Defensive dominance earns Panthers right to play for title in centennial celebration of own tourney

MONROE CITY Mo. — Two down, one to go.

The Monroe City boys basketball team’s quest is not yet complete, but the second-seeded Panthers earned the right to play for the championship in the 100th Monroe City Basketball Tournament by dispatching Marion County 77-25 in Wednesday’s semifinal.

The significance of the Panthers playing for the title in the centennial edition of their home tournament is not lost on senior guard Trey Smyser.

“It’s awesome,” Smyser said. “All the tradition here and all the history behind the tournament, it’s really cool to be in that game and have a chance to win it.”

Smyser’s tenacious defense as the primary defender on Mustangs senior guard Joey Lagemann, who scored 30 points in the Mustangs’ quarterfinal victory over Paris, set the tone. In addition to Smyser’s pestering on-ball pressure, Monroe City routinely sent double teams Lagemann’s way and held him to just one made field goal and nine points, all of which came in the second and third quarters.

“(Lagemann’s) ability to score on three levels was a concern for the coaching staff, and I thought Smyser did a great job from 84 feet pressuring him as much as possible and making things difficult,” Panthers coach Brock Edris said. “We knew it was going to take more than one person to stop a good basketball player like that. We had multiple guys take turns guarding him.

“We tried to show enough bodies to stay between him and the basket, just try to make things as tough as we could with everybody else while giving him so much attention.”

Panthers junior forward Brent Holland knows from first-hand experience how much Lagemann can fill up the scoresheet.

“I hoop with him in the offseason, and he can knock down some shots,” Holland said. “He’s just a really good player, and I was just glad we were able to stop him and make the score what it was.”

The Panthers’ pressure threw the Mustangs’ offense out of rhythm from the jump. Marion County mustered just 12 first half points and did not make a shot in the third quarter.

“They were more physical than us, and we didn’t respond to that in the right way,” Mustangs coach Reed Plunkett said. “We often ended up playing with our heads down and got out of our offense early. We were playing too far away from the basket. It’s hard to execute when that happens.”

Smyser and fellow guard Quincy Mayfield took control on both ends of the floor. What these two lack in stature — Smyser stands 5-foot-9, Mayfield 5-foot-7 — they made up for in ferocity and aggression, much to Edris’ delight.

“Our guards are going to be some of the smallest guards of anybody that we play against, so we have to understand that our effort and our intensity has to be there every night to try to make up for that lack of height,” Edirs said. “The way they were playing defense and being scrappy were some of the things we were really stressing for them.”

Mayfield poured in a game-high 20 points, all in the middle two quarters.

“Up to this point, he hadn’t shot the ball really well and probably missed some shots that he wanted back, but tonight he was under control,” Edris said. “He finished, played on the defensive end, and his defense turned into offense for him and he knocked down some open shots.”

Mayfield felt free and easy while helping the Panthers pull away from the Mustangs.

“It was one of the most fun games I’ve ever played in,” Mayfield said. “It was super energetic. The student section was going crazy. It was a confidence booster.”

Mayfield will also have a shot at winning his first Monroe City Tournament title, something his cousins Joshua and Josiah Talton accomplished every season from 2018 to 2021.

“I haven’t won one yet, so I feel like I have to win it,” Mayfield said. “It’d give me something to brag about.”

The Panthers (4-1) will take on the winner of Thursday’s semifinal between No. 1 seed Palmyra and No. 4 seed South Shelby. The championship game will tip off at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The Monroe City girls team will also play for a berth in the championship game when it takes on top-seeded South Shelby in Thursday’s semifinal.

“To be playing in the championship and representing our community, we’re trying to put a good product on the floor and something that our community and school can be proud of, and I think both of our teams are doing a great job of that,” Edris said.

Marion County (4-1) will play for third place at 3:45 p.m. Saturday against the loser between Palmyra and South Shelby.