Palmyra puts up first-quarter fight, but Principia showcases its firepower thereafter in sectional victory

ST. LOUIS — Through the first eight minutes of Monday night’s sectional, the Palmyra boys basketball team went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked team in Missouri Class 3.

“I was happy,” Palmyra coach Brian Rea said. “I just wanted to have a little more movement and some better action that we could get some easy buckets on.”

Palmyra erased an early 10-0 deficit by outscoring Principia 13-6 for the remaining few minutes of the initial quarter and trailed 16-13. 

However, the next two quarters didn’t go as hoped. 

“(Principia) presented a problem, and we didn’t rise to the occasion for 32 minutes,” Rea said.

Principia, the sectional host and No. 1 team in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Class 3 state rankings, combined to outscore Palmyra 45-12 in the second and third quarters to pull away and coast to a 67-35 victory. It marked Principia’s seventh consecutive victory overall and 15th win by 30 points or more this season.

Principia improved to 28-1 and advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals where it will square off against second-ranked Montgomery County, which defeated Steeleville 62-33 on Monday. The winner of that matchup earns a spot in the state semifinals on March 12 at Mizzou Arena.

“They’re very athletic with very good players and have multiple college basketball players,” Rea said of Principia. “It’s hard having to go against that.”

Execution in the second quarter ultimately doomed the visitors. Palmyra (24-6) turned the ball over on eight of its first 10 possessions and had 11 turnovers in the second frame.

“You can’t turn the ball over like that when you’re trying to stick with a team as good as they are,” Rea said. “We got a little flustered and the floodgates opened.”

Principia was led in scoring by Gassim Toure who had 20 points, Quentin Coleman added 17, and Kingston Money and Wyatt Slay had nine points apiece.

Palmyra’s Mason Smith had a team-high 13 points and Luke Sheppard chipped in with eight.

While the outcome didn’t go as planned, Rea felt his group proved the naysayers wrong by winning at least 20 games for the third straight season.

“I don’t think people thought we could do that,” he said. 

Palmyra also won a district championship for the second consecutive campaign and earned a share of the Clarence Cannon Conference title with Monroe City.

“There are a lot of things that the (players) did to continue to solidify our basketball program,” he added. “Hopefully they made our community and school proud.”