Carl Junction meets Lincoln College Prep in state quarters
Mar. 10—Carl Junction Bulldogs come into Saturday's Class 5 state quarterfinal contest with Lincoln College Prep at 1:45 p.m. in Sedalia having won 23 straight games.
The last time CJ lost was on Dec. 10 against Sapulpa (Oklahoma) in the championship of the Fort Smith (Arkansas) Tournament of Champions.
Carl Junction (28-1) was ranked No. 1 in Class 5 for a lot of the season and was atop the state when the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association released its final polls of the year on Feb. 21.
Since that day, there's only been four teams within single digits of the Bulldogs at the final buzzer. Most of their opponents have seen a 20-point difference and even more have lost by 10 or more. They have statement wins over teams like Class 6 foes Republic, Nixa, Lebanon and Kickapoo. They topped Blue Valley Northwest out of Olathe, Kansas, in the Pittsburg tournament.
The Class 5 District 7 tournament was a lot of the same as CJ won those games by 49, 31 and 25. But head coach Brad Shorter believes his team is remaining focused ahead of their state tournament game on Saturday.
"I think they (players) know the magnitude of the game Saturday," Shorter said. "I think the biggest piece for us as a coaching staff is keeping the pressure off of them and letting them go out and play."
He wants to see his team be strong when handling the ball against the pressure of the Tigers' defense. With the competition the Bulldogs are about to face, Shorter knows his bunch must play smart and take care of the ball.
The seniors for Carl Junction have experience at this stage. This makes the ninth-consecutive trip to the state quarterfinals, meaning they've made it all four years.
"It feels incredible what we've been able to accomplish over the last nine years," Shorter said. "It's a testament to our coaching staff and our kids."
The Bulldogs are led by Destiny Buerge and Kylie Scott offensively. Buerge has scored just under 25 points per game and really turned it on in the district tournament by tallying 86 points across three contests for nearly and 30-point average.
Scott is a double-double machine averaging 13.6 ppg and 8.7 rebounds. The 6-foot-3 junior also blocks nearly three shots a game.
"I'm sure there's going to be a lot of attention on those two," Shorter said. "But there is every night."
Some team averages for Carl Junction coming into the matchup are: 63.7 ppg; 31.7 rpg; 17.3 apg; 12.8 spg.
Lincoln College Prep is currently 17-9 and they score 58 points per game while holding opponents to 46.5. CJ has held opposition to 44 points per contest this year.
"They're really good in transition. They're good in their half-court sets," Shorter said. "Defensive wise, they're probably going to be one of the more aggressive teams we've seen."
Shorter mentioned that the Tigers have three top players — two guards and one post — that the Bulldogs will have to be prepared for.
"We're hoping to play some of our best basketball on Saturday, that's for sure," Shorter said.
Both teams have played a fair share of neutral-site games during the 2022-23 campaign. The Bulldogs are 14-1 in such meetings, the Tigers are 8-6.
According to MSHSAA the two programs have never met one another and they've also not faced any similar opponents this year.
HOW SIMILAR?
During the 2019-20 season, CJ was 28-0 and was heading to the Class 4 state semifinals for a meeting with Incarnate Word Academy, but COVID-19 struck and MSHSAA called off all state competition.
This year, the Bulldogs are looking to be on a similar path as the enter the quarterfinals. But just how similar are the teams?
"They are two different teams but there are some similarities," Shorter said. "Most nights we didn't give teams second chances in '20 and this year we have. But there are times they don't even get a first opportunity with this group."
That stems from the added size on the inside with Kylie Scott's older sister Katie roaming the interior and cleaning up the glass for the 2020 team.
This year, coach says the team has better pressure, though, and forces a lot of turnovers before other teams can even get a shot up. The top of the Bulldogs' zone defense is very harassing to opposing guards with Buerge and Klohe Burk bringing that harassment.
Offensively, he said he sees a lot of similarities between the two squads but noted that this year's team is better with ball-handling.
This year's seniors were freshmen on that team. They've all taken on different roles from that year, of course.
"It's a toss-up," Shorter said of which team would have the edge over the other in a competition. "Those are two really fine teams and it's really fun to play that game. 'Who do you think would win this one?'"
