Behind Javier Duren’s 19-point effort, the Oakville Senior High School boys’ basketball team hammered Mehlville 68-45 Friday night in the Class 5, District 7 championship game.

Duren finished the evening with not only 19 points, but the sophomore point guard also racked up six steals, five three-pointers and three assists in the win.

“Javier solidified himself as an all-district player in that game,” Oakville head coach Nick Traxler told the Call. “He really exemplifies what we want out of our kids in our program.”

The win for Oakville (21-7, 6-2 Suburban West) marks back-to-back district championships for the Tigers.

“We had a five-game winning streak going into the Kirkwood game right before districts and we lost that one 67-63,” Traxler said. “I think that our boys got a little too big for their britches and they responded well by coming out ready to play for districts.”

For Mehlville (14-12, 4-4 Suburban West) the loss marked the end to a bounce-back season for the Panthers after going 8-17 overall last season with a 0-8 mark in conference play.

“I was really pleased with the improvement and the effort that our kids gave all year,” Mehlville head coach Andy Guethle told the Call. “We’ve got kids on this team that are dependable, self-made players who spent a lot of time in the weight room in the off-season and I’m really going to miss working with those seniors next season.”

Mehlville’s Aaron Alexander led all scorers with 24 points and 16 rebounds in the loss. The senior forward finished the season averaging 14.7 points and 9.6 rebounds per game this season.

“Aaron’s been in the 20s scoringwise over the past five games and he had another good night for us,” Guethle said. “He had a good four-year career at Mehlville and I’m really going to miss him.”

Oakville’s Keith Pickens also scored in double figures with 14 points and four rebounds in the win. In addition, the senior guard racked up five blocks, two steals and two assists.

“Keith’s playing like a senior leader and he’s the guy that makes us go right now,” Traxler said. “He’s really become a difference maker for us on defense.”

Garrett Reeg’s 13-point effort for the Tigers was complemented with 14 rebounds, four blocks, one steal and one assist.

“I think that Garrett is probably the best defensive big man in our conference if not the St. Louis area,” Traxler said. “He’s just a phenomenal young man.”

The Tigers are scheduled to return to action at 6 p.m. Wednesday — after the Call went to press — when Oakville faces Fort Zumwalt South (20-7, 4-2 Gateway Athletic Conference) in the Class 5 Sectional at St. Louis Community College–Meramec, 11333 Big Bend Road.

Fort Zumwalt South is a program with an extensive amount of experience. The Bulldogs have appeared in the Class 5 semifinals the past two seasons.

“Fort Zumwalt South has a phenomenal coach in Bill Friedel and they play match-up zone and pretty much hang their hat on that,” Traxler said. “We’re going to have to execute our zone offense really well in order to be successful against them.”