Brookings falls 60-28 at Aberdeen Central

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ABERDEEN – A wire-to-wire finish makes it five straight wins and six in their last seven games for Aberdeen Central boys basketball as it knocked off Brookings 60-28. 

Central improves to 10-7 overall, while the Bobcats fall to 3-14.

“We’ve come a long way and our kids are definitely playing better,” said Central head coach Brent Norberg. “There’s a lot of season left, and we’re certainly not perfect, but I like where we are right now for sure.”

It was arguably one of the quicker starts to a game that Central has played.

Brookings was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim during pre-game warmups. Central senior Brandon Kusler hit two free throws and it was 2-0 before the clock started.

Defense was key for a very quick start for the Golden Eagles as Central forced seven Bobcat turnovers in the game’s first 8 minutes.

Nate Rook was responsible for three of those and one led to an Andrew Bergan 3-pointer at the other end for a 14-5 lead with 4:24 to go.

Rook then went coast-to-coast off a steal to make it 16-5. 

Cole Bergan led Central with 10 points in the first quarter, earning a three-point play on a strong take to the goal plus the harm. On the next trip down the floor, Bergan sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it a 22-5 lead with just under a minute to go as he eclipsed the 1,000 career-point mark with that basket.

Kusler capped off the first with a baseline jumper at the buzzer for a 24-5 lead after one. Scoring was one aspect, defense and rebounding were another as Central did not allow a single offensive rebound to Brookings in the game’s first 16 minutes and dominated the glass 20-12 in the first half.

“Give Aberdeen a lot of credit,” said Brookings head coach Travis Engebretson. “Defensively, they just took us out of sync very early. It shows you we just weren’t very aggressive in the first half, the fact that we did not have any offensive rebounds.

“Against that team, the way they play defense, you have to be aggressive and zero offensive rebounds shows you we weren’t.”

Back-to-back baskets with 23 seconds left in the half by Cole Bergan and Colin Stoebner gave Central its largest lead at 36-15 as Bergan had 13 points, four boards, and two assists before the break. 

Cole Bergan’s three-point play at the 7:17 mark was the only basket by either team until the 4:07 mark of the third quarter when Drew Cole hit a pull-up jumper and drew a foul, completing the three-point play.

Brookings, held to no offensive rebounds early, grabbed three in one possession, but couldn’t convert a bucket.

A steal and lay-in at the other end by Rook would end the third as Central took a 43-21 lead into the final 8 minutes.

“There’s just been a lot of inconsistencies for us throughout the season,” Engebretson said. “Defensively, we only gave up seven points in the third quarter. I felt our effort was there on the defensive end, but there have been times this year when we run into teams who like to get up and get after us that we struggle offensively, and that was the case (Tuesday) night.”

Early in the fourth quarter, Central again looked for Bergan in the post, and he converted on back-to-back possessions to give the Golden Eagles a 47-23 lead with 5:32 to go.

Bergan capped off his night with an 18-footer from the baseline to give Central it’s largest lead, 51-23.

Kusler added a hoop and harm to finish with nine points as Central shot 43 percent from the field and held the Bobcats to just 20 percent.

Cole led the Bobcats with 11  points.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL 60, BROOKINGS 28

Brookings (3-14, 3-11 ESD)

Trevor Woodall 1 1-2 6, Josh Sell 1 2-2 5, Seth Swedlund 2 0-0 4, Drew Cole 4 2-3 11, Tyler Kreutner 1 0-0 2. Totals 10-50 5-8 28.

Aberdeen Central (10-7, 9-5 ESD)

Nate Rook 2 1-1 5, Jonah Dohrer 2 0-0 4, Collin Stoebner 2 0-0 4, Cole Bergan 8 6-8 23, Brandon Kusler 3 2-3 9, Andrew Bergan 2 1-2 6, Jordan Schnaidt 1 2-2 4, Greg Liddell 1 0-0 2, Trey Harms 1 1-1 3. Totals 22-51 13-17 60.

Brookings   5  11  5    7  –  28

Aberdeen Central 24  12  7  17  –  60

3-point goals – B 3 (Woodall 1, Sell 1, Cole 1); AC 3 (Kusler 1, C. Bergan 1,  A. Bergan 1). Rebounds – B 34 (Sell 7, Woodall 6) AC 40 (C. Bergan 10). Assists – B 6; AC 10. Steals – B 5, AC 10. Turnovers – B 18; AC 9. Total fouls – B 14; AC 13. 

JUNIOR VARSITY

ABERDEEN CENTRAL 68, BROOKINGS 53. 

Points – Tyler Kreutner 21, Eric Sell 8, Trent Broksieck 7, Jay Wilber 7. Rebounds – Broksieck 4, Kreutner 3. Steals – Broksieck 3, Parker Beers 3.

SOPHOMORE

ABERDEEN CENTRAL 54, BROOKINGS 45

Points – Parker Rykhus 16, Jonah Dobbs 15, Sean Roiger 7. Rebounds – Rykhus 7, Roiger 4. Steals – Rykhus 2.

John Davis/Aberdeen American News photo: Brookings’ Riley Schafer, (left) and Aberdeen Central’s Nate Rook go after a loose ball during the first half of the Bobcats’ 60-28 Eastern South Dakota Conference loss on Tuesday night at the Golden Eagles Arena.