KIRKWOOD • University City scored the first major upset of the Meramec Holiday Festival on Tuesday night.
The Lions, seeded No. 11, got a 3-pointer from reserve guard Alex Henry in overtime and held on to defeat sixth-seeded Marquette 56-54 in a first-round game at St. Louis Community College at Meramec.
"I couldn't be more proud of these guys," U. City coach David Gammon said. "They fought through a lot of adversity tonight. We had the lead in the first half. Lesser teams would have folded up and let the adversity get to them, and these guys fought through it."
University City (7-2), which got 20 points from standout guard Travon Williams, 12 from Henry and 10 from George Brown, advances to face No. 3 seed Webster Groves in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
"It's a big win, but we've got Webster tomorrow," Henry said. "So we're right back at it."
Marquette (6-2), No. 6 in the area large-school rankings, got a monster performance from 6-foot-10 senior center and University of Missouri signee Ryan Rosburg, who finished with 28 points, 21 rebounds and five blocked shots.
"He's just a horse," Marquette coach Shane Matzen said. "What can you say about him? He just competes."
"Rosburg is really something we haven't seen before," Gammon said. "You try to keep him from catching the ball, and when he does there's not a whole lot you can do."
Rosburg helped the Mustangs rally from deficits of 26-17 at halftime and 40-33 after three quarters with 11 points in the fourth quarter. He converted a three-point play with 8.7 seconds left in regulation to put Marquette ahead 50-48, but Williams made two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to tie it.
Marquette led 54-53 with 1:03 remaining in overtime following a Rosburg basket, but the Mustangs, who made nine of 20 free throw attempts and had 18 turnovers, would not score again.
Henry, a standout wide receiver for the Lions this fall, knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer from the left wing with 31 seconds left.
"It felt good coming off," Henry said. "... I can't explain it. I was just hoping it went in."
WEBSTER GROVES 69, ST. CHARLES WEST 34 • The third-seeded Statesmen (6-0), ranked fifth among area large schools, got 17 points each from Demetrius Robinson and Peter Fairbanks and 10 assists from Rayshawn Simmons in a first-round victory on Tuesday.
Chris Percy and Matt Higgins led No. 14 seed St. Charles West (3-8) with 10 points apiece.
VIANNEY 54, PARKWAY WEST 34: The second-seeded Golden Griffins (8-0), who are ranked second among area large schools, got 16 points from Tony Cochran, 14 from Brad Woodson and 13 from George Suggs in their first-round win.
Van Klohmann and Cash McCurdy led No. 15 seed Parkway West (2-5) with seven points apiece.
LAFAYETTE 35, KIRKWOOD 33: The seventh-seeded Lancers (5-2) got a basket from Luke Kreienkamp with 1:05 left and two free throws from Joel Pennington with 11.4 seconds left to come from behind to pull out a first-round win. Kreienkamp finished with a team-high nine points.
Myles Artis led No. 10 seed Kirkwood (4-3) with 11 points.
