In the opening game of the boys basketball season at the Sleepy Eye Tip-Off Invitational, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's faced a tough challenge against Murray County Central. The team's shooting went cold, resulting in a 57 - 46 loss. Coach Judd Walter expressed his concerns about the team's shot selection early in the game. George Schwint led the Knights with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kessler Severson and Adam Steffensmeier each had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Early Game Struggles

The Knights started the game with a 6 - 0 run led by Schwint's layups. However, the Rebels quickly responded with a 3 - pointer by Tristan Behrends and took a 11 - 8 lead. St. Mary's struggled against the Rebel's full - court trap defense, turning the ball over and missing shots. This allowed MCC to take a 25 - 14 lead at halftime. Severson got a driving layup late in the half, but MCC's Gavin Gillette responded with a floater to end the half with a 27 - 16 Rebels lead.

It was clear that the team needed to find a way to break through the Rebel's defense and get more shots to fall. The early struggles set the tone for the rest of the game.

Second Half Comeback Attempt

At the start of the second half, the Rebels extended their lead to 38 - 20 with a corner 3 by Gillette. But the Knights didn't give up. Steffensmeier hit his 3 - pointer, and St. Marys' Tyler Mathiowetz hit two more 3s and Schwint rattled in another. This put some energy back into the St. Mary's lineup.

Schwint's 3 - pointer brought the lead down to 50 - 32, and the Knights found some more offensive rhythm. Severson got a driving layup and Schwint had a steal and score, cutting the lead down to 53 - 38. It showed the team's resilience and determination to fight back.

Final Stretch and Lessons Learned

Although the Knights made a comeback attempt, the lead proved to be too great to overcome. The closest they got was 52 - 45 on a spinning paint shot by Steffensmeier. MCC was able to hit a few free throws in the bonus to seal the game away.

Coach Walter praised the team's resilience, saying it was good to see them play until the end. He also mentioned that there is a lot of work to do with the new faces on the team. They will make some adjustments and be ready for the next game.

St. Mary's (0 - 1) continues play in the Sleepy Eye Tip-Off Invitational with a game against Tracy - Milroy - Balaton Saturday at Sleepy Eye High School.