Powerhouse Principia too much as Woodland boys’ run at gold ends in semifinals

Pitting David versus Goliath in the Class 3 boys basketball semifinals, Woodland couldn’t match up to the mighty one-loss Principia Panthers on Wednesday morning, with the Cardinals’ run at gold ending in a 85-50 loss in the opening matchup of the 2025 MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown.

Led by an unstoppable double-double performance from junior guard Quentin Coleman, teetering on the end of a triple double, plus another big performance from 6-foot-9 sophomore post Sekou Cisse, it became clear early on that the Cardinals were matched up with a giant.

Despite its best efforts, rallying back to cut it to a 10-point game late in the first half to force a Principia timeout as Woodland coach Shawn Kinder excitedly ran out to greet the team, Woodland’s fate just seemed predetermined against the 29-1 Principia side.

“We knew coming into it that we were undersized,” Kinder said. “Outmatched at a lot of positions, athleticism-wise, and so forth.

“I think some of the guys got going eventually, but we just never got going at the same time.”

On the other side of the ball, Principia coach Jay Blossom, hailing from nearby Hickman High School, seemed quite pleased to be headed to the state championship game, eyeing the first state title in school history after a silver finish in 2023.

Shrugging off a slower day from his guys, which should raise a few eyebrows after taking a 35-point victory, he’s ready for another go at the gold.

“We’re going to have to be better tomorrow,” Blossom said. “I’m proud of my guys, this is first time I've ever been part of a 30-win team. Hopefully we’ve got one more in us tomorrow night.”

Quentin Coleman finished his day with a game-high 18 points to go with 11 rebounds and 6 assists, with Gassim Toure putting up 12 points and 5 boards right behind him.

Cisse made his name known with 4 blocks that took the wind out of the Woodland fan section each time, a spark plug on the back end to fuel the fire that is this Principia squad.

Jackson Shock led Woodland in scoring with 16 points in the loss, hitting three 3-pointers while junior forward Calvin Layton pushed double digits with 10 points and a team-high 4 rebounds which he, Shock and Korbin Kinder shared, a junior trifecta of rebounding talent.

Layton also came away with 3 steals on Wednesday, leading the team in minutes played as he came off the floor for just a sole 60 seconds while regular leader Kinder fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

It’s been an impressive season for Woodland, with some high highs and not-so-low lows, taking games off of some of the top teams in Southeast Missouri. Wednesday against Principia, however, it seemed that Woodland had truly met its match.

Beginning the game on a 7-0 Panthers run, Woodland kept it around the 10-point mark for much of the first half. That aforementioned timeout appeared to indicate a shift in the energy, with a pull-up jumper in the mid-range putting the cap on a big Cardinals run.

But Principia can’t be held off normally, which is why even the Sikeston Bulldogs couldn’t defeat the Panthers earlier this season as Sikeston pursues a title of its own in Class 5.

That season will come to a head tomorrow, beginning the ultimate culminating piece as the Cardinals’ first appearance at the state championships will end in their pursuance of a third-place trophy.

Dropping into the third-place game, the Cardinals tip off their final game of the season at 10 a.m. on Thursday morning against Thayer, who fell to KIPP KC Legacy 56-49, also at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri.

Kinder, as ever, is ready to bounce back and claim a victory on the final day of the season, and his seniors share that sentiment as they reflected on Day 1 at the Show-Me Showdown.

“I've never played anywhere like this, and I’ve run on the track teams,” Woodland senior Hayden VanGennip said. “I’ve been to state and I've won state personally, but it's nothing like this, going there with the team and having fans in the stands and having people rooting for you.

“I hope tomorrow we'll go out there, we'll play a bit better and really get the stands active and cheering us on.”