Having not faced each other in the Gene Steighorst Tournament at Hillsboro the week before, the Windsor and Festus boys basketball teams collided Dec. 17 at Festus as both schools opened their Jefferson County Activities Association large-schools schedule.
The Owls found the range from the 3-point arc early and often and kept the hosts at bay all night for a 70-56 victory. Windsor improved to 5-3 while the Tigers slipped to 2-2. Both are chasing Hillsboro (4-1), the defending large-schools champion. The teams each play a home-and-home series, and Festus will visit Windsor Feb. 14.
“We wanted to throw some pressure at them, but with the way the game flowed it turned into more of a half-court game,” Windsor head coach Brian Gilbert said. “The boys put four quarters together. It was our most complete game of the year.”
And yet another in which senior guard Layton Hollis scored 20 or more points. Hollis sank five of seven 3-point shots, hit 10 of 16 from the field and finished with 28 points. At 21 points per game, he’s among the top 15 scorers in the St. Louis area, although he’s well off the pace of sharpshooting Vianney guard Luke Walsh at 39.8 points per game.
“(Hollis) is a hell of a player, but a better leader and a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve,” Gilbert said. “He keeps the young guys locked in. He’s the whole package right now. We’ve got a lot of guys chipping in. A lot of guys around him (are) believing in themselves.”
One of those is sophomore guard Colby Blake, who drilled seven of nine shots from the field and scored 16 points to go with seven rebounds.
“Colby stepped up and played great defense,” Gilbert said. “Every day Colby gets in the gym he gets better. Sam Becker is our sophomore point guard who gets us into our spots.”
The Owls led 22-16 after the first quarter and expanded it to 38-27 by halftime. The visitors finished with 10 treys.
Too much, said Festus head coach Dan Johnson.
“They made a bunch of 3s in the first quarter and it seemed like they didn’t stop,” Johnson said. “We switched defenses a few times and never consistently slowed them down. After halftime I thought we played them even. We cut it to six a couple times, but couldn’t get it back to even on the scoreboard.”
Junior guard Drew Johnson, the coach’s son, could give Hollis a run for his money all season as the top scorer on either side of the JCAA. With 25 points against the Owls, Johnson was nearly half of his team’s offense. He shot 66 percent (10 of 15) from the field and can drop multiple bombs from outside, so it’s best for the Tigers if he keeps shooting.
“Drew had an efficient night,” Dan Johnson said. “We didn’t get enough scoring from other people. But it was (mostly) a defensive issue for us. We shouldn’t give up 70 points.”
Windsor outrebounded Festus 25-16, but Tiger junior Aiden Clifton grabbed a game-high 11, nine on the defensive end. Clifton has only a few practices under his belt after playing for the school’s football team in the Class 4 state championship this month.
“He had to come out a few times with fatigue, but he started showing flashes of what he can be,” Johnson said. “As soon as he gets his stamina back, that will help us on both ends of the floor.”
The inside play of Owl junior post/guard Xander Smith helped soften the coverage of the perimeter. Smith logged seven points, 10 rebounds and six blocked shots.
“Xander was a grown man inside,” Gilbert said. “He battled with their big man (Clifton). Xander answered the call. It was fun to watch him compete and battle.”
While their classmates head home for the holiday break, Festus was scheduled to visit Jackson (6-2) Dec. 20, after the Leader holiday deadline, for an impromptu game to fill a hole in both teams’ schedules. The Indians are led by senior guard Kole Deck, who torched Cape Girardeau Notre Dame for 25 points in a 52-45 win Dec. 13. Jackson is a tough place to play for all Jefferson County sports teams.
“Why not (play)?” Johnson said. “Battle-test ourselves. They’re as good as advertised – probably not a state championship team yet, but they’re probably better than any of the teams on our schedule. No offense to those teams.”
The Tigers begin play as the No. 5 seed in the 68th Bob Sechrest Jr. Christmas Tournament at Park Hills Central against the host Rebels (3-4), who are a highly uncharacteristic No. 12 seed.
Windsor lost 70-60 to Hillsboro at the Steighorst Tournament, and the two squared off again Dec. 20 at Hillsboro. The Owls are off until Jan. 3, when they host Perryville in another conference game.
“The job’s not done,” Gilbert said. “We came into this game (against Festus) knowing it was going to be a battle. We got one here. They’ll want to do the same at our place.”