Thomas Jefferson falls in Liberal tournament to Galena

John Hacker, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·2 min read

Jan. 21—LIBERAL, Mo. — A slow start and a suffocating Galena, Kansas, defense put the Thomas Jefferson boys basketball team on its heels early as the Cavaliers fell to the Bulldogs 74-41 in the finals of the 2023 Tony Dubray Memorial Basketball Tournament on Saturday in Liberal.

Jefferson's Tyler Brouhard hit one of two free throws after he was fouled 15 seconds into the game to score the first point of the contest, but the Cavaliers (11-4) remained stuck on 1 point until the final minute of the quarter, while Galena went on an 18-0 run and led at the end of one 23-7.

"It was kind of a slow start and you can't have a slow start against a team like Galena," said Thomas Jefferson Head Coach Chris Myers.

Brouhard led all scorers in the game with 21 points, in part because of the five 3-point baskets he made in the game, while Galena (12-0) won with balanced scoring and three players in double figures and two more within 2 points of that mark.

Maverick Herman and Dubray Tournament MVP Tyler Cox led Galena scorers with 15 points, Jack Perry scored 13, Malachi Wesley had 9 and Hadley Price had 8.

Galena Head Coach Matt Meyr said his team focused on controlling Thomas Jefferson's big man, Jay Ball, who ended the game with 10 points.

"We really were concentrating, like everyone in this tournament was trying to do, to control ... Ball ... because he's tough to handle inside," Meyr said. "We're pretty big and the Ball kid is bigger than anyone we've got, but we've got three of them who can lean on him all night long and kind of wear him down. We just did a good job on our defense inside and rebounding."

Thomas Jefferson kept falling behind, trailing 38-16 at the half. Galena used a 28-17 third quarter to build a 66-33 lead and force the running clock in the fourth quarter.

Other Cavalier scorers were Levi Triplett with 4 points and Ethan Renger and Kohl Thurman with 3 points each.

Other Bulldog scorers included Ty Hall with 7, Quinton Cox with 4 and Thatcher Botkin with 3 on a steal and foul in the third quarter.