden McClain three and a Walker Jr. put back kept SLUH just within striking distance, however. Kramer sunk a turnaround jump shot, cutting the lead to eleven, but Mayo brought the lead right back up to thirteen with a beautiful euro step layup around the SLUH defense. The final two minutes of the third quarter were slow paced, with Reed’s one-handed dunk over Jaden McClain being the only score over that span. Before the final eight minutes of the contest began, Chaminade lead 41-28.

CCP’s 16-7 run over the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter started with a Sinobad floater which banked off the backboard. On the following possession, the Serbian forward rebounded his own miss and put the ball back in for a put back. A Jr. Billiken layup and three pointer cut into the Red Devil’s lead; however, Tarris Reed used a shifty post move to get over the top of Eric Piening and bring the lead back to 47-33. Damien Mayo rose high into the air to score a layup, but Jaden McClain went down and hit a deep two pointer on the other end. SLUH’s coach, Erwin Clagget, called timeout with 4:34 remaining in the game.

A 5-0 run by Chaminade followed. BJ Ward went one-for-two at the free throw line, as did Tarris Reed, but the 4 star big man had huge dunks which ballooned the CCP lead up to 20, and SLUH called another timeout. The Red Devils finished the last 2:54 of the game on a 9-5 run highlighted by a Nate Straughter floater and layup, a Mayo three ball, and two free throws by Reed. Chaminade won the contest 64-40.

MCC Record: 5-0

Current Record: 13-1

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