File photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye St. Marys’ Will Walter dribbles the ball during an earlier home game this year at St. Mary’s High School.

SLEEPY EYE — Top-seeded Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s defeated Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of Section 2A, North Subsection boys’ basketball Tournament.

The Knights used a solid defense and, offensively, four of the five members of the starting line-up scored double digits. Carson Domeier scored 23 points, he had five rebounds and four assists. Will Walter added 12 points with three rebounds. Kaleb Wait had 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

GFW was plagued by foul issues and turnovers, especially during the second half. St. Mary’s confidence seemed to build with each successful possession when the Knights rebounded well, and they played like a No. 1 seed.

The second half was where the Knights flexed their muscles and really focused upon distancing themselves from GFW. St. Mary’s got a basket by Domeier, a fast-break layup by Walter off a GFW turnover and a steal which led to Wait taking the ball the length of the court for a score.

Braylan Freitag hit a 3 to end GFW’s scoring drought.

Late in the second half, Wait slipped the ball to Domeier, who scored on a layup. That made it 56-44 St. Mary’s.

Later, Wait weaved between two GFW defenders and he scored on an underhanded layup. He was fouled and he hit the free throw to complete a 3-point play. The score was 67-50.

Things were much different during the first half. Both teams exchanged baskets. There were three ties and eight lead changes. St. Mary’s increased its defensive pressure which forced GFW to spend extra time running its offense. Alexander Johnson scored back-to-back baskets to help GFW regain its final lead. Domeier hit a 3 which tied the game at 21-21.

Owen Weiss regained the lead for the Knights. Wait’s steal and basket gave St. Mary’s a 25-21 advantage. The Knights led 25-23 at halftime.

Freitag led GFW with 12 points and Johnson added 12 points. GFW ends its season with a 5-23 record and St. Mary’s plays New Ulm Cathedral at 6 p.m. on Thursday in St. Peter.