Mehlville Basketball Begins District Play Tuesday

The Mehlville boys and girls basketball teams both finished the regular season with sub .500 records. But they also both showed late in the season that they could be a dangerous team after the regular games ended.

The Panther boys defeated Oakville 56-50 on Feb. 8 to hand the Tigers their first loss in the Suburban West Conference, while the Mehlville girls followed suit with an impressive 55-47 win on the road at Eureka on Feb. 15. The Wildcats were also a perfect 6-0 in the Suburban West before the Panthers' win.

Both the boys and girls were seeded fifth in the six-team Class 5 District 6 Tournament which begins Tuesday at Lindbergh High School.

"It is a one-game-at-a-time deal for every team at this point of the season," said Mehlville boys coach Andy Guethle. "We're a team which is going to get overlooked but I like playing the role of underdog."

The Panther boys will open up Tuesday at 7 p.m. against fourth-seeded Lindbergh. Lindbergh defeated Mehlville 54-44 on Feb. 4 although the Panthers outscored the Flyers in the second half.

"I feel that is a toss-up game," Guethle said of the opener. "It is at their gym and there is going to be a lot of energy and emotion. I think it will come down to which team settles down first and plays together as a team. We can't let the crowd or the moment catch us off-guard. I think we are playing our best and most consistent ball of the season and we are not beating ourselves."

Senior Eldin Dilberovic would love to extend his high school career as long as possible.

"I think the sky is the limit for this team if we play good defense," Dilberovic said. "They key for us to move on is defense."

Vianney and Oakville are the top seeds in District 6 and receive first-round byes. Vianney was only 2-5 in the rugged Metro Catholic Conference but are 15-10 overall. The Griffins will play the winner of the Mehlville and Oakville games in the semifinals Wednesday at 7 p.m. The boys championship game is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m.

The Mehlville girls broke a six-game losing streak with the impressive win over Eureka in which they scored 40 points in the first half. The Panthers have three players who are averaging in double figures. Chanese Washington is leading the way at 11.7 a game while Sierra Gray is scoring at an 11.1 clip and Jessica Fox is averaging 10.5 points per contest.

The Panthers will face district rival Oakville in the opening district game Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Lindbergh.

Oakville defeated Mehlville 50-43 on Feb. 8 although the Panthers led 17-7 after the first quarter.

The district field at Lindbergh is loaded with Cor Jesu, Kirkwood and Lindbergh as top seeds. Cor Jesu, which defeated Mehlville 53-32 in the season opener on Nov. 23, is 19-6. Kirkwood was undefeated in the Suburban South Conference and is 17-8 overall while Lindbergh is 16-7.

A win in the first round by the Panther girls would advance them to the semifinals against top-seeded Cor Jesu Thursday at 7 p.m. The girls championship game will be Friday at 5 p.m.