RAPID CITY – The dream of a state title for the Sioux Valley Cossacks boys’ basketball team came to an end Friday night.
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RAPID CITY – The dream of a state title for the Sioux Valley Cossacks boys’ basketball team came to an end Friday night.
The third-seed Cossacks couldn’t get any rhythm going in the first half, falling behind by 14 at the break, a deficit too large to overcome, as No. 2 Madison moved on to the state championship game of the Class A State Tournament with a 58-55 win.
Initially it looked like the Cossacks might find success in the post as Augustana commit Trevor Hanson made his first five shots from the field – including a pair of thunderous dunks.
But with the shots failing to fall for the rest of the team, the margin continued to grow.
Sioux Valley was 9-of-29 from the field in the first half, including just one make from behind the arc on 12 attempts – a Ryan Schuster make with 3:36 left in the half.
“We came out and didn’t shoot as well as we had been, and then really had to work on it mentally to stay in the game,” said Sioux Valley coach Bill Vincent.
The early minutes of the second half continued to not provide any answers for the Sioux Valley offense as the Bulldog lead grew to as much as 20. But midway through the third quarter, the Cossacks found new life in the form of Hanson and his getting touches in the post on most possessions.
His and-1 to open the fourth quarter cut the Bulldogs’ lead to six and gave Sioux Valley a chance to rally.
Hanson cut the lead to two points with just under 2 minutes to play, but Madison answered with a Jaxon Janke long-ball to go back up five.
Max Nielson answered with a 3 of his own to again cut the lead to just two points with 1:17 left, and a steal by Nielson gave Sioux Valley a chance with 54 seconds to play.
But, a Cossack turnover in the paint while looking for Hanson gave the Bulldogs possession, and after making 1-of-2 free throws on the other end and with each team trading timeouts, Sioux Valley had one last chance to send the game to overtime.
But Nielson’s heave from beyond half court fell short as the final horn sounded, the comeback falling three points short.
For it to have gotten to that point, said Coach Vincent, showed a lot of resilience from his group.
“We’re super proud of these guys, and a lot of seniors in our locker room,” he added. “And the one great thing about being at the state tournament is that you know you have a game tomorrow, so you know when your last game is before you even come to the tourney, so wherever you’re playing on the last game of the state tourney, you’re happy with that for sure.”
Sioux Valley (21-3) will take on Sioux Falls Christian in the third-place game Saturday night, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. CT. The Chargers were upset by No. 5 Tea Area in the other semifinal game, 76-68, marking the Chargers first loss on the season.
Tea Area (18-5) will play Madison (22-1) in the championship game at approximately 9 p.m.
SEMIFINAL
• Tea Area 76, Sioux Falls Christian 68
The Titans (19-5) handed the Chargers (23-1) their rst loss to qualify for the championship game.
Tea was up 14-13 after a quarter but trailed by five – 19-14 – early in the second before taking a 31-27 advantage into halftime. The Titans were ahead 50-40 heading to the fourth and saw their lead peak at 17 points – 63-46 – with 3:51 remaining.
Noah Freidel led the charge with 29 points and nine rebounds. He went 8-of-16 from the field and 11-for-15 at the foul line.
Justin Hohn added 17 points, Kade Stearns 13, Chris Morales 11 and Kaleb Joffer six.
Tea shot 51.9 percent (27-of-52) and turned the ball over just six times.
For Christian, Mitchell Goodbary dropped in 30 points on 13-of-18 shooting while adding nine boards.
Koln Oppold scored 23 points.
The Chargers shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) with nine turnovers.
The Titans outscored the Chargers 27-24 from 3-point range and 13-6 at the charity stripe.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
• Red Cloud 70, Crow Creek 68
Alejandro Rama posted a double-double of 30 points and 10 rebounds as the Crusaders held off the Chieftans.
Trailing 18-17 after 8 minutes, Red Cloud moved ahead 39-35 at halftime and was up 57-49 heading to the fourth.
Louis Her Many Horse added 13 points and Russell Leader Charge tallied 10. Rama came up with four steals.
Crow Creek’s Josiah Blue Arm had a double-double of 10 points and 13 boards. Luke Wells II scored 17 points, Trevin McBride 15 and Joe Sazue III 14.
• Dakota Valley 68, Pine Ridge 65
The Panthers outscored the Thorpes 20-12 in the fourth to secure the three-point victory.
Jack McCabe’s free throws with 37 seconds to go put Dakota Valley ahead 66-65 and he added two more with 14 seconds left to provide for the final margin.
Paul Bruns scored 19 points, McCabe 15, and Charlie Cox and Brennan Moran each 10.
Pine Ridge was ahead 18-13 after a quarter, 37-35 at halftime and 53-48 through three.
Corey Brown notched a double-double of 15 points and 14 boards. Joseph O’Rourke dropped in 19 points and Halin Bad Bear 14.
