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LINCOLN — The Wynot Blue Devils saw their season come to an end Wednesday night at the Nebraska boys state basketball tournament as O’Neill St. Mary’s pulled away for a 56-42 victory in the opening round.
The Cardinals built a big cushion in the first half and never let Wynot get close enough to seriously threaten. St. Mary’s raced to a 30-15 halftime lead and maintained that advantage the rest of the way to advance to the semifinals against Archangel Catholic.
Wynot finished the season with a 16-12 record.
St. Mary’s was led by Gage Hedstrom, who knocked down four three-pointers on his way to a game-high 19 points. Logan Brabec added 14 points for the Cardinals.
The Blue Devils were paced by Kotner Koch, who scored 16 points, while Nixen Heimes added 9 points. Wynot struggled at the free-throw line, converting just 7 of 21 attempts, which made any comeback difficult.
Wynot got on the board early with a threepointer from Koch along with baskets from Braylon Hans and Nixen Heimes. But St. Mary’s countered with five points each from Brabec and Hedstrom, along with a late three from James Eby, to take a 13-6 lead after one quarter.
The Blue Devils’ offensive struggles continued in the second quarter.
Koch connected on a pair of short jumpers and Lane Heimes added a three-pointer, but the Cardinals kept the pressure on.
Brabec scored six points in the period, Hedstrom added five and Ben Barlow chipped in four as St. Mary’s stretched the lead to 30-15 at halftime.
Wynot found more rhythm offensively in the third quarter.
Koch attacked the basket for eight points, Hans added a pair of field goals and Killian Steinhaus banked in a three-pointer. But St. Mary’s continued to answer, with Hedstrom hitting two more treys and Brabec adding another three as the Cardinals carried a 46-32 lead into the final quarter.
Both teams scored 10 points in the fourth quarter. St. Mary’s got four points each from Ben Barlow and Lane Bybee, while Koch added six more points for Wynot and Justin Heimes contributed a basket to close out the scoring.
The Cardinals took on Humphrey Archangels in semifinal round action Friday.
Wynot — 6 9 17 10 — 42 St. Mary’s —13 17 16 10 — 56 Wynot O’Neill St. Marys FG 13 9 3PT 3 9 FT 7-21 11-17 Reb 28 24
SCORING
St. Mary’s — Gage Hedstrom 19, Logan Brabec 14, Ben Barlow 9, Lane Bybee 4, James Eby 4, Eli Banks 2. Wynot — Kotner Koch 16, Nixen Heimes 9, Braylon Hans 6, Justin Heimes 4, Lane Heimes 3, Killian Steinhaus 3, Devin Brummer 1.
