Update: KHS defeated Vianney 58-44 Tuesday night in David Holley Assembly Hall, behind 15 points and three blocks from senior, Evan Booker. The Pioneers lead 24-7 after the first quarter, but Vianney came all the way back to cut the KHS lead to two, before KHS pulled away on a run started by a Booker dunk.

The win puts them through to the championship game, where they will play Webster, Friday night at 8 p.m, in the David Holley Assembly Hall. The Statesmen defeated Mehlville 62-36 Tuesday night in the Denver Miller Gym.

The championship game Friday is a rematch of a game that took place on January, 24 earlier this year. Webster came away with the win, 63-61, after a KHS three-point attempt for the win at the buzzer was unsuccessful. Webster was forced to turn away spectators prior to the start of the game because the gym had reached maximum occupancy.

Friday’s game is expected to draw a large crowd, and fans are encouraged to arrive early to avoid being turned away.

Original story: The KHS boys basketball team plays Vianney Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at Kirkwood in the semifinals of the Class 5, District 4 tournament. KHS hosts districts for the first time since 2009, when the Pioneers won the tournament.

“It’s positive we have the tournament here because we practice and prepare here every day, and last time we had districts here it seemed like we had 2,000 people in the gym,” Bill Gunn, varsity coach, said.

A win over Vianney would put the Pioneers in the championship game, Friday at 8 p.m., where they would play the winner of the Webster vs. Mehlville game, which takes place Tuesday.

“Obviously from a fan standpoint we get excited around here about Kirkwood and Webster, but I think my guys are smart enough and we’ll watch enough video and talk about scouting enough [to not look past Vianney].  You can’t go to the next step if you don’t go to the first one, and the first step is Vianney,” Gunn said.

Last year, KHS was defeated by Vianney in the district championship after beating Webster in the semifinals.

“We didn’t finish as we would have liked to [last year] and although their personnel has changed and ours is largely the same, I think we’ll take what we learned last year and use it to help us this year,” said Gunn.

Earlier in the year KHS won at Vianney 63-56 without starting point-guard Eric McWoods. The Pioneers lost at Webster 63-61 earlier this year, in a game that drew so many people that Webster stopped allowing people into the game prior to tip-off.

“[Anyone coming to the game should] yell loud, and wear white,” Gunn said.