By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel Latin boys’ exhilarating run that included 19 straight victories came one step short of their goal: to make the school’s first trip to the state basketball tournament.
The Lions fell to St. Marys 67-47 in the Class 2A sub-state final at Mission Valley Saturday. The Lions were unable to keep pace with the efficient Bears, who hit 22-42 shots from the field and 15-19 from the foul stripe.
Cair Paravel Latin's boys basketball team poses for a team picture after Saturday's second-place Class 2A sub-state finish. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
St. Marys had scored 88 and 89 points in its previous two sub-state tournament wins. Even holding the Bears to 67 points probably wasn’t going to cut it, Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer said.
“We gave up too many points. That’s asking a lot for us to score 70. You know, that’s not really our game. So, we had to guard better,” Kueffer said. “We played OK. It was kind of our type of game the first 12 minutes, but second half they started hitting 3-pointers and then it’s tough to scratch and claw back. There are no 20-point plays.”
The Lions trailed by just three points after one period, 15-12. They slipped a bit off the pace, but recovered to cut the St. Marys lead to 30-25 early in the third period. But the Bears outscored Cair Paravel 22-12 in the decisive third quarter.
“They are an exceptional team,” Kueffer said of the Bears. “When you’ve got six or seven guys who can all shoot the three-ball, it makes it tough to guard. I felt like in the first half, we did a really good job of guarding the 3-point line, but then what did that open up? Well, there wasn’t enough help, so they got a lot of curls on shuffle picks and then slips and things like that.”
Kueffer said that when the Lions tried to adjust, St. Marys senior Ben DeVader found room to operate, and he scored 17 points, including four 3-pointers, in the second half. DeVader finished with 23.
“I certainly think we knew personnel and schematics well enough,” Kueffer said. “But if you would have given me two or three weeks, I’d have taken it because they are a tough team to get ready for.”
Lucas Marichal led the Lions with 17 points, nine of which came from the free throw line. Chase Hastert scored 10, and Blaine Durbin and Drew Fay each added eight.
“I don’t want to discredit what (the Lions) accomplished. This year was an exceptional year,” Kueffer said. “It’s one of those games that you kind of wish you could tip the ball again and restart. But life doesn’t work that way.
“It’s over now. We want to just make sure that we focus on all the good things that we did do between November and March. And it’s cool that we got to play in March. That’s a lot better than ending your year in February.”
Cair Paravel finished the season 22-3, champions of the Flint Hills League. Saturday’s loss to St. Marys was the Lions' first loss since December 12.
“It was a pretty darn good year. Nineteen in a row. Don’t know if that will happen again,” Kueffer said. “So, it’s important that we enjoy it. Just be proud.”
ST. MARYS BOYS 67, CAIR PARAVEL 47
St. Marys 15 15 22 15 -- 67
Cair Paravel 12 11 12 12 -- 47
St. Marys (18-7) – Hurla 3-7 2-2 11, B. DeVader 7-11 5-6 23, McCann 3-8 2-2 9, Sommars 6-9 3-5 15, Archer 2-4 3-4 7, L. DeVader 1-2 0-0 2, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Waters 0-1 0-0 0, Heim 0-0 0-0 0, Freeman 0-0 0-0 0, Lannan 0-0 0-0 0, Mayhew 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-42 15-19 67.
Cair Paravel (22-3) – Hastert 4-12 2-2 10, Marichal 4-7 9-11 17, Durbin 3-4 1-2 8, Cleverdon 0-2 0-0 0, Fay 4-6 0-1 8, Gossard 1-5 1-3 4, Congdon 0-0 0-0 0, Turcato 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-37 13-19 47.
3-point goals – St. Marys 8 (B. DeVader 4, Hurla 3, McCann 1), Cair Paravel 2 (Durbin 1, Gossard 1). Total fouls – St. Marys 13, Cair Paravel 16. Fouled out – Fay. Technical fouls – none.
