It was size and strength against speed and quickness in a first-round game of the Lawrence Athletics’ MAYB Tournament’s third- and fourth-grade division. The Lawrence Hoopsters battled the Topeka Future Saturday at South Junior High and used height to their advantage gaining a 36-25 victory.

Hoopsters’ center Bryce Montes de Oca stood almost a full head and shoulders above any defender that the Topeka Future threw against him. With a game-high seven rebounds and two blocks, Montes de Oca’s size was only matched by the quickness of Future guard Mo Hugghis. Both led their teams with 16 points apiece.

Montes de Oca established his presence in the paint early, scoring the first points of the game and grabbing two rebounds in the first few minutes of play. Hoopster guard Cole Moreano also got off to a hot start, scoring eight of his 10 points in the first half. Moreano, who also grabbed three rebounds, three steals and dished two assists, was modest about his team’s victory.

“We did a good job of staying on task, but we need to pass the ball better to keep winning,” Moreano said.

One person that disrupted many of the Hoopsters’ passes was Future’s Hugghis with five steals. Stepping into passing lanes and snatching the ball from unwary dribblers, Hugghis used his defense to spark his offense. Half of Hugghis’ 16 points came from fast breaks or steals converted into layups.

A 16-9 halftime deficit proved to be the closest the Future would get to catching the Hoopsters. With five straight points to begin the second half, the Hoopsters extended their lead to 12 and never looked back. With no one to match Montes de Oca’s size, the Future had to rely on double and triple teams, which opened the floor for other Hoopsters to step up and hit shots. Saxon Mingus, Zach McNabb and Joe Dineen all added buckets during the second half to ensure the 36-25 victory.

Hoopster Cole Moreano, right, gets the pass from Bryce Montes de Oca's rebound and drives the ball upcourt against the Topeka Future on Saturday. The Hoopsters won all four of their games in the MAYB tournament held at South Junior High over the weekend.

Topeka came to within eight points after a steal and basket from Kameron Clark, who was second to Hugghis in scoring with five points. But with just a minute left to play, eight points proved to be too big of a hill to climb. It was the first loss for Topeka coach Lawrence Clark’s club.

“This is our first tournament outside Topeka and the level of competition is definitely up there,” Clark said.

Lawrence Hoopsters coach Rick McNabb was pleased with the level of effort he got from his team, but noted several things that needed work before tackling their next opponent.

“We were running well at the start but then got a little sloppy and made some mental mistakes,” McNabb said. “But it definitely wasn’t from a lack of effort.”

In their second game of the tournament Saturday the Hoopsters played cleaner and demonstrated the same level of effort to carry them to a 36-21 win over the Sedelia Bombers.

Sunday morning the Hoopsters came out ready to play and continue their road to the championship game.

The Hoopsters met the Rosehill Rockets and once again used their speed and solid play of their guards to take a 22-9 halftime lead. The Rockets carved into the 13-point advantage in the second half using their height advantage under the rim, but the Hoopster maintained a cushion taking the victory.

The Lawrence Hoopsters pose with their tournament medals after defeating the Rosehill Rockets 29-27 on Sunday.

Going into the championship game Sunday afternoon McNabb knew it was going to be hard to play against the fiffth-grade Rockets for a second time.

“The hardest thing in any sport is playing a team twice.” McNabb said. “We didn’t need to make any huge adjustments, but just told the guys to realize that it would be a tougher contest than the first.”

McNabb was right, and the game came down to the wire. Free throws proved vital to the Hoopsters’ two point advantage with 24 seconds left on the clock.

The intensity in those final seconds energized the team to a final defensive stop and the Hoopsters beat the Rockets 29-27, taking first place in the tournament.

“This team doesn’t have one dominant player,” McNabb said. “Our success comes from the trust that these guys have with each other. The relationships they have off the court translate to their ability to win a close game like this.”

McNabb said the close win provides the Hoopsters’ tournament team valuable experience and confidence heading into tournaments with stiffer competition against older teams.

-Natalie Flanzer contributed to this story.