SIOUX FALLS – After a 70-40 loss to Flandreau on Saturday, the Sioux Valley boys’ basketball team bounced back with a 59-52 win over Hamlin in the Throwback Classic at the Sanford Pentagon on Tuesday night.
“It was [a good bounce back win],” said Sioux Valley head coach Bill Vincent. “You could really tell in the first half that we came out with energy and determination. Actually we kind of physically and mentally spent ourselves, which made the second half kind of challenging. We had to weather a couple Hamlin runs, but I thought we handled the second half with some poise and handled adversity as it was unfolding.”
Sioux Valley began the game with a 7-0 run. The Cossacks led 12-6 at the end of the first quarter.
Hamlin cut the lead to 14-9 with seven minutes to go in the first half, but the Cossacks then went on a 20-3 run the next four minutes to make it 34-12. Sioux Valley led 36-16 at halftime.
“We were really getting shooters covered up [in the second quarter]. We kind of got into a rotation and let those guys go for awhile. We tried to extend the run we were on for as long as we could. I just thought we were doing a really good job defensively of getting to their shooters,” Bill Vincent said.
Hamlin opened the second half on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 36-24. The Cossacks then scored five-straight to push the lead up 41-24 with four minutes to go in the third. Hamlin outscored Sioux Valley 12-6 in the final four minutes of the quarter to make it 47-36 heading into the final frame.
Sioux Valley led 53-40 with 4:32 left in the game. The Chargers then went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 53-48 with one minute left.
Hayden Ruesink hit a shot and Oliver Vincent made two free throws to push the lead to 57-48 with 38 seconds left. Easton Nuendorf then made two free throws and Evan Stormo made a basket to cut the lead back to five with 14 seconds left. Damian Danzeisen then made two free throws to put the game on ice and give the Cossacks the seven-point win.
“[Hamlin] just kept coming at us and it’s human nature if you’re down at halftime like that to come out and just work extremely hard and they did. I just thought we had put so much into the first half, that we kind of had trouble getting our legs under us at times in the second half,” Bill Vincent said.
Sioux Valley shot 50% for the game and was 4-14 from three. The Cossacks were 11-17 at free throw line.
Oliver Vincent led the Cossacks with 16 points and five assists. Alec Squires was 6-6 from the field and had double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Parker Puetz also had double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Bill Vincent said it was nice to see Puetz have the game he had.
“You could tell [Puetz] was going to come out and have a good game. He responded after the loss and helped lead his team and helped us get ready to go here. To have the double-double he had and to see him attacking the rim like he was and he had some awful nice passes to go along with that double-double. He just had an outstanding game and it was good to see him get going,” he said.
Hamlin shot 40% from the field and was 8-24 from three. The Chargers were 8-14 at the free throw line.
The Chargers were led by Neuendorf who had 15 points, six assists and four rebounds. Tyson Stevenson and Stormo each had nine points.
Sioux Valley dominated the glass 36-18. The Cossacks had 16 turnovers and the Chargers had nine. Sioux Valley had 36 points in the paint compared to Hamlin’s 20.
“We knew we would have a little length at every position on the court and our effort level was high, which helped with [the rebound advantage],” Bill Vincent said. “I thought we chased down some balls out of our zone that were maybe some longer rebounds coming from some of their perimeter shots. So I thought we did a good job of that.
“We spent a lot of time talking about [rebounding] going into the game. It ended up 36-18, I think it was a larger margin at halftime. So we’ve done a really nice job of controlling the glass.”
Up next, Sioux Valley will play at McCook Central/Montrose on Friday. Tip off between the Cossacks and Fighting Cougars is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
MCM is 6-3 on the season and just finished in fifth at the Big East Tournament. Bill Vincent said MCM will be a tough matchup because it is on the road and is a conference opponent.
“With MCM, another Big East Conference opponent,” he said. “Each team always knows each other when it’s a conference matchup, but even more so when you’re on the same side of the bracket all the way through the conference tournament because you’ve watched each other numerous nights.
“Even though we didn’t meet in the tourney, they’ll be no secrets between the two teams and it will be a road game. On the road, in the conference, always puts you in a tough spot. We just want to build on tonight’s win and continue to get better. They’ll matchup size with us better than many of the teams we’ve faced, so that will be interesting as well.”
SIOUX VALLEY 59, HAMLIN 52
Sioux Valley (6-2)
Oliver Vincent 6-13 4-6 16, Alec Squires 6-6 1-1 13, Parker Puetz 5-6 0-2 12, Hayden Ruesink 3-8 2-3 8, Dylen Milton 2-4 0-0 6, Damian Danzeisen 0-5 4-4 4, Carson Christopherson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-44 11-17 59.
Hamlin (3-3)
Easton Neuendorf 5-10 3-4 15, Tyson Stevenson 3-14 2-2 9, Evan Stormo 3-11 1-2 9, Dawson Noem 2-2 0-1 6, Rylan Bawdon 1-2 2-3 5, Gavin Prouty 2-2 0-0 4, Luke Fraser 1-1 0-0 2, Brennan 1-3 0-2 2. Totals 18-45 8-14 52.
Sioux Valley 12 24 11 12 – 59
Hamlin 6 10 20 16 – 52
3-point field goals – SV 4-14 (Puetz 2-3, Milton 2-4, Danzeisen 0-3, Vincent 0-4), H 8-24 (Noem 2-2, Bawdon 1-2, Neuendorf 2-5, Stormo 2-7, Stevenson 1-7, Keszler 0-1). Rebounds – SV 36 (Squires 15), H 18 (Noem 7). Assists – SV 9 (Vincent 5), H 11 (Neuendorf 6). Steals – SV 3 (Ruesink, Vincent, Patrick Carey). H 7 (Neuendorf 3). Blocks – SV 1 (Squires), H 1 (Noem). Turnovers – SV 16, H 9. Total fouls – SV 18, H 19. Fouled out – Prouty.
