No. 2 Hamlin avenges two regular-season losses against Sioux Falls Christian

RAPID CITY — Even after a dominant first-half performance in the Class A boys basketball championship, Hamlin knew it wasn't going to be easy to end a 41-year wait for a state title.

Second-seeded Hamlin (23-3), looking to avenge two regular-season losses to top-seeded Sioux Falls Christian, raced to a 27-15 hafltime lead but still need late rallies in regulation and overtime to post a 53-50 win Saturday night in the Summit Arena at The Momument.

Hamlin's last state title came in 1983 and in Class B. The Chargers made their first trip to state in 30 years last March and took third in Class A. They returned this year and enjoyed a magical ending.

"We knew they'd make a run, and it was much similar to the way Groton Area did against us in the first game. We got down five but our kids battled back," Hamlin coach Todd Neuendorf said. "We got some key defensive stops and we got back into it."

Sioux Falls Christian appeared shell-shocked after the first half when it shot 18 percent (3 for 17) from the field and watched hot-shooting Hamlin (11 for 21 for 52 percent) turn a 14-10 first-quarter lead into the 12-point margin at halftime.

Hamlin increased its lead to 15 (34-19) on junior guard Easton Neuendorf's 3-pointer with 5:50 left in the third quarter.

That's when Christian came alive, ending the third quarter with a 13-4 run and outscoring Hamlin 13-5 to start the fourth quarter. The combined 26-9 spurt gave SFC a 45-40 advantage with 3:46 left in the fourth period.

SFC scored two more points in regulation, getting a putback from 6-foot-10 junior Griffen Goodbary with 36 seconds left. Hamlin pulled even when Tyson Stevenson, one of two Hamlin seniors and the only senior who played in the game for either squad, banked home a game-tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to make it 47-47.

The squads traded turnovers in the closing seconds before Sioux Falls Christian's Brant Wassenaar hit the rim on a last-second shot.

Christian held two leads, 49-47 and 50-48 in overtime, before Stevenson tied the game with a field goal with 44 seconds left and put Hamlin ahead with two free throws with 22 seconds remaining in the extra period. A missed 3-pointer by Goodbary was followed by a free throw by Hamlin's Jackson Wadsworth and a missed three-quarters court heave by Sioux Falls Christian at the buzzer.

"Tyson hit a big 3 and in overtime, we jumped on his back," Neuendorf said. "We just went right to him every time down the floor."

Stevenson tallied 16 points, Neuendorf added 12, Evan Stormo poured in nine and Wadsworth and Zac VanMeeteren tallied seven each for Hamlin, which shot 45 percent (21 of 47) from the field. VanMeeteren hauled in eight rebounds and Stormo had six.

"It hasn't soaked in yet," Stevenson said moments after the game ended. "I don't know when it's going to but it'll probably take awhile."

Goodbary recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds for Christian, which also got 13 points from Wassenaar, a freshman, and nine points from Jude vanDonkersgoed. Also with the Chargers' nickname, they shot 35 percent (17 of 48) from the field.

"1983 was the last time we won one. This tells you how old I am. I was 11 at the time," Coach Neuendorf said. "What a great following from our communities. They're really happy. It's a big win, a big win for Hamlin and Hamlin County."

Other Saturday Games

Two-time defending champion and fifth-seeded Dakota Valley (22-4) held off sixth-seeded Rapid City Christian 78-73 for third place. Luke Bruns scored 19 points, Jaxson Wingert had 17, Charlie Margeas tallied 14, Logan Collette chipped in 13 and Grant VanDenHul recorded 10. Bruns also hauled in 10 rebounds. Benson Kieffer's 29 points and 10 rebounds and Simon Kieffer's 24 points paced RCC (21-5).

Another big game from 6-foot-10 senior Alec Squires (21 points, 17 rebounds) carried Sioux Valley past fourth-seeded Pine Ridge 69-51 in the consolation championship. Hudsyn Ruesink and Jace Christensen contributed 13 points apiece. The Thorpes were led by Marvin Richard III with 19 points and Jaylin Rouillard added 12. Sioux Valley finished the season 23-3 and Pine Ridge 22-3.

