Jefferson City rallies to beat Vianney in Missouri Class 5 boys basketball semifinals

Jays use 18-0 second-half scoring run to rally for victory

COLUMBIA, MISSOURI – The Jefferson City boys basketball team has battled adversity throughout the season and was prepared for it in the second half of its Missouri Class 5 semifinal game against Vianney on Wednesday.  

The Jays used an 18-0 run in the second half to take the lead, then fought back after Vianney rallied to pull out a remarkable 63-59 victory at Mizzou Arena. 

"That was one heck of a basketball game," Jefferson City coach Josh Buffington said. "I think we came out obviously a little flat and it's easy to do when you play in an environment with this amount of pressure and intensity. We've been there before. I told our guys before the game early in the locker room that we have to use that to our advantage – being in the final four last year. 

"Take nothing away from Vianney, but it's been a while since they've been here. We knew that if we battled back and got that thing within striking distance, it was anybody's basketball game. We just beat a really good basketball team. We're on a roll right now. We're playing some good basketball." 

Jefferson City (12-19) advances to face either De Smet (25-5) or Winnetonka (25-5) in the Class 5 championship game at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Jays, who took third place a year ago, will be seeking their second state title in school history and first since 1993. 

Jordan Martin, a 6-foot-6 junior forward who has committed to play baseball at Arkansas, scored a game-high 20 points and added 12 rebounds, six steals and three blocked shots. 

Senior forward Nelson Shinkle added 15 points and eight rebounds for Jeff City, while sophomore guard Rowen Buffington scored 11 points and dished out four assists.

Vianney (24-7), playing in the semifinals for the second time in school history and first since 2013, was led by junior guard Luke Walsh, who had 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. 

Sophomore 7-3 center Symon Ghai had 16 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots. Sophomore guard Eddie Smajic added 11 points.

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Vianney led 15-14 after one quarter and 31-28 at halftime. 

The Griffins led by eight points, 38-30, after a breakaway dunk by Ghai with 3:39 remaining in the third quarter.  

That's when Jeff City reeled off an 18-0 run, flipping the eight-point deficit into a 10-point advantage with 6:27 left in the fourth quarter. 

"We just kept playing together," Martin said. "We didn't give up on each other and knew that it's happened to us before. We were fighting for each other." 

"These guys have no quit," Josh Buffington added.

Vianney rallied back and took a 56-54 lead with 1:47 remaining on a basket by Luke Walsh, but Jefferson City answered with a corner 3-pointer by Kendric Johnson with 48 seconds left.

The Jays were able to secure the win at the free throw line from that point, making six of eight in the final 12 seconds.

"Tough one for us today," Vianney coach Kevin Walsh said. "I thought Jeff City played really well. I thought they had great composure. I thought they made big plays whenever they needed to make plays. We're a team that thrives on ball pressure. I thought they handled our pressure pretty well. They only turned it over 12 times. We're a team that likes to get out and go and make 3's and we certainly we're not a great 3-point shooting team overall today. We were at 27 percent and that hurt us. It hurts. ... We didn't play as well as we were capable of playing today. Tip your hat to Jeff City and try to come back and win a game tomorrow."

Missouri Class 5 boys basketball semifinal: Jefferson City - Vianney

Photos by Nate Latsch

Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive Sports

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- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz