Falcons Surge To Claim St. James Title

Sullivan couldn’t stop a third quarter onslaught from Blair Oaks on Friday and fell to the Falcons 64-35 in the 74th annual St. James Tournament championship.

The Eagles (12-3) were outscored 26-9 in the third period. Blair Oaks (12-6) caught fire from beyond the arc and hit six 3-pointers.

Tournament MVP Eric Norweather, a 6-8 center with inside and outside scoring ability, delivered 17 points and anchored a defense that smothered the Eagles around the net.

Blair Oaks was the tournament’s third seed and survived close contests against St. James and Rolla in the preceding games. The Falcons got off to a slow start in the opening minutes after missing their first three shots. 

They eventually took a 7-0 lead on easy looks at the rim. Sullivan, meanwhile, was unable to get their shots to fall. Combined with several early turnovers, the Eagles fell behind 13-2 after two straight 3-pointers by Norweather and David Dell.

Blair Oaks led 15-6 after one period, but Hoffman’s 3-pointer to start the second brought the Eagles within six. Blair Oaks kept pumping 3s and doubled their lead to 22-11 with 3:40 left on a trey by Dell.

Sullivan trailed 24-14 at the break. Norweather splashed the first of six Blair Oaks 3s just seconds into the third quarter. McKinney had a put-back in response, but the Falcons went on a 13-0 run to open up a 40-16 lead. 

Norweather rained a fast-break dunk with 35 seconds left and Dell knocked down a 3-pointer near the end of the period to give Blair Oaks a 52-23 lead.