St. Clair boys basketball uses 28-0 run to handle Marysville in district quarterfinal

RICHMOND — Basketball is a game of runs. But in this particular game, there was only one run that mattered.

A 28-0 tear propelled the St. Clair boys basketball team past Marysville, 67-41, in a Division 2 district quarterfinal at Richmond High School on Monday.

Braylon Frantz led all scorers with 16 points for the Saints, who improved to 12-11 and advanced to Wednesday's district semifinal against Armada. Teddy Pozios and Carter Stevens each had eight points for the Vikings, who finished the season at 2-21.

"I liked that we came out defensively and got stops," St. Clair coach Matt Distelrath said. "They scored a basket to start the game and then we locked in and got down to doing what we like to do — as far as our defense goes. I thought, in the first half, we were very unselfish and when we do that, that's when we're playing our best."

"They made shots and we didn't," Marysville coach Erik Schunk said. "We don't have much of an inside game. So when our shots aren't falling, we couldn't get things going and it was kind of downhill from there ... it was just a perfect storm. They shot well and we couldn't play our style of defense (due to the number of fouls)."

"The energy was great, even before the start of the game," said St. Clair guard Braylon Essian, who scored 15 points. "So everybody was hyped coming out. We were playing team basketball and getting everyone else points."

Essian got the scoring started in the opening moments to put the Saints ahead, 2-0. But the Vikings quickly answered and took the lead on Zac Winston's 3-pointer. Barely 60 seconds of game time had passed.

Then came the run.

St. Clair scored the next 28 points, effectively ending the game before halftime. The Vikings didn't score again until Nate Clark hit a free throw with 4:21 left in the second quarter.

"We shot the ball well," said St. Clair center Hunter Richardson, who finished with 10 points. "Our goal was to take care of this team and set an example of what we're planning on doing through the next game."

Ten different players scored for the Saints, including five who came off the bench.

"Especially in a long week like this, to be able to get (some reserves) out there (is huge)," Distelrath said. "The guys that don't usually get to play a lot got out there and played our style. They showed that they're getting better and it was good to see."

While Monday marked the end of an arduous season for Marysville, there's reason for optimism with the continued growth of players like Winston, Mekhi Radford-Donawa and Jake Dysinger. Those are just three of the team's seven sophomores.

"Our roster is going to be junior-loaded next year," Schunk said. "Hopefully, we stay committed in the offseason. If nothing happens from now to (next season), we're going to be in the same boat. But if our guys want to change things in the record column, then they'll be in the gym all spring and fall."

St. Clair is back in the gym Wednesday against Armada, in what will be a rematch of last year's district semifinal. The Saints won the meeting handily, 52-21. But that's nothing more than a footnote now.

"I know they're good," Distelrath said about Armada. "They play hard, they play tough and they got a lot of kids back from last year. So, we know we're going to be in for a dog fight."

The Tigers enter at 13-9 overall. And while Armada has dropped its last three games, two of its losses were by less than seven points.

"Help defense is definitely going to be a necessity," Richardson said. "If we got a smaller dude (guarding) a bigger dude, we're going to need somebody to help him."

"Honestly, it's just going to come down to who's ready to play," Essian said. "They've got guys that are coming back from last year when we beat them. So they're hungry. We've got to come ready to play."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.

This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: St. Clair boys hoops uses 28-0 run to handle Marysville in districts