(Seguin) – Marion has a spot secured in the 3A Region IV boys basketball tournament for the first time since 2018 after pulling away in the second half to beat Stockdale 45-29 in Tuesday’s regional quarterfinal at Seguin’s Goldie Harris Gym.
“This is awesome,” senior guard Ryken Autry said. “That’s the best way I can describe it. I mean, we’ve been working hard all year to get to this point, and to be here, it’s the best feeling.”
In the third meeting this season between the District 26-3A rivals, Marion won the rubber match with a stifling defensive effort, holding Stockdale to less than half of its team scoring average.
The Bulldogs led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter and 19-15 at halftime. Marion built a nine-point lead midway through the third quarter, but didn’t score over the final 3:30 of the period and took a 31-24 cushion into the fourth.
Marion head coach Jon Allen watched his team hold Stockdale scoreless for nearly four minutes to start the fourth quarter and win the period 14-5 to pull away for the 16-point win.
“The kids wanted it more,” Allen said. “We’ve lost in the third round I don’t how many times, and so they wanted to get to the next round, and I think we can get to the next round, and that’s our little them right now – next round. So it was just that. I think we wanted it more than they did.”
Kadeem Blyden and Lane Pawelek scored 12 points apiece to lead the Bulldogs. Blyden was dominant defensively and on the boards with four blocks and 10 rebounds.
Pawelek made all six of his field goal attempts. He also came up with two steals and grabbed six rebounds, three of which led to put-back buckets on the offensive end.
Allen says Pawelek’s energy and hustle set the tone for the rest of the team.
“Him especially, but everybody, just our effort on both sides of the court, I thought we never let down,” Allen said. “Our intensity was there on defense was there all night, you know holding them to 29, I’m just proud of them.”
Autry and Romero scored nine points apiece. Romero drained three three-pointers and collected three steals. Autry dished out a team-high four assists. Jon Padron added two points, and Dominic Castellanos hit a free throw.
Marion held each of Stockdale’s double-digit scorers below their season averages, with Parker Martinez (16.4) totaling 12 points, Jermey Irwin (16.2) 10, and Jake Gann (12.8) five.
In turn, the Brahmas held Autry to 13 points less than his average, but the Marion senior didn’t mind grinding through a defensive battle.
“We just kept hitting the defense hard,” Autry said. “We stayed true on that end of the floor, and that’s what got us more and more layups and more and more points put away.”
Marion’s four-round run to the regional semifinals matches the deepest boys basketball playoff run in school history. Stockdale finishes the season with a 25-10 record.
The Bulldogs (29-7) face Bishop (32-5) in the 3A Region IV semifinals at Goldie Harris Gym on Friday at 6 p.m.
The Badgers advanced with a 79-76 win over Santa Gertrudis in their regional quarterfinal on Tuesday after eliminating Orange Grove 83-59 and IDEA North Mission 103-68 in the first two playoff rounds.
Friday’s regional semifinal will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com. Pre-game coverage starts at 5:50 p.m.