For the Blue Jays, they are making a comeback from their appearance last year when the team lost in the first round. The Woodchucks enter the state tournament for the first time in school history with a vibrant group of seniors eager to bring home the state title.

While each team has the means, in the end, it will come down to who wants it more.

No. 2 St. John Woodchucks

The St. John Woodchucks have finally gotten the monkey off of their back and earned their place at the state tournament. While it is a major step in St. John school history to make it to state, the boys aren’t looking to stop there.

Al Christianson/Special to MDN St. John senior duo Kyler McGillis (35) and Dalton Prouty (23) team up against Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood’s Levi Feland (14) during a boys basketball game earlier this season.

“We aren’t just looking to go to state, we’re looking to win,” said Kyler McGillis, leading scorer for the Woodchucks, earlier this season.

St. John continuously appeared as the No. 1 team in the state rankings with an undefeated season until a close loss to Dunseith in the District 8 tournament bumped the Woodchucks to No. 2.

The Woodchucks enter the state tournament with a 23-1 record and a dynamic senior duo leading the charge.

Seniors Dalton Prouty and McGillis have been playing together since about fourth grade and consistently lead the Woodchucks in points. McGillis earns an average of 29.2 points per game, followed by Prouty at 17.2 ppg.

The Woodchucks have not seen a single state tournament team this season, but has won some pretty convincing games throughout their season to prove they are a threat to the title, and have earned their No. 2 ranking. On Jan. 12, No. 1 seeded Hillsboro/Central Valley fell to Four Winds/Minnewaukan 71-68, a team St. John defeated in their Region 4 tournament to get to state.

McGillis has racked up over 1,500 points in his career and is aiming to surpass the 2,000-point benchmark during the state tournament.

Both McGillis and Prouty are proud of the chemistry the St. John squad has this year, and will need to bring all they’ve got to the tournament for a chance to win.

The Woodchucks begin their tournament play against unseeded Wyndmere/Lidgerwood, 21-2 this season. The Warbirds and the Woodchucks faceoff at 1 p.m. today at the Bismarck Event Center.

No. 4 Stanley

Blue Jays

The Stanley Blue Jays enter the state tournament seeded fourth with an overall record of 22-2. The team started the year strong with a 15-game win streak that was tainted in early February.

“We lost to two dangerous teams back-to-back,” Blue Jays head coach Kory Anderson said. The Blue Jays lost to Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood 64-63 on Feb. 5 and Lewis & Clark-North Shore 71-69 on Feb. 6. “(The teams) competed well and we were complacent in both games.”

A lack in offensive rebounding is what led to the early February stumble. Anderson said the athletes gave up over 20 offensive rebounds each game, noting the team deserved to lose both games.

“I think (the players) were reminded that on any given night, they could be beat,” Anderson said.

With that, the boys continued their regular season with more victories, winning both the District 16 and the Region 8 championship titles to earn their place at state.

“The guys are excited for the opportunity to play in the tournament again,” Anderson said. “I believe that if we can set defense as the priority, good things will happen. We talk about defense all the time but it needs to show as we play.”

On average, the Blue Jays have allowed 53.63 points per game this season while scoring 69.33 points themselves. Leading scorers for the Blue Jays have been seniors Wyatt Hanson (20.9 points per game), Matt Patten (15.1 ppg) and Kaedyn Hanson (12.3 ppg). Wyatt Hanson has over 2,200 career points and continues to rack them up as the team advances.

Anderson is looking to these seniors to continue performing to their maximum potential while also looking for big moves from other players.

“Some role players and even subs gave us big minutes during the regional that were pretty special. We will need all of that again,” he said.

The Blue Jays have only seen one state tournament team during their regular season. They defeated unseeded Shiloh Christian 60-51 on Jan. 27. Anderson says he’s not concerned having only seen Shiloh Christian, as the team battled through a very tough Region 8 tournament to be where they are.

“I believe the top Region 8 teams could compete with anybody. That said, the state tournament is an entirely different game. We will have to play our best ball to compete,” Anderson said.

The Blue Jays take on No. 5 seeded Carrington in the quarterfinals today. Anderson regards Garrett Bickett of Carrington as a great all-around player and feels that if the team loses sight of him, he will make them pay.

“I think what I respect most about Carrington is their willingness to share the ball,” Anderson said. “They are unselfish and make the right play.”

The Blue Jays face the Cardinals at 8:15 p.m. today at the Bismarck Event Center.