St. Joe knocks out MRA in first round of state tournament
St. Joseph knocked MRA out of the MAIS 6A state tournament with a thrilling 35-34 win on Tuesday night, using a stifling defensive performance and a great offensive gameplan to move onto the semifinals.
The Bruins jumped out to a lead early on, but MRA answered with a second half comeback and took the lead late in the game. Despite the MRA comeback attempt, St. Joseph never wavered, withstanding the Patriot run and making several clutch plays on both ends of the floor to come away with the win.
“We just have told our guys that everyone’s record is 0-0 at this time of the year,” St. Joseph Head Coach Michael Howell said. “We made a lot of big plays on both ends of the court down the stretch and I’m just really proud of our guys and the effort they put forth tonight.”
St. Joseph slowed the game down with a methodical half-court offense and it worked massively to their advantage. The Bruins won the first regular season matchup between the two teams in overtime, but MRA took the second matchup in a 64-45 win on January 28th. In the third matchup, it seemed like the Bruins knew exactly what they needed to do and executed that almost perfectly.
“We had a really good week of preparation and the guys really bought in and executed at a really high level,” Howell said. “We have been playing too fast at times this year and I have told our guys that if we just learn how to slow down and execute, then I feel like we can be a really good team and that’s what our team did tonight.”
St. Joseph has faced adversity this season, losing two of their starters going into the postseason. Even with some younger and inexperienced players, the Bruins found a way to win and had several players step up with the team’s season on the line.
“We are down two starters right now and we have had to lean on some guys that have not played a ton this year, especially in situations like this,” Howell said. “Joe Brown stepped up for us in a big way tonight, he is a kid with a ton of talent and ability. He played a phenomenal game on the defensive end and held their leading scorer in check all night.”
Will Andrews and Chris Gordon led the way in the scoring column for the Bruins with 11 points each. Andrews also made one of the biggest plays of the game, securing a steal and easy layup to give the Bruins a lead late in the game.
The Bruins will now shift their focus towards a matchup with one-seeded Jackson Academy in the MAIS 6A state semifinals on Friday. Jackson Academy took both regular matchups between the two teams, winning the first matchup 60-56 and the second matchup 81-48.
“It’s a totally different matchup in different ways for us,” Howell said of Jackson Academy. “They are a team that rebounds really well, so we are really going to need to prepare well in that area for Friday.”