By Rich Stevens
The top-seeded Magnolia High School boys basketball team ended a trend at the 2016 state tournament on Thursday.
The Blue Eagles scored 23 of the game’s first 27 points and didn’t look back in handing No. 8 Fayetteville a 72-43 defeat in the third Class A quarterfinal. Magnolia (22-2) faces the winner of the quarterfinal between Notre Dame and St. Joseph at 7:15 p.m. on Friday.
No team led by more than seven at halftime of the first nine quarterfinal games this week. Magnolia held a 33-11 advantage on the Pirates (19-3) through two quarters of the tournament’s 10th game.
“Magnolia was more physical than we were,” said Fayetteville head coach Matt Boyd, whose team was held to its lowest point total of the season. “They just beat us up.”
The Pirates’ defensive focus was senior guard Preston Boswell, a 2015 All-State first-team selection who is leading the state in scoring at 34.8 points per game.
He had 28, but outscored Fayetteville 18-11 in the first half by himself in the Pirates’ first trip to the final eight since 2010, falling to Parkersburg Catholic as the No. 7 seed. Fayetteville also reached the state tournament in 2002, also losing in the first round.
“We had a couple guys we weren’t going to respect as much and wanted to make Boswell kick it out and give it up,” Boyd said. “He’s unbelievable at getting to the rim through the slightest crease. We knew coming in that he was going to get his. Their other guys really hurt us.”
Mitch Winters had nine points and 11 rebounds, as Magnolia won on the boards 41-28. Tyler Williamson came off the bench to score nine points and Derrick Blain added six. All told, 10 Magnolia players scored.
Ricky Meadows had 10 points, which included his 47th and 48th 3-pointers of the season.
The Pirates’ forte is to speed up opponents, which also is Magnolia’s plan. The Blue Eagles won the battle of similar styles with 14 first-half turnovers and 17 points off turnovers.
“Give (assistant) coach Bob Ripley a lot of credit for that,” Magnolia head coach Dave Tallman said of Ripley, who was the longtime defensive coordinator for the Magnolia football team. “He really works on that.
“I also have to give credit to Preston Boswell. He brings so much energy and his teammates feed off that.”
Boswell had six steals and four rebounds and Blain added four steals, which contributed to Fayetteville’s 19 turnovers.
