On Jan. 15, the boys’ basketball team finally got a signature victory, defeating the Whitfield Warriors 66-60 in overtime.  While the team almost choked away the game at the free throw line, watching a 57-51 lead with a minute to play evaporate before their eyes, the team pulled together and gutted out the win in overtime to take third place in the DC Wilcutt tournament hosted at CBC.

Junior forward Christian Thomas, who has heard from several NCAA Division I Midwest and mid-major programs, lead the team with 27 points in the game, to increase his team leading scoring average to 21.8 points per game.  Senior guard Devonte Bell, who is drawing interest from several NAIA and Division II schools about basketball, chipped in with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and junior guard Ahmad Smith added 10 big points to key the Hounds win.
“I would say that game [against Whitfield] has been our best win so far,” head coach Ryan Luhning said.
Several new role players stepped up for the Hounds in the game.
“Ahmad Smith really picked his game up against Whitfield, and that helped us a lot,” Bell said.
Previously in the tournament, the Hounds opened up play with a 62-47 win over rival Ladue.  In that game, the Hounds had four players reach double figures in Thomas, Bell, senior sniper Sumner Ahearn, and senior guard Alex Kasnetz.  The Hounds advanced to play McCluer in the semifinals.
In that game, the Hounds actually held a four point lead late in the third quarter over the powerhouse Comets, before McCluer roared back to win 60-51.
“We had a stretch of eight possessions, in which we turned the ball over six times,” Luhning said.  “Other than that, we went toe-to-toe with them.  It was very similar to the Hazelwood Central loss earlier in the season.”
The culmination of the last month was bittersweet for the Hounds, as the emphatic win capped off a tough month of basketball.  The win did help the team take revenge for an earlier 69-58 loss at Whitfield.
“That is the one game that I would really like back,” Bell said.  “It was probably my best personal game, but I would love to get that one back because I know we could’ve won.”
Bell had a personal season high of 22 points in that game.  He is averaging 15 points per game, second best on the team.
Following that loss, the Hounds went to the MICDS Holiday tournament, where they entered as the number one seed.  The team easily blew out St. Charles 71-42 in the opening round before being upset by eighth-seeded Miller Career Academy 72-67 in overtime.
The Hounds trailed for almost the entire game, and were down by four points with two seconds left in the game when they almost pulled off the comeback of the year.  Bell went to the free throw line and hit the first shot before purposely missing the second.  The ball was knocked out to Ahearn who grabbed it and threw up an off balanced three point attempt that swished in at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
While most would assume that the team would have been able to ride the wave of momentum, they came out flat in overtime, and eventually lost by five.
In the following game, the Hounds were knocked out of the tournament by a hot shooting Parkway South team.  The Patriots lead by 15 and withheld a furious Clayton rally in the second half to hold on for a three point win and knock the disappointed Hounds out of the tournament.
After winter break, the team returned home to take on Affton.  The Hounds came out ready to play and used a 28-8 third quarter run to blow Affton away.  The team held the Cougars’ star senior guard Markus Golden to just nine points on the night, well below his team high 16 points per game average.  In the end, the Hounds doubled up the Cougars 64-32, and were lead by Thomas’ game high 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Thomas has 11 double-doubles on the season.
After the Affton game, the Hounds went to the CBC tournament, and followed their third place finish with a 66-54 win over the Pattonville Pirates on Jan. 20, which leaves them with their current record of 12-5.
In the win over Pattonville, Thomas had his usual 24 points, while Bell added 17 and Smith continued his recent tear with 12 points off the bench.
While Thomas and Bell have been consistently strong offensively for the team this year, the role players have been numerous.  From Ahearn to Kasnetz to senior guard Josh Pickens to senior center Max Goldfarb, the senior role players have been there.
In terms of underclassmen, Smith and sophomore guard Charlie Harned have played key parts in the teams winning.
“Ahmad Smith has really played well, and [Josh] Pickens is picking it up defensively for us,” Luhning said.  “At the same time, [Charlie] Harned has really hit some big shots.”
The Hounds have several clear strengths that have allowed them to be successful.
“Clearly, our biggest strength is that we can always score,” Thomas said.
On the other hand, a couple teams have exposed flaws in the Hounds lately.
“We have really got to have better starts [to games] and we can’t dig such big holes if we want to beat good teams.” Luhning said.
His captain, Bell, was in agreement.
“We need to play hard for all 32 minutes,” Bell said.
While the team certainly has several kinks to work out before the postseason starts, several players already have personal goals that they wish to improve on in order to help the team.
“I really need to get stronger I think,” Bell said.
Thomas also had a personal agenda for the rest of the season.
“I have really got to improve my free throw shooting to help the team,” Thomas said.
This is especially important for Thomas who has shot the most free throws on the team far and away.  In fact, Bell’s second best total of 70 free throw attempts on the season pales in comparison to Thomas’ 132 attempts at press time.
Indeed the Hounds have seemed to find a trend in digging holes and fighting back, while at the same time struggling to close games out at the line.
“I think our free throw shooting is fine and when it’s not there is a running consequence in practice,” Luhning said.
The team will need to improve on these current flaws if they want to be successful come playoff time.
The district playoffs start on Feb. 22, and Clayton is the host this year.  The Hounds’ district is one of the toughest in the state.  Possible opponents include Jennings, University City, Berkeley, Westminster, and MICDS.
On the season, the team has already beat MICDS handily, and has upcoming games against Jennings, University City, Berkeley, and Westminster.
The team is actually playing at Jennings as the Globe goes to press time.
“I would say that Jennings is going to be the toughest matchup for us in districts, but really every team is going to be a battle, especially with the season on the line,” Bell said.
Jennings has been a bi-polar team of sorts this year, smashing Miller Career Academy and beating Parkway South, while losing to generally considered lesser opponents such as Lutheran North and Imagine College Preparatory.
But as many of us know, districts are a time where anything is truly possible, and a team’s true character comes out.  A time of the year when a team’s stars are counted on and unexpected heroes come out of the woodworks.  In Clayton, a team with a deep bench and plenty of offensive firepower, there is a powerful mix to make a deep playoff run, something a signature win shows is possible. 