Adam Papin/MDN Kenmare-Bowbells’ Jacob Livingston watches as Bishop Ryan’s Hayden Seay makes a backdoor layup during the first half of Tuesday’s game.

The Bishop Ryan boys’ basketball team got off to a fast start against the Kenmare-Bowbells Honkers on Tuesday, jumping out to a 26-12 lead in the first quarter, on its way to a 75-40 win.

“It was very important to get off to a fast start,” said Bishop Ryan boys’ basketball head coach Broderick Bosch. “Kenmare is such a good team. Jack Zimmer is such a special player that if you don’t get off to a good start, they’re a team that’s going to stick around for the whole game, and they can make a run at any moment.”

Ramsey Walz led the Lions with ten of his game-high 22 points coming in the first quarter. Walz also made his presence felt on the defensive end as well, with half-a-dozen block shots. Blake Kaylor added seven points, and Hayden Seay scored six points, all on backdoor layups where he exploited weaknesses in the Kenmare-Bowbells defense.

“We were running our pick-and-roll with Ramsey, and they just stuck on him, so I was able to get downhill really easily and finish,” said Seay. “Once they started realizing what we were doing, and that started collapsing, I just got my teammates involved, kicked it out and trusted them.”

Bosch praised Seay’s efforts.

“When Hayden gets downhill, he creates a lot for our offense,” said Bosch. “Not only him scoring at the rim, but him creating shots for others when defenses break down, so that’s something that he’s gotten better at throughout the season. It’s starting to show for us.

In total four Lions finished in double figures. In addition to Walz’s 22 points, Macksen Shean finished with 14 points, and Kaylor and Jett Lundeen each finished with ten points.

Zimmer led the Hockers in scoring with 17 points, 13 of which came in the first half. Kenmare-Bowbells held pace with Bishop Ryan in the second quarter, as each team scored 13 points, but the Lions took a 14-point lead into halftime. The third quarter was all Bishop Ryan, as the Lions outscored the Honkers 21-9 in the quarter, paced by Shean’s eight points. With reserves in for much of the fourth quarter, Bishop Ryan continued to overwhelm Kenmare-Bowbells, and the teams eventually played with a running clock.

Other scorers for the Lions included Seay and Boden Erck, each with six points; Aidan Elm with three; Jack Passa with two; and the pair of Clay Fegley and Coy Okeson, who each finished with one point.

Dawson Redding added seven points for Kenmare-Bowbells, and other Honkers scores were Caleb Knutson, Jacob Zorn and Peyton Helwig, who each finished with four; and the pair of T.J. Lucy and Jacob Livingston scored two points apiece.

Kenmare-Bowbells drops to .500 with loss. The Honkers will defend their 7-7 record at home on Thursday when they host WIlliston Trinity Christian.

Things will get much more difficult for No. 4-ranked Bishop Ryan. On Thursday, it will host the No. 2 Westhope-Newburg Sioux (15-0), in a game that could be a preview of the Region 4 final next month.

“Westhope-Newburg is one of the best teams in the state, if not the best,” said Bosch. “There isn’t a kid they put on the court that can’t shoot the ball inside or out. Our defense has got to be on top of its game; and then, offensively, we have to make sure we slow the game down and don’t give them too many possessions.”

Bishop Ryan improves to 14-1 with the win.