KIRKWOOD • It has been a season to remember for the Vianney basketball team, and Friday will be a night that many associated with the program will never ever forget.
The Golden Griffins kept their dream season going, handing visiting De Smet a 69-60 defeat to clinch a share of their first Metro Catholic Conference championship.
"This is unbelievable the season we're having right now," said Vianney senior guard Tony Cochran, who recently became the school's all-time leading scorer. "We've gone through a tough stretch lately with injuries, but this is a nice win coming back with everyone healthy. So it feels good."
Point guard Richard Dorhauer returned to the lineup from an ankle injury and was one of nine seniors honored as part of the Senior Night festivities. And he was one of several key contributors as Vianney, the No. 2 team in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-schools rankings, improved to 22-1 overall and 6-0 in league play.
"We clinch a share (of the conference title), and our focus is we want to win it outright," Vianney coach Kevin Walsh said. "But it is special. I've said it all along: This is a special group of guys. It was pretty emotional for me on Senior Night with these guys as they were being announced. I had a hard time keeping it together."
"I'll never forget this, especially my Senior Night," Cochran said. "Beating De Smet two times in a season is amazing for Vianney, so it feels amazing."
George Suggs scored a team-high 16 points, with 14 coming in the second half. Brad Woodson had 15. Cochran scored nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. Sean O'Brien came off the bench to score a 13.
Each of those players contributed at different times as Vianney built a 12-9 lead after one quarter, a 24-19 advantage at halftime and a 39-33 edge after three quarters.
De Smet (17-7, 6-2), which is ranked eighth among area large schools, got a game-high 21 points from Nolan Berry. The Spartans also picked up big second-half performances from Jimmy Barton (15 points in the second half) and Jamie Hudson (13 in the final two quarters).
De Smet, which had a four-game win streak against Vianney snapped with a 64-61 loss at home on Dec. 6, was able to cut the deficit to five in the final minutes, but never got any closer.
"We never got in a rhythm defensively, which made it really hard for us to get a rhythm on the offensive end," De Smet coach Kevin Poelker said. "Despite that we found a way to stay in the game, but we could never get over that hump and kind of get ourselves in position to do what we do best and against a team like Vianney you can't afford to do that."
