CREVE COEUR • With all-state selectee and top scorer Zach Ellis out indefinitely due to injury, the Whitfield boys basketball team needed a lift Friday night.
Up stepped senior Darrion Harris.
A 5-10 guard known more for playmaking than scoring, Harris had a game-high 18 points -- he averages 8.8 -- as the Warriors knocked off visiting O'Fallon Christian 53-43.
“I wanted to be aggressive, but that's the plan every night,'' Harris said. “My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball in good spots, and I was able to make some shots. With Zach out, it can't be just one guy; everybody on the team has to produce a little more.''
Whitfield's Dimitri Rucker scored 14, and Darius Rucker added 10.
“They're a good team, and it's always tough when you're without your top scorer,'' Whitfield coach Mike Potsou said. “But I thought our guys responded pretty well. Defensively, we did a good job of shutting down their shooters and were active enough to create some turnovers. Most of their points came on free throws and on rebounds.''
The visiting Eagles hung tough early, taking a 9-7 lead when Robbie Bone hit a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer to end the opening quarter.
After O'Fallon Christian (12-5) cut the margin to 18-17 on an Evan Marcks' 3-pointer with 5 seconds to play in the opening half, Harris raced up the floor, drawing a foul at the buzzer.
His two free throws, with no time on the clock, gave Whitfield a 20-17 advantage.
The Warriors (No. 10 in the STLhighschoolsports.com small schools rankings, 13-6) took control in the third quarter, going up 34-24 on a Darius Rucker rebound basket. Connecting on six of seven third-quarter free throws, O'Fallon Christian finished the quarter with a 7-0 run, cutting the Whitfield lead to 36-32.
“We knew they weren't going to quit,'' Harris said. “But we also knew that if we took care of the ball, we could hold them off.''
Whitfield opened the final quarter with a 7-0 run, taking its biggest lead of the night at 43-32 on a Griffin Diemer 3-pointer with 3:52 to play.
The Eagles cut the lead to 45-39 when Deantrell Prince put in his own rebound with 1:42 left, but Whitfield converted eight late free throws in the 10-point win.
O'Fallon Christian was led by 6-4 senior Adam Glenville, who battled inside for 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Whitfield returns to action Saturday at Hazelwood Central, taking on Maplewood-Richmond Heights at 3 p.m. in the inaugural Public-Private Red-Out Shootout to benefit the American Heart Association. On Monday, the Warriors play at No. 8 Borgia.
“It's a tough stretch, especially without Zach,'' Harris said. “But we just have to fight through it, knowing that it's going to make us a better, stronger team later in the season.''
Other games scheduled for Saturday's tournament at Hazelwood Central are De Smet vs. Parkway South at 12 p.m., Washington vs. Vianney at 1:30 p.m. and Hazelwood Central vs. Cardinal Ritter at 4:30 p.m.
