The unstoppable force met the immovable object on Saturday.

Mexico entered the MSHSAA Class 4 Quarterfinals at Francis Howell Central with a spotless record. The Bulldogs’ last loss was a year prior — to the day — when they fell in overtime to Van Horn in the 2021 Class 5 quarterfinals. Since then, they’d ripped off 28 straight wins, snagging North Central Missouri Conference and Class 4, District 8 titles along the way.
The 2021-22 season was a tour de force.

They did have the occasional hiccup and wound up in a tight situation late in a few contests — but they were always able to summons a run and pull away. And they’d done so with a bullseye on their back for most of the year. The closest Mexico came to losing in the regular season was 68-61 overtime win against Fulton.

The Bulldogs were simply better than everyone they met.

But they ran into a powerhouse in Vashon on Saturday.

Vashon entered the contest 24-4, but only one loss was from an in-state opponent (Westminster Christian Academy). The Wolverines were also the defending state champions, with last year’s banner complementing state titles from 2016, 2017 and 2019 under head coach Altonio Irons. Vashon made the Class 4 semifinals in 2020 but the tournament was canceled due to coronavirus.

Saturday’s contest was a heavyweight battle between two teams quite similar in makeup. Both squads featured quick, athletic players with a pension for pressure defense and getting out in transition.
The early difference came down to Mexico miscues.

Vashon pressured Mexico the length of the court, forcing a few significant turnovers. When the Bulldogs were able to get by defenders and gain a head of steam, they struggled to convert, missing layups, throwing passes off the mark or committing charges.

“I felt like they were dictating the pace of play and the style of play,” said Mexico head coach Darren Papaps. “They came out and pressured us and caused us to turn it over a few times, and then we didn’t get the boards secured some possessions so they were able to get some second and third opportunities.”

Vashon jumped out to an early 7-0 advantage before Daeye Miller got Mexico on the board with two hard-earned free throws. But shortly after, Isaiah Reams picked up his second foul and spent the remaining five minutes of the first quarter and the beginning of the second on the bench.

The Bulldogs did what they could to stay afloat without Reams. Michael White took a charge inside, D.J. Long went coast-to-coast for a score and Jordan Shelton and Miller capitalized on a give-and-go to end the quarter trailing just 15-8.

“It shows that they have a lot of heart and a lot of grit and were really trying their best to weather the storm,” said Pappas. “We had some guys step up in some big moments. I thought D.J. Long and Jordan Shelton did a good job of taking over the point guard position when Isaiah got in foul trouble, so give credit to those two and give credit to the team for just kind of getting through that.”

The Wolverines swarmed the Bulldogs and capitalized off steals to build a 27-11 lead. But their aggressive swipes at the rock eventually caught up with them, as Mexico entered the bonus midway through the second. The Bulldogs were unable to take advantage of the freebies, shooting just 5 of 12 of the charity stripe in the second quarter and 13 of 24 in the game.

“We were trying to attack the basket and get them in foul trouble as much as possible,” Pappas explained. “I felt like we did a fairly decent job of that. We didn’t hit as many free throws as I would’ve like to in the first half to keep it even a little bit closer. But overall, I thought we did a really good job of attacking the basket.”

The Bulldogs trailed 35-17 at the break, but they’d built a reputation of coming out hot and putting together third-quarter runs all season.

“One stop at a time and then get out in transition and try to run as much as possible,” Pappas told his team at halftime. “We’ve challenged them every single game the entire year in the third quarter and they responded pretty well.”

White stuck back an offensive rebound to start the second-quarter scoring. He then stole the following inbound, diving to collect the loose ball and shoveling it off to Shelton, who gave it right back to White for a layup to trim the Wolverines’ lead to 14.

Vashon’s cushion hovered around 16 midway through the quarter before another Mexico spurt.

Long zipped a pass inside to Miller for a lay in and Reams connected on two free throws to pull Mexico within 12. Then, Reams ripped the ball from a Vashon guard and outraced the competition to the rack for a one-handed slam to cut the lead to 10 and bring the Mexico crowd to its feet.

But on the other end, Vashon continued its sharpshooting, as Andre Aaron and Trey Williams Jr. answered with consecutive 3-pointers to send the Wolverines into the final frame up 48-34. Williams Jr., a freshman, connected on five 3-pointers in the game and the Wolverines shot 10 of 21 from deep as a team.

“We were trying to put ball pressure on them as much as possible,” said Pappas. “They just found some gaps and hit some shots on some inside-out passes and when a team gets hot like that it’s hard to stop.”

Mexico hit a wall after an emotional third quarter and was unable to muster a fourth-quarter push. And after a quiet first three quarters, Vashon junior Kennard Davis drilled two 3-pointers and Vashon shot 7 of 9 from the free-throw line down the stretch to pull away for a 69-44 win.

“I just wish we wouldn’t have dug ourselves into too big of a hole early in the first half,” Pappas said. “But give credit to the guys, they left it all out there tonight.”

Reams led Mexico with 15 points, Miller finished with 13, Shelton scored seven, White added six and Long and Anthony Shivers chipped in two and one, respectively.

“I thought we did a pretty good job of getting out in transition and running at times,” Pappas said. “I wish we would’ve executed a little bit better, I wish we would’ve hit more free throws and gotten some more perimeter scoring as well.”

Vashon, looking to defend its state championship, advances to play Central (New Madrid County) in the Class 4 semifinal in Springfield on Friday.

Mexico’s dream season ends at 28-1.

It was a sour ending to an incredible run that included a new school record for most consecutive games won to start a season without a loss.

Pappas reminded his team of its success after the game, noting, “One game does not dictate the type of season that you guys had.”

The Bulldogs also say goodbye to a strong group of seniors — Miller, Reams, White, Dominic McKeown and Peyton Willer—who were highly instrumental in Mexico’s recent highs.

“This group of seniors won 50 games in two years and only five losses,” said Pappas. “So they left their mark on Mexico basketball. They mean the world to us. They were extremely coachable, their talent was at a high level and they set the bar extremely high for teams to come.”