Notebook: Marquette Boys Claim First District Title in 15 Years

It will most likely be the lowest scoring boys basketball district championship played in Missouri this season, but that matters very little to Marquette.

The Mustangs, behind 6-foot-9 junior center Ryan Rosburg, defeated top-seeded Parkway South, 30-28, in the Class 5 District 4 title game at Lafayette High School on Friday night. Rosburg scored 14 points, including the tiebreaking basket with seven seconds left, to down the Patriots (21-6).

The Mustangs won their three district games by a combined eight points.

For Marquette (18-10) coach Shane Matzen and his seniors, the win had increased satisfaction given that the third-seeded Mustangs had lost three straight district title games. It is Marquette’s first district title in 15 years.

The Mustangs will play next Wednesday at the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 6 p.m. against Chaminade.

In the opening round of the district tourney at Lafayette, Marquette slipped by Summit, 50-48, before defeating the host school 50-46 on Wednesday.   

In contrast to the three tight games the boys played, the Marquette girls opened district play with a resounding 52-20 win over Summit. However, the Mustangs lost to second-seeded Lafayette, 67-47, in the district semifinals to end their season at 17-10.

It is certainly not the ending that the six Parkway West seniors envisioned coming into this season. However, after Monday’s 56-45 loss to Eureka in the first round of the Class 5 District 4 tournament, this season came to a sudden conclusion for the Longhorns.

Led by all-conference 6-foot-6 forward Larry Toomey, new Parkway West coach John Wright had hoped for better given that the Longhorns had a record of 23-7 two seasons ago, and 21-7 in the 2009-10 season. They finished at 12-14 this season, including a 4-3 mark in the Suburban South Conference. Toomey led the team with averages of 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He also leads Parkway West with 42 blocks and 41 steals this season.

Toomey became the seventh player in Longhorns history to reach 1,000 career points during their game on Feb. 2 against Fort Zumwalt West. This group of seniors was coached by the school’s all-time wins, Bill Sodemann, in their first three seasons, but he retired after last season

The Parkway West girls team also lost in its first district game, falling 62-27 to Parkway South. The Longhorns finished 5-21, including 3-4 in league play. Senior forward Maggie Wenstrup led the team with 14.9 points, 9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.

In case you missed our story recapping Parkway West’s state swimming championship, please .

The Parkway Central boys basketball team had another rough season, though they showed a little spark in Class 5 District 5 play. The third-seeded Colts beat Ritenour, 52-37, in the first round at De Smet before losing a tough game to second-seeded Hazelwood West in the semifinals, 64-56 last Wednesday.

Parkway Central finished 11-16, including a 2-5 record in the Suburban South Conference. The team was led this season by 6-foot-6 junior forward Zach Biggs. He averaged a team-best 16.4 points, 9.7 points and 2.6 blocks per game and will be one of the best players in the Suburban South next season.

For the Parkway Central girls, the season ended on Tuesday with a frustrating 41-38 defeat to third-seeded Pattonville. The Colts finish at 10-16 (3-4 Suburban South). Coach Brian Guilfoyle loses only three seniors, though this includes the team’s top scorer, Alison Magruder (12.5 points per game).