By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
From no wins, to a few wins, to district champions and the state final four.
Golden City’s magical turnaround over the last two seasons ended on a disappointing note Thursday night.
St. Elizabeth defeated Golden City 67-58 in the Class 1 boys’ Show-Me Showdown semifinals at JQH Arena.
Golden City was competing in the final four for the first time since 1997 and just the third time overall. The Eagles finished 9-18 overall two years ago and won four games in the 2016-17 season.
“All five of our seniors have meant a lot to this program,” said Golden City coach Bryon Reeves. “Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are.”
St. Elizabeth exploited its size advantage against a guard-heavy Golden City squad.
The Hornets got a game-high 26 points from 6’6” senior Ross Struemph. Three other St. Elizabeth players scored 10 apiece.
“Coming in, we knew Golden City was a perimeter-oriented team. So you hope (the size advantage) is there inside,” said St. Elizabeth coach Dillon Tenholder. “We were able to get that going early.”
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Arlo Stump led Golden City with 23 points. He became the program’s all-time leading scorer as a junior and finishes with nearly 3,000 career points.
“We have a heck of a team,” Stump said. “I wouldn’t want to play with anyone else. Without them, I wouldn’t have got some of the notoriety I did.”
Said Reeves: “The way Arlo can score, not many can do that.”
Golden City trailed by 14 midway through the fourth quarter but didn’t go down easily.
The Eagles got within single digits on four occasions over the final four minutes. Lane Dunlap’s 3-pointer cut St. Elizabeth’s lead to 62-55 with two minutes left, but the junior guard would foul out a minute later.
Dunlap finished with 15 points and Chain Parrill scored 14.
“Credit to our guys for executing what we needed to,” Tenholder said. “Every time we’d make a run and try to pull away, Golden City would come back with a run of their own. That’s what kept the game so close.”
Golden City shot 22-for-62 from the field overall, including 10-for-35 in the first half.
The Eagles trailed 36-25 at halftime and outscored St. Elizabeth by two in the second half.
“Ball just didn’t bounce our way a few times in the first half,” Reeves said. “But I thought we were getting good shots.”
Golden City finishes 27-3 overall. The Eagles’ other losses were against Weaubleau and Greenwood.
No 3rd place games will take place at the state championships this weekend due to Covid-19 (Coronavirus) concerns.
St. Elizabeth plays Dora at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the Class 1 title game.
St. Elizabeth 67, Golden City 58
Golden City 12 13 14 19 — 58
St. Elizabeth 19 17 14 17 — 67
Golden City (27-3 overall) – Arlo Stump 23, Lane Dunlap 15, Chain Parrill 14, Seth Miller 3, Eliab Cifuentes 3
St. Elizabeth (25-5 overall) – Ross Struemph 26, Brady Heckemeyer 10, Nolan Heckemeyer 10, Brock Lucas 10, Coltin Green 5, Carson Kesel 4, Dylan Wobbe 2
