ST. CHARLES – As the Class 5 quarterfinal entered its second overtime Saturday, MICDS senior Brandon Clemens recalled a conversation he had with seniors Keshon Mims and Brandon Stokes when they were freshmen on the Rams’ varsity basketball team.
“We told each other, in our four years, we wanted to go win state,” Clemens said. “I had the mindset that I was not going being to be denied that opportunity.”
Clemens scored eight of his game-high 21 points in the second overtime as MICDS outlasted Holt 59-47 in a double overtime thriller to win a Class 5 quarterfinal Saturday at Francis Howell North High.
MICDS (25-4), which advanced to the final four for the first time since 2002, will face Hillcrest (21-9) in a Class 5 semifinal at 8 p.m. Friday, March 20 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia.
Sikeston (28-2) and Raystown South (18-11) will meet in the other Class 5 semifinal at 6 p.m. Friday.
Tied at 47 in the second overtime, Clemens drove right, elevated and swished a 15-foot baseline jumper on the Rams’ first possession. After a Tyler Ray drive gave MICDS a four-point lead, Clemens could clearly see the finish line.
“I knew coming into that second overtime that we needed someone to step up and take the offensive load,” Clemens said. “I had the mindset that I was not going to get denied wherever I was going to go, and I was not going to be denied the opportunity to go to state.”
Clemens made 6-of-6 foul shots in the second overtime, resurrecting the Rams’ dismal 3-for-16 performance from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtimes prior to that.
“We just gave Brandon the ball and he changed the game,” MICDS coach Travis Wallace.
Clemens’ game-changing plays started well before the second overtime. He was tasked with guarding Holt 2,000-point scorer Will Salonies and held him in check for most of the afternoon.
“I knew I was going to have to be big in the sense of, not completely shutting him out, but just limiting the easy shots he was going to get by getting a hand in his face,” Clemens said.
Tied at 45 with eight seconds remaining in regulation, Holt executed a slick out-of-bounds play from underneath its own basket. Salonies inbounded the ball and was set to receive a quick give-and-go pass to break free for the game-winning layup, but Clemens snuffed it out and denied him the ball.
“Brandon is ‘ol’ reliable,’” Wallace said. “He’s been playing on varsity since he was a freshman and there’s nothing he hasn’t seen.”
During the first overtime, Clemens forced two difficult shots by Salonies that went off target. On the other end of the floor, Clemens hit a baseline fadeway to give MICDS a 47-45 lead. Holt junior Abhijot Bajwa drained two free throws to tie the game, but Salonies fouled out trying to draw a charge soon after.
The game advanced to a second overtime.
And Clemens took over.
“It was just the will and determination from everyone that we were not going to be denied,” Clemens said. “For us to have the opportunity to go to state, it’s an unreal feeling,”
MICDS followed its gameplan perfectly in the first half to build an early lead. Stokes and Mims hit threes on the opening two possessions before the Rams began utilizing their height advantage. Tyler Ray scored nine of his 11 points in the second quarter with an array of putbacks and three-point plays.
A Stokes putback and three-point play staked MICDS to a commanding 37-25 lead.
“They beat us on the backboards in the second quarter,” Arnold said. “We were severely undersized and we needed to swarm (the boards). If we could keep them under wraps and limit their offensive rebounds in the second half, I thought we’d have a chance.”
After a Clemens’ jumper gave MICDS a 43-35 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Rams employed their signature, spread-the-floor offense to try to bleed the clock and exploit one-on-one matchups. Instead, the Rams became passive, and Holt went on the attack.
Jace Evans and Salonies drained threes, and after Bajwa made a steal and converted a layup, Holt had cut the deficit to 44-43. Evans’ tough basket in traffic gave Holt a 45-44 lead in the final minute.
“We wanted (MICDS) playing not to lose, because they were playing to win,” Arnold said. “Our kids executed pretty well down the stretch, Jace hit the three to get us started and our kids rebounded well.”
Stokes drove the lane and was fouled with eight seconds remaining. The Rams had gone 1-for-5 in free throws in the fourth quarter before Stokes converted the second one to tie the game at 45. Clemens snuffed out the Holt inbounds play, and the game went to overtime.
“I said, ‘If I would have told you four months ago, overtime against MICDS, four minutes to go to state, you would have taken it,” Holt coach Charles Arnold said.
MICDS survived the first overtime despite missing all four of its free throw attempts, then outscored Holt 12-0 in the second extra session.
“I’m happy for this community,” Wallace said. “When you think about MICDS, you don’t think about basketball, and that is one of the reasons I wanted to come here, to change the culture.”
Holt senior Will Salonies, who will continue playing at Missouri Baptist University, changed the basketball culture at Holt, ending his career with over 2,000 points, one play away from guiding his team to the final four.
“The legacy Will has left at Holt – 2,000 points is tough,” Arnold said. “From day one, he had the ball in his hands, and a lot of times it was him and only him on the scouting report, so it’s even more of a credit to him. He’s a real competitor, and Missouri Baptist is getting a steal in my opinion.”
And MICDS, which won four district titles in the past five seasons, will try to duplicate the feat of its only other final four team – the 2002 squad that won the state title.
And try
“We’ve been knocking at the door, now we have to finish the job,” Wallace said.
For a photo gallery of this game, visit: https://benvessa.smugmug.com/Boys-Basketball-Photos/Boys-Basketball-2025-26/MICDS-vs-Holt-Class-5-quarterfinal