Call it the Valentine’s Day miracle.

The Eastern Missouri Conference boys basketball championship trophy is back at Montgomery County High School, thanks to a half-court shot from sophomore Clayton Parker as time expired against Elsberry on Feb. 14.

Parker scored a season-high 37 points, including his half-court 3-pointer, to lift the Wildcats to a 71-68 win over the Indians, helping MCHS finish 10-0 in Eastern Missouri Conference play and clinch its seventh conference championship in school history.

The Wildcats came back from 14 points down late in the third quarter to pull off the come-from-behind win over Elsberry, which came into the contest with a 7-1 in conference play. Had the Indians won, they would have had an opportunity to finish with a share of the EMO crown if they beat Silex in their final regular season game on Friday.

MCHS won its third conference title in four years. Last year, the Wildcats finished 5-5 in league play, including an overtime loss to Elsberry at Ballew & Snell Court.

Parker finished with 30 points or more for the second time this season. He poured in 33 in the Wildcats’ 59-52 victory over Winfield in their season opener on Nov. 22.

The Wildcats got off to a strong start against Elsberry, leading 24-10 after Parker scored a basket with 7:21 left in the second quarter. The Indians rallied to take a 51-37 lead with three minutes left in the third before the Wildcats came back to tie it at 65-65 on a three-pointer by senior Zak Rodgers with 2:49 remaining in the game.

With MCHS trailing 68-66, Parker tied it again with a basket with 28 seconds left in the game. With four seconds to go, Parker rebounded a missed shot by Elsberry’s Dashaun Dodson, then rushed to the middle of the court to attempt a 3-point shot. After it went in, Parker and the rest of his teammates ran into the stage area of the gymnasium and celebrated. 

Sophomore Isaiah Thomas scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, junior Mason Leu had seven points and senior Alex Hartman finished with five points and six rebounds for the Wildcats, who made  61 percent (27 of 44) of their shots.

Parker’s heroics happened just 24 hours after the MCHS girls basketball team defeated Elsberry to clinch its fourth straight EMO crown. It’s the third time in school history the Wildcats won EMO basketball championships in both boys and girls divisions. The other years were 2020 and 2021.

The Wildcats improved to 18-7, surpassing last year’s win total of 17. They’ll wrap up their regualr season at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Moberly at home.