By RANDY GONZALES

rgonzales@dailynews.net

The tighter the defense, the more shots the Bulldogs missed.

The Quinter prep boys' basketball team overcame 42 percent shooting on Tuesday to win its Class 1A state tournament opener.

But Quinter couldn't overcome 1-of-8 shooting from 3-point range in losing in Thursday's semifinals of the season finale.

And the Bulldogs couldn't overcome 26 percent shooting in Friday's third-place game. Quinter had a season-low in points in a 48-38 loss to Baileyville-B&B in Gross Memorial Coliseum. Thursday's 46 points in the semifinal loss to Montezuma-South Gray had been the previous low-water mark this season.

"I think we ran into some really good defenses," Quinter coach John Crist said. "These teams down here at state, they're here for a reason, they play good defense.

"I think that was a lot of it. Probably lost a little confidence, got gun-shy. I think we passed up some shots we normally make. I think it kind of fed off everything. Just good defense," he added.

Quinter, ranked No. 1 in the state, was 26-0 and the top seed at the state tournament. The Bulldogs lost to Hanover in last year's state title game. Hanover beat South Gray in Friday's finals to repeat as champions.

"It's very disappointing," Crist said. "The kids are disappointed they didn't finish the season the way they would have liked.

"There's a lot of teams that would like to be in our position, 26-2 and finish fourth in the state tournament," Crist added. "It's disappointing on one hand, but once the hurt wears off, we sure realize we had a tremendous season ..."

Quinter kept it close after the first quarter, trailing 10-8. B&B (24-4) outscored the Bulldogs 15-8 in the second quarter to take a 25-16 halftime lead.

"They're so tall, hard to get shots from the perimeter," Crist said. "Their guards ... hard to shoot over that length. You do get the ball inside, you get 6-6, 6-4 inside.

"They're just a good basketball team. It's hard to get shots against them," he added.

Crist saw his Bulldogs start the second half on a 7-0 run, but the Falcons responded with a pair of buckets and led by eight points entering the fourth. Quinter would get no closer in the final eight minutes.

B&B got 12 points apiece from senior Ryan Huerter and sophomore Cody Heiman.

Senior guard Matt Bird led Quinter with 12 points, and senior center Zach Nemechek added 10 points and 14 rebounds. Senior Scott Ochs, the team's other center, scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Quinter had to overcome injuries to both big men and other players just to reach state.

"I never had a season where it felt like we were battling uphill all year," Crist said. "Injuries, one after the other; we had sickness. We had to overcome a lot of adversity this year, for whatever reason."

Crist loses nine seniors off this year's team.

"We'll miss the seniors tremendously," Crist said. "They've been a big part of the success of Quinter basketball over the last four years, and they've won a lot of basketball games as a group.

"They not only excel on the basketball floor, they excel in the classroom and forensics and all kinds of other things," Crist added.

"They're just a neat group of kids that get along well with each other."

Crist also looked ahead to next season.

"That's the hardest thing about coaching, saying goodbye to the seniors because they meant so much, but we have a good group of underclassmen that are ready to step in and fill those roles," Crist said. "They got a taste of what it's like to be down here, and I'm sure they'll work hard in the offseason."