One round down, two to go.

The Jamestown High School boys basketball team defeated seventh-seeded Bismarck St. Mary's Tuesday at Jerry Meyer Arena, punching its ticket to the WDA tournament semifinals. The Blue Jays will host Bismarck High Thursday at 7:30 p.m., following JHS girls basketball hosting Bismarck St. Mary’s in loser-out play at 5:30 p.m.

The Saints must win Thursday's matchup in order to have a shot at the Class A state tournament beginning March 11 at the Bismarck Events Center.

The Blue Jays are eager for the opportunity to play in Bismarck again.

"It did not feel like WDA at all today, the energy was completely different," said Jamestown junior Devin Beach. "The Bismarck Civic Center is my favorite place to play. It's just a whole different feel, so (tonight) just felt like another game. It had the WDA energy, it just wasn't the same."

The higher seeds are hosting the first two rounds of the WDA tourney due to COVID-19 protocols.

The Blue Jays came out ready to defend their home court and posted a 5-0 run en route to a 13-9 lead early in the first. Nathan Fedorchak knocked down the Saints' first 3-pointer of the game to pull within one. Fedorchak's shot sparked an 11-2 run to put the visitors up 23-15 with about seven minutes left to play in the first half.

The Jays started to settle down when Brooks Carroll and Kade Schumacher combined for four 2-point buckets to draw within four. Eight of Schumacher's nine points came in the first 18 minutes.

Shea Carroll ended the half landing a pair for the Jays from the stripe but the Saints still led at half 33-31. The Blue Jays did not commit a foul the entire first frame.

The Saints led the region in 3-point shots at the end of the regular season, a stat Beach said the Jays were worried about heading into the quarterfinal. After an unsuccessful first half of limiting the shooters, Beach said the Jays began to stay in a more consistent defensive position that kept the Saints out of the middle.

"The first half was not good," Beach said. "We took first-chance shots almost every time and we let them get to the middle way too much which opened up the 3-pointers and layups. There was a lot to clean up at halftime."

The Blue Jay bench had a lot to do with cleaning up the mess accounting for 30 of the Jays' 67 total points.

"We're a really deep team and I don't think a lot of people know that," Beach said. "A lot of us have been playing JV and we have a lot of seniors this year. (Kade Schumacher) was huge. He's really good at those floaters and he's an amazing shooter when he has the confidence."

Beach also commended Adam Kallenbach for knocking down a perimeter shot that tied the game at 38-38 late in the first half. The junior said the Blue Jay bench has some big potential and that he expects that potential to be unleashed the rest of the season.

Beach had a strong game of his own.

Carroll had just missed a pair from the stripe when Beach got the ball back and took it all the way to the hoop to give the Jays a 55-53 advantage. The Saints regained possession but Beach knocked the rock loose, passing it up to Carroll who made the bucket making it a four-point game.

Landon Gerving countered with a layup and a foul shot to cut the Jays' lead to one but Beach knocked down another 2-pointer to make it 59-56. Carroll followed the layup with a 3-pointer to make it 62-58 Jays. Beach tallied a total of 11 points, all scored in the second half.

"He played a heckuva basketball game," JHS head coach Jacoby Lloyd said of Beach. "He plays the same way every single time. He doesn't think about the moment, he just wants to go and make plays for his team. He wasn't afraid of taking a big shot, making a big layup, shooting those big free throws.

"He's got a bright future and I am looking forward to how he continues to grow during this WDA tournament."

Girls close to catching Bismarck High

Annie Nabwe was the leading scorer on both teams Tuesday night in Bismarck.

The Jamestown High School girls basketball team lost a heartbreaker to fourth-seeded Bismarck High in the opening round of the WDA tournament. The Demons outlasted the Jays 45-42 scoring three in the last minute to avoid going into overtime.

BHS will go head-to-head with undefeated Bismarck Century Thursday at the Patriots' home venue while the Blue Jays will host Bismarck St. Mary at 5:30 p.m.

"The girls played hard tonight, they just came up short," JHS head coach Andy Skunberg said.

Nabwe, a junior for the Blue Jays, was well on her way to 30 points against the Demons but was stopped at a modest 24, outscoring her teammates by at least 19 points. Bismarck's leading-scorer, Ali Gulleson, only came up with 14 points all-told.

