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Sports

McCluer North Boys Basketball Head to Columbia

With a win over Vianney Saturday, the Stars will be in Columbia to seek its second consecutive title.

In any sport, experienced, veteran, championship teams don't panic early when they might be playing a little tight in a big game.

The boys’ basketball team faced this situation Saturday against Vianney in a Missouri Class 5 quarterfinal at the University of Missouri at St. Louis.

The Stars defeated the Golden Griffins 63-54, led the entire game and were never really in any trouble. North (26-1) has won 24 straight games.

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The top-ranked team in the area heads to Columbia, MO Thursday in search of a second straight state title. The Stars face Lee's Summit West (26-3) at 8:30 p.m. at Mizzou Arena.

There was a short stretch early in the first quarter when North could have been playing catch up. The Stars led 9-2 late in the first quarter before George Suggs scored from the top of the key to snap a span when Vianney missed seven straight shots.

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"We were real tight in the first quarter," . "We came in expecting a lot from Vianney, and we had to play within our offense and stop their 3-point shooting on defense. After a while, we started to loosen up and get into the game."

Stars coach Randy Reed said the Vianney defense made his club work for points.

"Vianney is a good team, and they played good man-to-man defense," Reed said. "They played solid. They're a good team. We wanted to make them an athletic team more than a cerebral scoring team."

Vianney (27-2) never could overcome the poor early shooting stretch. Combined with a patient attack on offense and consistent defense from North, the Golden Griffins were doomed.

After that slow first quarter, the Stars offense went into action.

Senior forward Galen Brown, who led North with 19 points, gave the Stars a 16-8 lead at 2 minutes, 48 seconds when he scored from under the basket. Granger scored on a pretty turn around jump shot with 2 minutes left for a 20-10 lead.

Brown killed any thought of a Vianney comeback by scoring seven points early in the third quarter. Granger connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 30-16 lead with 4:50 remaining.

Reed was looking for a scoring spurt from somebody to set the pace. He wasn't surprised when Brown got hot.

"I said one of you guys is going to have to step up and get hot, and we're going to open this thing up a little bit," Reed said. "It was Galen Brown, the Suburban North Player of the Year. That's all we needed, one run, to get us going and get a lead."

Brown said he felt ready for the challenge and was at ease against Vianney.

"My team kept feeding me," Brown said. "We were very prepared this week, and we really did our homework and we were ready."

Granger, despite finishing with 18, didn't get going until the second half. He twisted his ankle in the first quarter but was near himself down the stretch.

"I twisted my ankle going for a rebound, but I'm fine," Granger said. "He (Brown) told me at halftime he was ready. That is Galen Brown. He went on a scoring tear. That's the type of player he is."

With the Stars chipping away and enjoying an eight to 10 point lead, North went into defensive shell.

"I wanted to get that lead, control the tempo and spread them out," Reed said. "We needed to take good shots, control the clock with good clock management. I just told them to give me a 10-point lead and I'll bring you home."

The Golden Griffins attempted a brief comeback late in the game with some effective 3-point shooting. Vianney had four 3-pointers down the stretch, but it wasn't enough to catch the Stars. Troy Cochran led Vianney with 15 points, all of which were scored in the final quarter. Brad Woodson added 14.

"I'm so happy for these guys," said Reed, who is looking to guide his club to a third title in the last six years. " This team has played well all year long. I'm very proud of them."

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