Hall of Fame
1977: Memorial Wins First State Title
The Eagles began their title bid against the Webb City Cardinals. Memorial's tenacious pressing defense plagued the Cardinals with 36 turnovers, which led to an easy 111 to 67 victory. This was the Eagles' third straight 100-plus-point ball game.
Memorial Beat the host team, McDonald County High School, 96-56 in the regional semifinals. They then beat Carthage in the regional finals 89-61.
The Eagles would go ahead and play Troy High School in the state semifinals. In an electric game, the Eagles were victorious with a 77-68 victory against Troy. Cat Johnson went on to score 30 points. The Eagles' defense also forced 26 turnovers against the Trojans.
Memorial rode an amazing 28-point first-quarter burst and free-throw accuracy to an 80-73 victory over previously undefeated Charleston High School for the Class 3-A Missouri State Title. This game was historic in two ways. It was Memorial's first basketball state title, and it was also the first time a Missouri high school won a football and basketball state title in the same year.
1978: Record-Breaking Season:
Coach Mike O'Rourke's 1978 Memorial Eagles broke numerous records on their quest to a second consecutive Missouri State 3-A Basketball Championship.
Memorial set a single-game scoring record in the opening game of the Class 3-A regional tournament when they scored 130 points and trounced Carl Junction High School by an astounding 67 points. During the game another record fell as senior Cat Johnson broke the individual single-season scoring record for Memorial High School.
With a 25-win season in hand, the Eagles' next victim was the Webb City Cardinals. Memorial prevailed with a 94-75 win.
In the next game, the Eagles beat the Aurora Houn' Dawgs convincingly 117-74. A capacity crowd of 2,400 spectators witnessed the game in Aurora's brand-new gymnasium. The Flying Eagles broke the century scoring mark for the 11th time.
The Eagles ended up beating Harrisonville 83-51 and Marshfield 94-76. In the Marshfield game, Cat Johnson scored 50 points. Johnson connected on 22 of 36 attempts, and most of them were 18-22 foot shots. The 50 points broke the Memorial single-game record.
The Eagles go ahead and beat Rock Bridge High School in the state semifinals 64-63 in a nail-biter. They ended up defeating St. Louis McKinley 97-69 in the 3-A state title game. With that win, the Eagles became back-to-back 3-A Missouri State Champions. They ended the season with a perfect record.
Several state records fell as Memorial became the first unbeaten team to win the 3-A title. Cat Johnson finished the tournament with 130 points, which shattered the state record for most points in a four-game tournament, and his team set a new record for most points scored in a championship game.
