Monroe City boys win another tourney title by beating rival Palmyra in championship game

PALMYRA, Mo. — There seems to be a trend developing.

For the second time this season, Monroe City has won a boys basketball tournament at the expense of rival Palmyra.

Monroe City controlled Saturday night’s championship game of the 82nd Tony Lenzini Tournament in impressive fashion before settling for a 62-50 victory in front of about 1,450 fans. 

Monroe City, which has won 11 of its last 12 games, thwarted Palmyra in the finals of its own tournament back in mid-December 51-47.

“We have a lot of guys who play and contribute,” said 6-foot-4 junior Brent Holland, who was one of three Monroe City players who scored in double figures, ending with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds.

Holland referenced the amount of players 14th-year Monroe City coach Brock Edris likes to employ. Ten players saw quality minutes, and eight of them scored, helping Monroe City (12-2) collect its 14th Lenzini championship and sixth since 2017.

“It’s all about the team,” Holland said.

Monroe City guard Marty Smyser, a 5-foot-9 senior, may be the epitome of that team concept Holland spoke about. Smyser’s principal duty against Palmyra (14-3) was tracking its normally high-scoring sophomore guard Hudson Bock, who had poured through 18 points in his team’s 69-39 semifinal win over Van-Far.

Smyser’s dogged defense limited Bock to four points on just a handful of shot attempts. Everywhere Bock went, Smyser was attached to his shadow.

“Hudson Bock is a great scorer, and I just tried to faceguard him the whole game,” Smyser said.

Smyser, who against Van-Far was asked to be an offensive threat and responded with 21 points, scored five points against Palmyra — three coming on foul shots late in the game.

“A lot of guys stood up for us,” Edris said.

That included junior guard Quincy Mayfield, who knocked down a team-best 20 points, including three first-half 3-pointers that helped keep Palmyra at arm’s length during the first 16 minutes.

“Quincy played really well,” Edris said. “His quickness makes it hard for guys to guard him. When he sees a window (for an open shot), he takes it.”

Palmyra, which entered as defending Lenzini champion, was seeking to go back-to-back in its own tournament for the first time since winning three in a row from 1983 to 1985.

“We didn’t have the effort we needed, and we didn’t have the attitude,” said Palmyra’s Mason Smith, a 6-foot-3 senior who led his club with 15 points.

Sophomore guard Pierce White scored 11 points for Palmyra, which saw a five-game win streak snapped.