Nabwe knocked down all but one of her 11 free throws and made 13 grabs at the boards. The junior also made a couple of blocks and stripped the ball four times. Nabwe's athleticism often gets her into foul trouble but on Tuesday the junior only posted one personal foul.

Katie Trumbauer, Katie Falk and Grace Hegerle combined for 15 more points, but it was not enough to counter the Demons' more balanced scoring category. Jilee Golus, Payton Gerving, Gulleson and Mandie Picard all scored seven or more points.

"BHS's pressure seemed to get to us a little tonight but I was proud of our defense for the most part, holding BHS to 45 (points)," Skunberg said. "We have to have a short memory and get ready for St. Mary's."

Jamestown 67, St. Mary's 61

SM 33 28 -- 61

JHS 31 36 -- 67

SM -- Evan Gross 22, Nathan Fedorchak 14, Garrett Gader 9, Landon Gerving 5, Zach Haas 4, Carson Rohrich 4, Nick Schumacher 3. Totals: 26 FG, 2-4 FT, 14 fouls. 3-pointers: Gross 3, Fedorchak 2, Schumacher 1.

JHS -- Brooks Carroll 18, Devin Beach 11, Kade Schumacher 9, Lamp 9, Ty Monson 5, Jacob Hilgemann 5, Shea Carroll 3, Adam Kallenbach 3, Luke Van Berkom 2, Keith Levin 2. Totals: 25 FG, 12-19 FT, 6 fouls. 3-pointers: Monson 1, Lamp 1, Beach, B. Carroll 1, Schumacher 1.

Bismarck High 45, Jamestown 42

JHS 19 23 -- 42

BHS 20 25 -- 45

JHS: Katie Trumbauer 5, Annie Nabwe 24, Grace Hegerle 5, Ella Falk 3, Katelyn Falk 5. Totals: 11 FG, 3-pointers: Trumbauer, Hegerle, E. Falk, 15-18 FT, 15 Fouls.

BHS: Sydney Gerving 2, Mandie Picard 11, Miyah Holzworth 2, Jilee Golus 7, Payton Gerving 8, Peyton Neumiller 1, Ali Gulleson 14. Totals: 18 FG, 3-pointers: Gulleson 4, P.Gerving 2, Golus, Picard, 1-11 FT, 15 Fouls.

West Region Basketball Tournaments

Boys

(Tournament seeding in parentheses)

Tournament play-in games

G1: (6) Bismarck Century 99, (11) Watford City 42

G2: (7) Bismarck St. Mary’s 69, (10) Williston 36

G3: (8) Turtle Mt. 70, (9) Dickinson 69

Quarterfinals

March 2

G4: (1) Minot 83, Turtle Mt. 63

G5: (4) Bismarck Legacy 79, (5) Mandan 72

G6: (2) Jamestown 67, Bismarck St. Mary’s 61

G7: (3) Bismarck 62, Bismarck Century 54

March 4

G8: Turtle Mt. at Mandan, 7 p.m.

G9: Bismarck St. Mary's at Bismarck Century, 7:30 p.m.

G10: Bismarck Legacy at Minot, 7 p.m.

G11: Bismarck High at Jamestown, 7:30 p.m.

March 6

At Bismarck Event Center

State qualifier: Winner G9 vs. Loser G10, 4:30 p.m.

State qualifier: Winner G8 vs. Loser G11, 6:15 p.m.

Championship: Winner G10 vs. Winner G11, 8 p.m.

Girls

(Tournament seeding in parentheses)

Tournament play-in games

G1: (6) Mandan 105, (11) Williston 28

G2: (7) Minot 85, (10) Turtle Mt. 47

G3: (8) Bismarck St. Mary’s 43, (9) Dickinson 38

Quarterfinals

March 2

G4: (1) Bismarck Century 70, Bismarck St. Mary’s 29

G5: (4) Bismarck45, (5) Jamestown 42

G6: (2) Watford City 82, Minot 63

G7: Mandan 63, (3) Bismarck Legacy 57

March 4

G8: Bismarck St. Mary's at Jamestown, 5:30 p.m.

G9: Minot at Legacy, 7 p.m.

G10: Bismarck at Bismarck Century, 5:30 p.m.

G11: Mandan at Watford City, 6 p.m.

March 6

At Bismarck Event Center

State qualifier: Winner G9 vs. Loser G10, 11 a.m.

State qualifier: Winner G8 vs. Loser G11, 11:45 a.m.

Championship: Winner G10 vs. Winner G11, 1:30 p.m.