STM 42, Chester Area 36

STM forward Liam Duffy wrestles for a loose ball with Chester Area's Jordan VanLiere Thursday afternoon in the first round of the South Dakota Class A state basketball tournament. The Cavs escaped with a 42-36 win thanks in large part to Duffy's game-high 23 points. (Photo Seth A. McConnell/IDS)

On Saint Patrick’s Day, St. Thomas More head coach Dave Hollenbeck didn’t rely on the luck of the Irish, he and the rest of the Cavs contingent relied on the skill of an Irishman…namely Liam Duffy.

Duffy almost single handily saved STM’s season on Thursday in the first round of the Class A state tournament as the Cavs escaped an upset behind his game-high 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting.

“Liam did well, he took care of the basketball, and hit some clutch shots for us,” said Hollenbeck. “I’m really proud of him, he played hard.”

Chester Area led from the start of the second quarter until only five minutes remained in the game. Keenan Soyland hit a 3-pointer on the first shot of the second, breaking a 4-4 tie, and from there the eighth-seeded Flyers controlled the next two plus quarters.

Chester Area would hold the ball for long periods of time in the half-court set (no shot clock in Class A), passing around the perimeter, and waiting for the open shot. Thanks to solid shooting from beyond the arc, (3-of-4 in the opening 16 minutes) the Flyers took a 19-12 lead into the half.

Meanwhile, even with the Cavs substantial size advantage, they only hit six first-half field goals and the post-men only scored two points. Duffy had three of STM’s field goals, two were dunks.

“At halftime we knew we needed to pick up the intensity,” said Hollenbeck. “We felt we were letting them pass it around too much. We needed to get out and force the issue.”

For the opening 11 minutes of the second half it was Duffy versus the Flyers Drew Kreutzfeldt. Both entered the game as their teams top respective scorers, both had six first-half points, and both completely took over the scoring in the second half.

“He’s a phenomenal player,” said Duffy of his counterpart Kreutzfeldt. “Chester Area had a great game plan. I wasn’t guarding him but I had to come over and help a couple of times. We did a good job on him, but he just hit some tough shots on us.”

Kreutzfeldt scored 10 straight points for Chester Area from the end of the first half to the start of the fourth quarter. Duffy matched him almost shot for shot, but the Flyers maintained a eight-point lead after three quarters, 28-21.

(Photos Seth A. McConnell/IDS)

“I think we were a little bit complacent in the first half and took some questionable shots,” said Duffy. “Maybe we were a little scared it was the state tournament, I don’t know. But the second half, we realized this is just a game, we’ve been here before.”

Still down seven with eight minutes to play, an eight/one upset seemed more and more likely.

Duffy made sure it didn’t happen.

The southpaw took over, leading the Cavs on a 12-1 run over the next three minutes. Duffy hit a trey to start the fourth, and on the next trip down the floor threw down a two-handed dunk, cutting the Flyers lead to 29-26 with six minutes to play.

With 5:15 remaining in the game, Duffy hit his fourth three of the game which gave STM their first lead since the opening minutes, 31-29. At that point, Duffy had 18 points.

Soyland hit an underhand runner, but Duffy again responded. The lefty diced through the lane and hit a baby hook over a defender giving STM a 35-31 lead with 2:07 to play.

Soyland knocked down a 3-pointer with 1:47 to play which cut the lead back to one. On the next possession, the Flyers stole the ball at mid-court, but forced up a quick shot which missed. Skye Warwick then found Eric Hensch on a quick outlet pass and STM went up 37-34 with 54 seconds left.

Kreutzfeldt launched a long three from the key in an attempt to tie it, but it rimmed out. The Flyers grabbed the offensive board, but another miss from three point land with 39 seconds remaining sealed it for the Cavs.

Hensch hit 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to close out the game, and STM survived to the next round.

“The only downfall to today was we spent a lot of energy,” said Hollenbeck. “We’ve got a lot of work to do to get their legs recovered for tomorrow.”

Hensch was the only other Cavalier to finish in double-figures with 11 points. Kreutzfeldt led the Flyers with 15 points, and Soyland contributed 14.

STM will play in the semifinals against Aberdeen Roncalli at 6 p.m. Friday night.