TULLY –– The No. 2 Tully boys basketball team held No. 15 Sandy Creek without a 2-pointer for the entire first half Monday night at Tully High School in a 70-36 win in the Section III Class C first round.
Tully will take on No. 7 Cato-Meridian in the quarterfinals at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The Black Knights knew Sandy Creek would launch plenty of 3-pointers, but the Comets couldn’t get shots to fall consistently.
“We watched them on Friday in person and they can stretch you,” Tully head coach Ryan Dando said. “They made 10 threes on Friday and we were worried about that, especially playing zone. We wanted contested shots, which I think we did a pretty good job of.”
Sandy Creek’s first 2-point basket came 1:37 into the third quarter.
Tully’s offense was humming from the opening tip, with the Black Knights holding a 19-7 lead through a quarter and a 39-19 advantage at halftime. Garrett Thompson scored 14 first-half points and was consistently getting open catch-and-shoot threes thanks to Connor Bastedo’s creation.
“It’s really just routine,” Thompson said. “We’ve shot so many from the corner all year. Connor creates for us, so it’s just easy.”
Tully’s offense was efficient like normal, but Sandy Creek made it be a little extra patient to get what it wanted.
“We knew we didn’t have to rush against a team we knew we’re faster than,” Bastedo said. “We can take our time and do what we want. We don’t have to force shots.”
“They play four different defenses, so that’s tough,” Ryan Dando added. “There’s a lot of different defenses you’re trying to get used to. Every time down the floor something was changing. Early on I thought we were calling too many plays and we needed to let them get comfortable. We had some guys who were aggressive and we found some shooters who hit some shots.”
Tully cruised in the second half, winning both the third and fourth to put an exclamation point on its first sectional win of the season.
Thompson finished with a game-high 24 points on five makes from deep, Sean Mize followed with 14 points, Bastedo contributed with 12 points, Sam Dando recorded 12 points on four 3-pointers, Nate Melton scored two points and Steven Pierce and Dan Garback both had one point for the Black Knights.
Tully’s next game is a rematch of a one-point Tully win on Dec. 11. The Black Knights are looking forward to putting a stamp on the season series and moving to the sectional semifinals.
“We’ve watched Cato play and we’re a way better team than we were the first time,” Bastedo said. “I think if we come out with energy and we come out and play defense, we’ll win.”
“That first one, we definitely didn’t have an identity,” Ryan Dando added. “We’ve definitely had some guys step up who are playing a lot better. Our chemistry is improved, we’re better defensively. We’ve figured out what defenses we play best in. I’m sure they have as well, so it’s going to be a really good game. They’re a really good team, well-coached and they have a lot of talent.”
