Sports
Season Review: Maplewood Richmond Heights Boys Enjoy Wild Ride
A look back at the Blue Devils' exciting 2010-11 basketball season, which ended with an overtime loss in the district title game.
The boys basketball team had one goal heading into the 2010-11 season, and that was to win a state championship.
Head coach Corey Frazier challenged his team by playing one of the most difficult nonconference schedules of any team in the area. Although the losses piled up as a result, the tactic proved effective with plenty of late-season success. But a gut-wrenching defeat in overtime in the Class 3 District 5 championship at spoiled the Blue Devils’ chances to play in the Class 3 State Tournament.
In that final game, defending state champion Cardinal Ritter had to rally in the final three minutes of regulation to tie the game at 50. Cameron Biedscheid, a junior, scored 22 of his 31 points after halftime to bring the Lions the district title. It was a tough ending for Frazier’s four seniors, including star guard Tony King.
“We played a good team with a great player,” Frazier told Maplewood-Brentwood Patch. “Your good players step up, and that’s what happened.
“We didn’t finish the game out,” Frazier said. “That’s something we’ve talked about all season long is playing 32 minutes or 36 minutes tonight. We just didn’t close them out.”
MRH finished the season at 16-12. King’s team-best 15.8 points per game will be missed. Also graduating will be senior guard Eric Liska (9.5 points per game) and forward Marcus Taylor (4.2 points, 7.5 rebounds).
But Frazier will have lots of returning players to turn to, including sophomores Khalid Hagens, Aaron Spudich and Aaron Collins, and junior Jake Hensel. Hagens led the team against Ritter with 21 points and is poised to become the team’s next star, assuming he chooses to continue playing both football and basketball. Hagens is the starting quarterback for MRH, which made the Class 2 state championship game last season. He averaged 11.3 points per game last season.
Hensel averaged 9.1 points and 5.1 steals per game, Spudich averaged 7.2 points and 7.6 rebounds and Collins averaged 4.8 points and 6.1 rebounds.
The Blue Devils went 10-0 for their third consecutive undefeated season in the South Central A.A. Conference. They defeated Class 5 school Marquette, 50-42, on Dec. 10 and led top-ranked Class 5 Chaminade at halftime in their tilt on Feb. 5. MRH also defeated Bayless twice this season; Bayless advanced to the Class 3 state quarterfinals, as did Ritter.
"I don’t think people understand that we had one senior that played a lot of minutes," Frazier said. "We’re going to be right back here in this situation next year. I don’t have any doubt in my mind that we’ll be back.”