WEBSTER GROVES • The streak is still alive.
The Webster Groves boys basketball team trailed visiting Parkway Central by 16 points with less than 2 minutes remaining in the third quarter on Friday night.
But by the end of the game, the Statesmen had rallied for an improbable 70-63 victory over the upset-minded Colts on Senior Night to run their streak of Suburban South Conference wins to a state-record 80 games.
"I told my guys, ‘It's your last game here as seniors, make it memorable.' That's not exactly what I had in mind," Webster Groves coach Jay Blossom said. "I'm just so proud of my guys. There were so many chances to roll over in that game."
The No. 6 team in the STLhighschoolsports.com large-schools rankings, Webster Groves (22-4, 7-0) had already clinched a share of its 11th straight conference championship with its 84-66 win against Kirkwood a week earlier. Yet the win streak was still in doubt.
Parkway Central (15-10, 5-2), had an opportunity to clinch a share of the league title, ruin Webster's Senior Night and end the streak that began at the beginning of the 2001-02 season.
The Colts, led by Zach Carel with 25 points and Zach Biggs (23), fought for it for four quarters but couldn't close the deal. Parkway Central led the game until there were 1 minute 57 seconds left in the third quarter, when an Eriq Moore jumper put them ahead by 16.
"It felt like a 20- or 30-point lead, that 16-point lead," said Webster Groves senior guard Rayshawn Simmons, who had a team-high 23 points and seven assists. "(Parkway Central) played great. ... When we were down 16, I'm looking at the clock like 'God, we can't lose this. Whatever we do just stay together and keep fighting and something good will happen for us. We've put in a lot of time in in the gym.'"
From that moment, Webster Groves outscored the visitors 36-13 over the final 9 minutes 21 seconds.
Webster Groves senior forward Demetrius Robinson (15 points) scored 11 points during that stretch, including two free throws with 0.1 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 52-40.
The Statesmen scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, including a long 3-pointer from Peter Fairbanks (10 points), and momentum had shifted toward the home side that had won 37 of its 41 games at Roberts Gym over the past four seasons.
"We never doubted ourselves," Robinson said. "We kept believing."
Webster Groves senior guard Brennan Coltrane missed his first six shots from the field on Friday but came up with a 3-pointer with 4:58 left. He then had a clutch putback off a missed free throw with 4:19 remaining to close the gap to three points.
"How about that rebound on the missed free throw?" Blossom asked. "That dude shot a couple air balls. He's been like that all freaking year, just freaking gutty—as gutty as they come. ...A lot of guys would shut down after some of that stuff. He just kept playing."
When Robinson drove to the basket, scored and was fouled with 3:20 left, it gave the Statesmen their lead at 62-60. It also set off a wild celebration that included Blossom jumping around on the court like he just won the lottery.
Parkway Central was in the midst of a long scoring draught that lasted 3 minutes 56 seconds. When the Colts scored again, on a 3-pointer from Carel with 38 seconds left, it cut the Statesmen lead to three.
But it wasn't enough.
"I think what the kids can take out of it, they know that if they bring the energy that we preach to them all the time—we have to have energy—if they bring that to the table we can compete with anybody," Central coach Todd Pannett said. "We just have to finish the deal. Tonight, we didn't finish the deal."
Coltrane knocked down two free throws with 10 seconds left to finish with 11 points—all scored in the final 5 minutes—to secure another win. At the conclusion, the scoreboard switched from the final score to 80 to 0.
"This feels great," Coltrane said. "Eighty in a row. I don't know what that is. It's a record or something. It's what we worked for all offseason, all summer. Now the real business starts."
