Finals Set at 39th Annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions

St. John Bosco from Bellflower, California will play Paul VI out of Chantilly, Virginia Saturday night in the championship game of the 39th Annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions at Great Southern Bank Arena in Springfield.

Paul VI, 48, McEachern 37:

The two-time champions of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions are back in the finals, downing McEachern High School from Powder Springs, Georgia in Friday’s semifinals at The Vault.

Coach Glen Farello’s squad, who came into the tournament ranked #1 in the Max Preps Top 25 high school boys basketball poll, held a narrow 13-11 advantage after one quarter before opening up a 27-19 lead at the half. The game stayed within single digits for much of the second half, but McEachern could get no closer than seven in the fourth quarter.

Darren Harris led the Panthers with 20 points, while Jaye Nash’s nine points were tops for Indians, who shot only 30% from the field (13-44).

St. John Bosco 69, Edmond North 61:

The Braves, who finished 3rd in their only other tournament appearance in 2013, defeated Edmond North (Edmond, Oklahoma) 69-61 in Friday night’s semifinals.

The game was tight throughout, with Bosco leading 18-11 after one quarter and 34-29 at the half.

Edmond North knotted the contest 45-45 going into the final period, even taking a couple of brief leads in the final frame.

But the Braves managed to hit seven three pointers, to the Huskies’ two.

Elize Harrington put on a show for Bosco, leading all scorers with 28 points on 9-14 shooting, going 9-11 at the free throw line.

Dylan Warlick’s 18 points led Edmond North.

Rainier Beach 59, Springfield Central 58:

Rainier Beach High School out of Seattle, Washington won a 59-58 thriller over Springfield Central in the first consolation round semifinal.

The Bulldogs led 17-15 after the opening quarter, with Rainier Beach going up 33-30 at the half and 46-45 after three quarters.

Central trailed by seven with just over five minutes left to play, but fought back to take a 57-56 lead on Tayshaun Wells’ layup with 2:14 left in regulation.

A free throw by Darius Wilcher with 1:42 left knotted the contest 57-57.

The Bulldogs’ Keion Epps hit a free throw with 19 seconds remaining to give his team the lead, but a layup by Rainier Beach’s Dominik Robinson with four seconds to go won the game for the Vikings.

Kaden Powers scored 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead Rainier Beach, with Tyrique Brooks putting in 17 to lead the Bulldogs.

St. Louis Vashon 73, Springfield Glendale 40

Vashon outscored the Falcons 29-13 in the second quarter to take control of the game early, leading 42-21 at halftime and 65-33 at the end of the third period.

The Wolverines got balanced scoring from Nicholas Randall (17 points), Trey Williams, Jr. (16 points), Kain McCaskill (12 points), and Christian Williams (11 points).

The Falcons were led by Amare Witham’s 16 points and Ta’Veaion Washington’s 14 points.

Vashon went 7-20 from beyond the arc, while Glendale made only one trey nine attempts and turned the ball over 22 times.

Glendale will meet Central in Saturday’s 7th place game in a rematch of the Gold Division finals at last month’s Greenwood Blue and Gold Tournament.

Here are the scores from Friday’s semifinal round of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions:

Consolation Semifinals:

Final: Rainier Beach 59, Springfield Central 58

Final: St. Louis Vashon 73, Springfield Glendale 40

Winner’s Bracket Semifinals:

Final: St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California) 69, Edmond North (Edmond, Oklahoma) 61

Final: Paul VI (Chantilly, Virginia) 48, McEachern (Powder Springs, Georgia) 37

Here’s the schedule for Saturday’s Final Round of the 39th Annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions:

7th Place Game: Springfield Central vs. Springfield Glendale 2:30 p.m.

Consolation Final: Rainier Beach vs. St. Louis Vashon 4:00 p.m.

Great Southern Bank Slam Dunk Contest 6:00 p.m.

3rd Place Game: Edmond North vs. McEachern 7:00 p.m.

Championship Game: St. John Bosco vs. Paul VI 9:00 p.m.