Bayless Boys Set To Begin Postseason Voyage

When the Bayless boys basketball team begins play in the Class 3 District 4 Tournament on Tuesday night in Crystal City, Mo., the Bronchos will take the court as the tourney’s No. 1 seed.

Considering that Bayless finished last season with a 7-19 record, this turnaround is definitely stunning. The Bronchos kick off district play Tuesday at 4 p.m. against Valley Park (4-20).

The Bronchos are 19-6 this season, including a 9-2 mark in the South Central A.A. Conference. They lost twice to league foe Maplewood Richmond Heights, who is still playing in Class 3 District 5. Bayless has won eight of its past 10 games and will have enjoyed a five-day lay off since defeating Whitfield, 57-48, last Thursday. Freshman forward Edin Mehmedovic scored 23 points in that game.

The postseason fortunes for Bayless will ride on Mehmedovic, and his brother, senior Enis Mehmedovic. The Bosnian brothers have excelled all season. Edin, a 6-foot-4 forward, is likely to become a superstar on the local prep scene for years to some. In his freshman season, he leads Bayless with averages of 16.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game. He also is shooting 57 percent from the field and is, without a doubt, one of the top freshmen in the metro area.

Enis, a 5-foot-11 guard, is averaging 15.4 points and has a team-best 46 made 3-pointers.

Head coach Pat Triplett relies heavily on four players, one of which is his son, freshman guard Patrick Triplett Jr. Triplett is averaging 10 points and six rebounds per game. But it is point guard Lamont Davenport who may hold the key to a district title for Bayless. Davenport handles the ball a lot for the Bronchos, and is the team’s primary distributor and defensive igniter. He is averaging 11.4 points, 5.8 assists and 2.4 steals.

If Bayless wins on Tuesday, it will play the winner of Hancock-Grandview (Hillsboro) at 6 p.m. on Thursday night. Hancock is 9-15 (3-7 South Central A.A.) and Grandview is 11-8.

The bottom half of the Class 3 District 4 bracket features St. Pius X (Festus) vs. John F. Kennedy and Crystal City vs. Herculaneum.

St. Pius X is the No. 2 seed and brings a 17-7 record into Crystal City, including a 4-0 mark in the Jefferson County Conference. Arguably the star player of the tourney, the Lancers feature sophomore guard Garrett McDowell, who averages 20.9 points and has 81 made 3s this season. That is the second most of any player in the metro area. JFK is 4-20 this season.

Crystal City is 19-5 and also features a notable star player. Eli Sample is averaging 22.5 points per game and has 63 made 3s. Herculaneum has an 8-15 overall record this season.

Meanwhile, the Bayless girls finished their season on Monday night with a 52-22 loss to JFK. The Bronchos finish with a 10-14 record and had won five of their past six games before the disappointing result in their district opener.