Old-school look leads to old-school ways as Palmyra rolls into tournament title game

PALMYRA, Mo. — Brian Rea opted for a little back to the future to serve as inspiration for the Palmyra boys basketball team.

The Panthers’ fourth-year coach wanted to revisit the past in an imaginative way in an effort to simultaneously light a late-season fire under his club and have some fun as the season’s stretch run fast approaches.

Rea’s idea?

Have this year’s Palmyra players break out a set of old uniforms for Wednesday night’s semifinal game of the 82nd Tony Lenzini Tournament. How much of a factor the uniforms actually were will, of course, be impossible to measure, but the bottom line showed a 69-39 victory over Van-Far in front of a crowd of about 620.

Palmyra (14-2) advances to the championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Thursday night’s semifinal between Canton (12-3) and Monroe City (10-2). Palmyra defeated Canton 52-38 in last year’s tournament finals.

But back to those uniforms.

“We had to wash the uniforms a couple of times,” said Rea, who unsuccessfully tried to hold back a grin.

Junior forward Ryan McKinney didn’t even bother not trying to smile.

“The uniforms were … umm .. a little tight,” McKinney said. “But if they bring good luck, we’ll manage.”

There was no word on whether the Panthers would return to their newer uniforms for the championship game.

Palmyra will be trying to win back-to-back championships in its own tournament for the first time since taking three in a row 1983-85.

The Panthers’ fifth straight victory came on the strength of four players in double figures, led by sophomore guard Hudson Bock’s 18 points, which included five of Palmyra’s seven 3-point field goals. Bock had been limited to five points in Palmyra’s 53-36 quarterfinal win over Highland.

Mason Smith (14), McKinney (12) and Pierce White (11) also registered double-figure point totals for Palmyra. Smith spiced the victory with a pair of dunks and two of his club’s six blocked shots.

Palmyra steadily built its lead as the game progressed, growing an eight-point edge at the end of the first quarter to a 19-point advantage by the end of the third quarter. The Panthers have now beaten Van-Far nine times in 12 meetings since 2000.

Palmyra, seeking its 19th Lenzini championship, is the top-seeded team in the event. Van-Far (13-4), which won the 2023 Lenzini title, was No. 4. 

Rea feels there is one specific reason for Palmyra’s recent surge.

“Our defense is infinitely better than it was,” said Rea, whose team downed Highland 53-36 in the quarterfinals.

McKinney agreed with his coach.

“The way our defense is playing makes it easier for our offense,” McKinney said. “We’re still not close to where we can be, but we’re playing better as a team than we were earlier in the season.”

Rea was also pleased with the way Palmyra controlled the game’s tempo and  the strength of the Panthers’ rebounding. The Panthers had five players with four or more boards, led by Raeson Miller with six. Palmyra held a 29-23 edge in rebounds, a margin that was somewhat deceiving due to reserves playing much of the fourth quarter.

“We still have a lot of work left to do, but I’m very of the team for this effort,” Rea said. “Different kids have begun to step up as the season has progressed.”

Carson Huff (13) and Pacey Reading (10) led Van-Far in scoring. Reading, who had a game-leading eight rebounds, scored 24 points in the Indians’ 63-46 quarterfinal win over Hannibal.