Midwest High School Boys Basketball: Principia (Mo.) thumps short-handed East St. Louis (Ill.)

The Principia School (Mo.) really turned heads last month at the City of Palms Classic. In the span of three days, it knocked off Columbus (Fla.) and Wheeler (Ga.), formerly the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation, per the Rivals Composite Rankings.

Now, the Panthers rank as the No. 9 team nationally and are the top-ranked team in Missouri, even ahead of powerhouse Link Academy. On Saturday, they took on East St. Louis (Ill.) in a high-profile Midwest battle at the Highland Shootout in Highland, Ill. Principia cruised to an 88-54 win.

Junior three-star center Sekou Cisse starred for the Panthers, dropping 25 points and 12 rebounds. Senior four-star shooting guard Quentin Coleman added 22 points, while junior three-star shooting guard Gassim Toure finished with 14.

The Flyers entered the matchup without two starters. Star three-star power forward Jamison White and point guard Devin Houston were both ejected in ESL’s previous game against Belleville West (Ill.) and had to sit out on Saturday.

It was a tight battle at first as Coleman, usually the star of the show for the Principia offense, picked up two early fouls. The Panthers led 19-18 at the end of the first quarter. Their defense turned it up a notch in the second quarter.

In a flash, Principia took a 41-23 lead into halftime. East St. Louis was held to just five points in the period as the Panthers got offense from multiple sources. The Flyers’ offense got back on track in the second half, but the final result was never in doubt.

Principia’s lead grew to 21 points entering the fourth quarter and it cruised to a 34-point win in the end. While East St. Louis was without some key pieces, it was yet another impressive performance for the top-ranked team in Missouri.

While the Panthers may just now be garnering some more national attention, their dominance isn’t brand new. Last season, they went 31-1 and won their first-ever Missouri state championship.

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