WINONA — In its 59-55 victory over Christian Collegiate, the St. Joseph Catholic boys basketball team won the MAIS Class 4A state championship Saturday night by answering all the challenges in front of them. Under head coach James Hunter, it was their second state championship in two years, the first two in school history.
In Saturday’s championship, the Irish (21-2) faced an uphill battle after the Bulldogs jumped out to an 18-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But, the Irish didn’t panic or quit. They just dug down deeper and got the job done. In the second quarter, St. Joseph junior Jerrian ‘Stank’ King went to work. King slashed and dashed to 13 points in the period. He would go on to a game-high 29 points.. After King made a pair of layups and three free throws, the Irish trailed by just six points at the half.
“These kids are fighters,” said Coach Hunter. “They will bust their tails. Once we got down, I told them we have to win quarter by quarter. I kept telling them that we have to win each quarter. And, that is what we focused on.”
In the third quarter, King passed the baton to junior CJ Moore. Moore connected on two 3-pointers and scored 12 points in the period to help the Irish take a 43-42 lead into the fourth.
“We played as a team, and played hard,” said Moore, who finished with 19 points. “We were just thinking about getting the job done. This win means a lot to me and my whole teammates. It means a lot to say that you are a state champion, and I am happy that we all got to do it together.”
The Irish held onto a slight lead for much of the fourth quarter and took the lead for good at 53-50 when junior Christian Foster drained a 3-pointer with 3:20 remaining. Foster later made a sweet assist to a running King to give St. Joe a 57-50 lead.
St. Joseph’s Jordan Jennings then hit a free throw with one minute left to put his team up by eight and all but seal the game with one minute left.
Jennings, King, Moore and Donnie Smith were all named to the All-Tournament team.
Smith’s defense and rebounding against Christian Collegiate’s (20-5) Hans Jackson was a big reason for the Irish victory. Jackson, a 6-foot-4 power forward, scored nine points in the first quarter, but was unable to get going for much afterwards.
“Donnie is a beast on the board, and he played his tail his off,” Coach Hunter said. “That guy from CCA was physical, and they were a heck of a rebounding team. We have to win the rebounding game and Donnie helped us do that.”
Saturday’s victory earns the Irish a bye in MAIS Overall Basketball Tournament. Their first game in the overall tournament will be Saturday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between Madison-Ridgeland Academy and Tunica Academy.
After the game, the St. Joe players and coaches dedicated the championship to longtime St. Joseph coach and athletic director Benny Strazi, who is retiring after this school year.
“Coach Strazi is one of the greatest guys you can possible work for. He loves these boys. He loves the school,” said Coach Hunter.
