Herculanuem, Grandview, Punch Tickets Into Semifinals of Rolla “Duke” Herbert Tournament

(CRYSTAL CITY, Mo.) The conclusion of the first round of the Rolla “Duke” Herbert basketball tournament hit the KJFF airwaves Tuesday night and saw the Herculaneum Blackcats and the Grandview Eagles punch their tickets into the semifinals.

Herculaneum (1-1) will face the number one seeded Saxony Lutheran Crusaders in the semifinal Wednesday evening, while the sixth seeded Grandview Eagles (2-0) will match-up with second seeded St. Vincent to play for a chance in the title game.
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The Blackcats kicked the evening off with a commanding 70-48 win over the Crystal City Hornets (0-1) thanks to a balanced scoring attack. Three players scored in double figures for the Blackcats in Blake Leathers, Austin Stepp, and Matt Sales.
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It was Sales stealing the spotlight notching 15 points and grabbing ten rebounds unoffically in the game. He showed his playmaking ability throughout the game…
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Blackcats head coach Jason Jarvis credited Sales’ work ethic to his success…
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Herculaneum took control in the second quarter and never looked back in the contest. Senior Brady DeGeare was the only Hornet able to get going on the floor scoring 23 points in the contest.
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Crystal City head coach Sean Breeze thought his team didn’t come out with any effort…
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Game two saw a back and forth battle for most of the first half as Grandview prevailed over the third seeded Jefferson Blue Jays (0-1) 64-56 behind a dominant performance from senior Koby Klaus. Klaus dropped 37 points becoming just the fifth player to score 37 or more in the history of the tournament…
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Klaus said it felt great to come out with a big performance after missing all of last season due to an ACL injury in his knee…
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The Grandview defense limited junior guard Easton Null to just ten points on the night, but the Blue Jays offense played well in the first half leading at the end of the first half 32-31. However, the Eagles were able to limit Jefferson to just 25 second half points and force the Blue Jays into foul trouble. Three Blue Jays fouled out of the game.
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Grandview head coach Chris Miller knew it would be a grind against Jefferson…
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Jefferson head coach Nic Zenker thought his team went away from what they did in the first half…
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The semifinals are slated for Wednesday at 5 p.m., and at 7 p.m., with Saxony Lutheran taking on Herculaneum in the first game, and St. Vincent battling Grandview in game number two on the night. KJFF will begin on-air coverage at 4:45 p.m., Wednesday at the Rolla “Duke” Herbert Holiday Tournament.