Salina, KS

2A Boys State Quarterfinal

In the opening round of the 2A Boys State tournament, the St. Marys Bears looked comfortable on the floor during warm-ups at the Tony's Pizza Event Center and that transitioned well into the game.

The fifth seeded Bears jumped out early on fourth seeded Hays-TMP led by Senior Ben Devader who poured in seven of their first thirteen points. The defense was just as impressive as the shooting was for St. Marys, allowing just 6 points in the first quarter to take a seven point advantage into the second. The rout was on in the first half as the Bears pushed the issue that resulted in a quarter where they outscored the Monarchs by eleven to increase their lead at the break to 32-14.

Devader led the way with fourteen in the first half, pacing the Monarchs himself and the Bears defense was absolutely locking down Junior Tye Schmeidler who came into the game averaging more than 16 points per game. He was scoreless in the first half, in large part to Senior Killian McCann who drew the task of guarding him. 

In the third, the Monarchs would make their only push in this game, outscoring St. Marys 17-10 in the quarter. This result came from the Bears going over the foul limit with 4:38 left in the 3Q allowing easy opportunites at the free throw line for TMP. 

With the score 42-31 heading to the final stanza, St. Marys would lean on Devader to put them over the top and like he has so many times in his career, he delivered. The Bears coasted to the finish line, outscoring the Monarchs eighteen to thirteen in the frame to win decisively 60-44. 

Enough can't be said about how well St. Marys plays defense. Non-stop pressure, man to man. The Monarchs couldn't handle it as the Bears held TMP to just 30% from the field in the game, including just 28% from three. 

St. Marys moves on to the State Semi-Finals where they will take on either the defending 2A Champ in undefeated Sterling, or Douglass. That game will be played in Emporia on Friday at 5:30, where you can listen live on 96.9FM KOZA-The Pulse, download the MSC Radio App or stream for free on www.kozafm.com

St. Marys Scoring Leaders - 

B. Devader - 30, J. Hurla - 8, L. Archer - 7, Z. Sommers - 6, K. McCann - 5, L. Devader - 2, D. Freeman - 2.