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LINCOLN < Pleasanton coach Randy Bauer elected to wait until the second half to go to a box-and-one defense against St. Edward standout Shavontae Samuels.
It proved to be a timely decision.
After Samuels torched the Bulldogs for 22 first-half points, he was held in check for 13 in the second half.
That set up a game-closing 27-8 run that propelled top-seeded Pleasanton to a 62-48 win over the defending state champs in the first round of the Class D-2 boys state tournament Thursday in front of a capacity crowd at Lincoln East.
"At halftime we talked about heart and desire," Bauer said. "We went to a box-and-one in the second half. I thought about going to it earlier, but I didn't want them to expect it (in the second half)."
Obviously, the Bulldogs (23-1) needed to change something. Samuels scored all but four of his team's 26 first-half points, and he assisted on the other two baskets.
The box-and-one took effect immediately. St. Edward (20-4) made only 4 of 19 shots in the third quarter.
"I don't know how much difference (the box-and-one) made," St. Edward coach Aaron Martin said. "But we got complacent and stood around. We didn't attack."
The Beavers were also forced into eight turnovers in the third quarter. Samuels displayed frustration by waving his arms after a couple of them.
"We got him frustrated," Bauer said. "He made some bad passes."
Despite all that, St. Edward still led 40-35 after James Spath scored early in the fourth quarter.
But after a Samuels free throw to put the Beavers up 41-38 with 6 minutes, 1 second left, things fell apart.
Pleasanton used a 6-0 run to take the lead for good. It also had two 7-0 runs in the final four minutes to pull away.
"They did a good job," Martin said. "We just ran out of gas. They're deeper than we are. We have five or six guys we play the whole game."
Pleasanton scored 29 points in the fourth quarter after putting up 33 over the first three.
"We didn't play good offensively (in the first half)," Bauer said. "We weren't attacking like we did in the second half."
Trevor Paitz led Pleasanton with 19 points. He scored 11 in the fourth quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers. Elijah Zwiener, a 6-foot-7 senior, added 16 points. Jordan Axmann chipped in 13 and Trey Shafto 10.
Samuels scored his 35 points on 13-for-29 shooting. He had four 3-pointers. No other Beaver scored more than six points.
Martin said it wasn't a case of relying on Samuels too much.
"We need to (rely on him)," he said. "Other players were not as big scorers as they have been."
PLEASANTON 62, ST. EDWARD 48
PLEASANTON (23-1)
Paitz 6-11 5-7 19, Tr. Shafto 4-8 1-2 10, K. Giffin 1-3 2-2 4, Axmann 2-9 7-8 13, Zwiener 7-13 2-2 16, Rasmussen 0-0 0-2 0, M. Giffin 0-3 0-0 0, Olson 0-0 0-2 0, Ta. Shafto 0-0 0-0 0, Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0, Troester 0-0 0-0 0, Pritchard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 17-25 62.
ST. EDWARD (20-4)
Samuels 13-29 5-10 35, Tharnish 1-8 0-0 2, J. Spath 2-2 2-4 6, Fitchner 1-6 0-0 3, Olson 1-5 0-0 2, Cruise 0-1 0-0 0, Haas 0-1 0-0 0, C. Spath 0-0 0-0 0, Hemmer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-52 7-14 48.
Pleasanton 9 12 12 29 - 62
St. Edward 11 15 10 12 - 48
3-point goals-Pleasanton 5-14 (Paitz 2-3, Tr. Shafto 1-3, Axmann 2-6, M. Giffin 0-2), St. Edward 5-21 (Samuels 4-12, Tharnish 0-4, Fitchner 1-4, Haas 0-1). Fouled out-Tharnish. Rebounds-Pleasanton 32 (Zwiener 9), St. Edward 37 (Samuels 13). Assists-Pleasanton 9 (Paitz, Tr. Shafto 3), St. Edward 5 (Samuels 3). Turnovers-Pleasanton 11, St. Edward 21. Total fouls-Pleasanton 15, St. Edward 24. Technicals-none.
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