Seabury sophomore Zach McDermott (5) floats through the air for an easy two points after getting behind the Jayhawk-Linn defense during their game Thursday evening at Bishop Seabury Academy.

Bishop Seabury Academy sophomore Zach McDermott insists he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary before Thursday’s game against Jayhawk-Linn.

He stuck to his normal routine and was on fire for the first quarter. The 6-foot-2 point guard scored from everywhere. He ran past defenders in transition for layups. He hit threes. He knocked down mid-range jumpers. Most importantly, he set the tone for the Seahawks in a 76-55 rout at Dillon Gymnasium.

McDermott scored 14 of his game-high 29 points in the first quarter, helping the Seahawks jump to a 19-6 lead in the first eight minutes.

“It’s just fun when people are finding you and your shots are going in,” McDermott said. “Nothing can go bad when you’re hitting shots.”

Playing without junior guard Mikey Wycoff for the fifth straight game because of an ankle injury, the Seahawks (12-3) have leaned on McDermott. Similar to Wycoff, McDermott is the do-it-all point guard. They can score in bunches and set up teammates for open looks.

McDermott led the Seahawks with five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

“I’ve played with (McDermott) since the seventh grade every year and over the summer,” sophomore guard Thomas diZerega said. “He just constantly improved. I don’t expect anything less from him.”

When McDermott cooled off in the second quarter, diZerega and the rest of his teammates heated up. Junior guard Austin Gaumer drilled a three, senior forward Thomas Uhler made a jumper and diZerega scored six of his 13 points in the period.

“(Jayhawk-Linn’s) defense basically wants us to shoot threes and jumpers,” Seabury coach Ashley Battles said. “I told them, ‘Don’t shoot threes and jumpers.’ So of course, we shot threes and jumpers. We were just hitting.”

When the Seahawks are at their best, they are all filling into their roles. McDermott and sophomore guard Bansi King (13 points) are the top scorers while diZerega, Gaumer and junior Max Easter focus on rebounding, defense and everything in between.

King and Easter switched off on face-guarding Jayhawk-Linn junior Cole McGrew, holding him to 12 points.

Meanwhile, diZerega snared five rebounds and made all six of his shots from the field — mostly lay-ups in transition or when McDermott drew extra attention on the perimeter.

“His basketball IQ isn’t super high but his basketball feel is,” Battles said of diZerega. “That’s really what you want in guys. He’s 5-10, not a lot of tough kids like that.”

In the final minutes, with backups on the court, Seabury seniors Austin Dominguez and Thomas Silvestri drilled long-range triples.

The Seahawks will play host to Veritas Christian at 7:30 tonight.

Jayhawk-Linn (55)

Tommy Lankford 3-7 0-0 6, Bryce Nation 2-5 0-0 4, Cole McGrew 5-7 1-1 12, Brandon Gray 10-19 5-5 27, Chad Coleman 1-4 0-0 3, Harley Stone 0-6 1-2 1, Diego De Bortoli 0-1 0-0 0, Mason Barrett 1-3 0-0 2, Wyatt Sandess 0-1 0-0 0, Hayden Broyles 0-0 0-0 0, Quentin Umphenour 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 7-8 55.

Bishop Seabury (76)

Zach McDermott 12-22 0-0 29, Thomas Uhler 1-3 1-3 3, Bansi King 4-13 2-2 13, Austin Gaumer 2-2 0-0 6, Chris Green 2-3 1-1 5, Thomas diZerega 6-6 1-2 13, Max Easter 1-4 0-0 2, Thomas Silvestri 1-1 0-0 3, Austin Dominguez 1-1 0-0 2, Carter Claxton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-55 5-8 76.

Jayhawk 17 13 7 17–54

Seabury 19 15 26 16–76

Three-point goals: Jayhawk-Linn 4-17 (Gray 2, McGrew, Coleman); Seabury 11-23 (McDermott 5, King 3, Gaumer 2, Silvestri). Fouled out: Gray. Turnovers: Jayhawk-Linn 16, Seabury 8.