ST. MARY'S TACKLES LOADED SCHEDULE

Losses stay in the locker room.

The St. Mary's basketball team left its first loss of the season in 2017. It celebrated the new year by hitting the century mark two states away.

The No. 3 small school in the STLhighschoolsports.com rankings, St. Mary's (13-2) powered past Moreau Catholic of California for a 101-76 victory at the Mac Jelks Invitational in Hammond, Ind., outside of Chicago on Monday.

The Dragons didn't get much time to reflect on what ailed them after they let a double-digit lead get away in their 67-61 loss to No. 2 large school Hazelwood Central (13-1) in the Coaches vs. Cancer Holiday Tournament championship game on Saturday at St. Louis Community College–Meramec.

Coach Bryan Turner saw his Dragons do the things that make them hard to beat when they bounced back in Indiana.

“Fatigue kind of hit us,” Turner said. “That stage (at Meramec) was a little too big for some of the guys. I went with the guys I trusted. The ball stuck.”

Junior point guard Yuri Collins led St. Mary's with 20 points against Central. That's not the ideal setup for the Dragons. Yes, he can put the ball in the basket, but St. Mary's is at its best when Collins is setting up his teammates. Like he did against Moreau.

“Yuri's best attribute is getting us into stuff,” Turner said.

Collins went for 14 points, three steals and nine assists. He was one of six Dragons to score in double figures Monday. Senior guard Tony Burks tied a season-high with 24 points. Senior forward Miles Jones had 16 points after being limited by foul trouble on Saturday. Senior sixth-man Lavell Harris had 14 points and five steals. Senior post Yahuza Rasas had 12 points and senior guard Dominic Mitchell had 11 points.

St. Mary's was stung by the defeat Saturday, but Turner will take a loss now if it means avoiding trouble come the postseason. What he saw on Saturday reminded him of the Dragons' overtime sectional loss last season to eventual Class 4 champion Vashon.

“That game was a mirror image of the Vashon game,” Turner said. “I'm glad we had that type of game in December.”

The Dragons are at their best their offense is getting points from everywhere. In their dismantling of CBC earlier this season, sans Rasas, the ball movement kept the Cadets' defense off-guard and led to a layup parade in transition and wide-open looks in its half-court offense.

St. Mary's will have to play that way if it is going to achieve its goal of a state semifinal run. The path will be rugged as it could potentially face Confluence Academy in its district, Vashon in the sectional and then loaded Sikeston in the quarterfinal. The Dragons are, once again, in the toughest corner of the state tournament bracket.

“We can only do this as a team,” Turner said.

St. Mary's wrapped up its busy schedule Tuesday by dropping a 69-58 decision in an Archdiocesan Athletic Association contest at Duchesne. St. Mary's will be off until Jan. 15, when it plays at St. Louis U. High at 5:30 p.m. on Martin Luther King. Jr. Day. It's a welcome break from what has been a rough and rugged schedule.

“I knew when we set the schedule up this would be our gauntlet,” Turner said. “We've got a break and I know I need it and the kids need it.” - by David Kvdahl of the St. Louis Post Dispatch