MUSTANG — Even off balanced, Jakobie Kaesemeyer’s cross-court side-armed transition pass had as much zip as a professional pitcher’s slider.
Kaesemeyer’s dime was on the money as he found a Cyril sharpshooter for a transition 3-pointer, which Ryan Hart swished on the opposite wing on the fastbreak during a 16-4 first quarter run.
Cyril scored 11 unanswered points in the first quarter, canned five 3-pointers in the first half and utilized its speed to cruise past second-seeded Frontier, 78-48 in the Class A state tournament quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon at Mustang High School.
“Just letting it fly,” said Hart with a smile after scoring 11 of his 12 points in the first half. “Jakobie is one of the best point guards around and he does a great job of creating shots for us and finding us when we’re open.”
The seventh-seeded Pirates (24-4) advance to today’s semifinals where they will meet third-seeded Okarche — which edged Kiowa 58-51 — at noon today at the Fairgrounds, the same place Cyril’s season ended a year ago in a nail-biting semifinal loss.
“It’s pretty cool being my senior year to go back and play in The Big House one more time,” said Cyril senior Cason McLemore, who led the Pirates with 24 points, 12 of which came in the second quarter, including a dagger he buried while curling off a screen on the wing seconds before halftime that gave Cyril a 44-29 lead. “I knew I had to hit that shot right then. It’s big for momentum because whoever scored the last point of the half was gonna come out in charge.”
Cyril missed its first four shots but immediately settled down by securing several consecutive stops while scoring 11 unanswered points.
“I think we started off a little bit nervous, but once we got a few shots to go I thought we played extremely good defense because Frontier’s got some good athletes,” Cyril coach Shane McLemore said.
Then the Pirates got in a shooting groove by making 48 percent of their shots in the first half, going 18-of-38 from the floor, including making four of their five treys in the second quarter.
Kaesemeyer, who was one of five Pirates in double-figures with 13 points, scored a layup after his steal under the hoop before McLemore canned a 3-pointer on the wing off a steal to give Cyril a 23-12 lead in the second quarter. Another steal, off one of 15 Frontier turnovers, turned into the sling-shot Kaesemeyer pass and Hart triple to put Cyril in firm control.
“I trust these kids — been coaching every one of them since the fourth grade,” coach McLemore said. “I know what they can do so we space the floor and let them go.”
Frontier, which was led by 16 points from Brandon Warrior, sank three triples courtesy of Warrior on a 12-2 run to make it 32-26, but the hot-shooting Pirates kept their foot on the gas in the second half.
Albert Suarez, who chipped in 13 points, got an and-1 to go following Kaesemeyer’s old-fashioned three-point play during an 11-0 third quarter run as Cyril built a 30-point lead. Jose Rivera scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half for the Pirates, who got to rest their starters for half the fourth quarter are now one win away from playing in the state championship game.
“I think the boys are ready. They’ve been waiting all year to get back to this spot in the semifinals,” coach McLemore said. “Tomorrow we’ll have to take care of the ball against a very good Okarche defense.”
CYRIL 78, FRONTIER 48
Boys
CYRIL — Jakobie Kaesemeyer 6-1-13, Jose Rivera 6-0-12, Albert Suarez 5-3-13, Ryan Hart 4-1-12, Cason McLemore 9-4-24, Smith 1-0-2, Mitchell 1-0-2. Totals 32-9-78.
FRONTIER — Brandon Warrior 6-1-16, Lightfoot 3-1-7, Connor Norman 3-3-10, Childs 3-0-7, Sanders 0-1-1, Burgess 2-0-4, Tah-Delodge 1-0-3. Totals 18-6-48.
Cyril;16;28;21;13;—;78
Front;10;19;8;11;—;48