"We played our best games of the season on our postseason run," Sioux Valley head coach Bill Vincent said. "Alec was amazing in the tourney and our five seniors took us on an incredible journey. They know nothing but state tourneys."

Lane Tietz scored 23 of his game-high 25 points in the first half to lead seventh-seeded Groton Area (20-6) past eighth-seeded Vermillion 67-49 for seventh place. Jacob Zak chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds and Keegan Tracy had 12 points. Connor Roerig and Zoan Robinson each had 13 points and Bryson Skogsberg chipped in 12 for Vermillion (16-10).

Awards and All-Tourney

Groton Area's cheerleaders won the Spirt of Six Award and Groton Area senior Lane Tietz took the Spirit of Su Award. Members of the South Dakota Basketball Coaches Association's all-tourney team included Stevenson, Stormo and Neuendorf of Hamlin and Goodbary and Waasenaar of Sioux Falls Christian along with Dakota Valley's Bruns and Wingert, Rapid City Christian's Simon and Benson Kieffer, Sioux Valley's Squires, Pine Ridge's Richard and Groton Area's Tietz.

Friday's Games

Hamlin took control with a solid second quarter and rolled to a 62-45 semifinal win over Rapid City Christian in a semifinal game Friday night.

"It's great. I'm happy for our kids," Coach Neuendorf said. "People don't understand how hard it is to get to the state tournament. This state tournament was completely loaded. All eight teams are very good and we're fortunate to get to where we are and to play one more, the last one tomorrow night."

Hamlin pushed its lead into double digits in the second quarter and held the comfortable lead throughout the second half.

Neuendorf and Stevenson each scored 17 points and VanMeeteren added 13 for Hamlin, which made 20 of 45 field-goal attempts for 45 percent. Stormo added seven points and 14 rebounds. VanMeeteren also had seven rebounds and Neuendorf tallied five assists.

Simon Kieffer had 17 points, Julius Frog poured in 13 points and seven rebounds and Benson Kieffer had eight points for RCC, which made 17 of 54 field-goal attempts for 32 percent.

State B Boys: Howard prevails in overtime to win first state championship in 60 years

Sioux Falls Christian 50, Dakota Valley 48

Sioux Falls Christian survived a fourth-quarter comeback by two-time defending state champion Dakota Valley to post the semifinal win.

SFC led 43-34 after three quarters. Dakota Valley pulled within 49-48 with 49 seconds left. Brant Wassenaar made one of two free throws with 36.6 seconds left to push Christian's lead to 50-48.

A 3-point attempt by Dakota Valley was off the mark and the Panthers were whistled for a foul on the rebound. Cooper Goodbary missed two free throws with 2.2 seconds left but grabbed the rebound after the second miss and the clock expired.

Griffen Goodbary's 20-point, nine-rebound efffort led the Chargers, who got 14 points from Cole Snyder and eight from Wassenar.

Wingert (20 points and eight rebounds), Collette (13 points) and Bruns (10 points) paced Dakota Valley.

Sioux Valley 67, Groton Area 58

Squires recorded 31 points and 12 rebounds to carry the Cossacks to victory in the consolation semifinal game.

Maxwell Engebretson chipped in with 13 points, Jace Christensen tallied eight and Ruesink and Boden Schiller had seven each for Sioux Valley.

Groton Area received 19 points from Ryder Johnson, 17 from Tracy, 11 from Tietz and nine from Jacob Zak. Tracy also grabbed seven rebounds.

State AA Boys Basketball: Mitchell slips past Brandon Valley for first state title since 2005

Pine Ridge 79, Vermillion 63

Richard tallied 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to guide Pine Ridge to the consolation semifinal win. Rouillard added 26 points and Anthony Steele 13.

The Tanagers were led by Trey Hansen with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Carter Hansen and Skogsberg each contributed 13.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Final two days of state Class A boys basketball tournament