Blue Devils cruise past St. Mary’s in first round

LINCOLN — The number 4 and 5 seeds in class D2 met on Wednesday afternoon at the Devaney Center in Lincoln.

The Wynot Blue Devils would use a smothering defense to advance with the 53-21 win over the O’Neil St. Mary’s Cardinals. The Blue Devils held the Cardinals to single digit scoring in every quarter as they moved on to take on the number 1 seed Shelton in the next round on Friday night.

“We’ve been in this environment before and for the guys, they don’t take it for granted,” Wynot coach Lee Heimes said. “It’s nice to be in that position because you’ve done it already, so there’s not a lot of doubt in your head that you won’t be able to do it.”

Wynot got another solid game from their leading scorer Dylan Heine who finished with 16 points. After that it was a balanced attack with nine points from Carson Wieseler and 6 points each from Zack Foxhoven, Andrew Haberman and Devin Brummer.

St. Mary’s got six points each from Ben Barlow and Gage Hedstrom to lead the Cardinals’ offense.

Wynot would get off to a quick lead in this one. Three pointers by Zack Foxhoven, Dylan Heine and Devin Brummer fueled a 15-7 firstperiod run. Ben Bartow hit a trey and Carson Dannenbring and Gage Hedstrom each also had a basket for St. Mary’s. The Blue Devil defense stiffened in the second quarter holding St. Mary’s to a single field goal by Dannenbring and three freethrows by Ben Bartow. Meanwhile, Wynot got five more points from Dylan Heine, another trey by Devin Brummer and a basket each from Chase Schroeder and Carson Wieseler as they expanded their lead to 27-12 at halftime.

By the end of the first half, the Blue Devils were in complete control, thanks to their athleticism and timely plays.

“Juniors and seniors versus freshmen and sophomores makes a big difference out on the floor,” Heimes said. “You kind of get where you want on the floor a lot of times and you may be a little stronger, faster so it makes it tough on a young team.”

Wynot would really tighten the screws on defense in the third quarter holding the Cardinals’ offense to just a pair of freethrows.

Wynot’s offense continued to click. Five points by Carson Wieseler, and four more points by Dylan Heine and a second three pointer by Zack Foxhoven sparked a 16-2 run to put the Blue Devils up 43-14 going into the final quarter of play.

In the fourth quarter, St. Mary’s Carson Dannenbring got four points on the inside and Gage Hedstrom hit a floater in the lane. Chase Schroeder and Dylan Heine each hit mid-range jumpers while Jed Nelson and Cooper Oligmueller came off the bench to score a basket each as the Blue Devils advanced with the 53-21 win.

Wynot 15 12 16 10 — 53 St. Mary’s 7 5 2 7 — 21 Wynot O’Neill St. Marys FG 15 5 3PT 7 1 FT 2-6 8-12 Reb 25 17

SCORING

Wynot- Dylan Heine, 16; Carson Wieseler, 9; Zack Foxhoven, 6; Andrew Haberman, 6; Devin Brummer, 6, Chase Schroeder, 4; Killian Stienhaus, 2; Jed Nelson, 2; Cooper Oligmueller, 2. St. Mary’s- Ben Barlow, 6; Gage Hedstrom, 6; Carson Dannenbring, 4; Matt Berg, 4; Xavier Parks, 1.

All Tourney Team

Ashton Simmons, Shelton Riley Bombeck, Shelton Jeremiah Ingison, Maywd/Hayes Cntr Dylan Heine, Wynot Jace Rosentreader, Sumner-EM