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Spartans, Gorillas lock up Class B SoDak 16 berths at the Corn Palace

the daily republic, mitchell, s.d.
·4 min read

Mar. 1—MITCHELL — A smothering defensive effort cemented Wessington Springs' 52-35 victory over Corsica-Stickney in Region 5B boys basketball semifinal action on Friday evening at the Corn Palace.

The top-seeded Spartans limited the Jaguars to 13-of-44 shooting and held an opponent to under 40 points for the second consecutive playoff contest. Wessington Springs advances to the SoDak 16 for a second-straight season.

The performance, which was rooted in the Spartans' rim protection and on-ball defense, was most effective in the second quarter. Trailing 12-7 after the first quarter, Wessington Springs held C-S to just a single basket during the second, while scoring 15 points to build a 22-14 halftime lead.

Meanwhile, the Spartans' offense overcame its sluggish start against the Jaguars' zone defense by hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the quarter. The team expounded upon that with a 30-point second half.

Parker Graff scored 15 points for the Spartans, while Ryder Michalek had 14 points and Colby Flowers tabbed 10 points.

For C-S, Luca Catapano had 12 points, Tye Hosman added eight points and Tyson Wentland had seven points. The Jaguars' season came to an end with a 13-9 record.

Wessington Springs (21-1) will be the No. 4 seed in the Class B SoDak 16, where a matchup with No. 13 seed Waverly-South Shore awaits on Tuesday, March 5.

MITCHELL — Gregory shook off a slow start and rode its defense to a 44-25 win over Tripp-Delmont/Armour in the second Region 5B semifinal Friday evening at the Corn Palace.

Gregory leaned on its stifling man-to-man pressure, and Daniel Mitchell's shot-blocking ability to nab the convincing win and send the Gorillas back to the SoDak16.

After trailing 8-7 after the first quarter, Gregory outscored TDA 11-4 in the second quarter, then 19-6 in the third quarter to grow the lead to 37-18.

Cruz Klundt fueled the Gorillas offense with 17 points, as Mitchell had 10 points and Colt Keiser scored eight points.

Isaac Wunder paced the Nighthawks with 16 points, and Mason Reiner scored seven points. TDA wraps its season with a 16-6 record.

Gregory slots in as the No. 9 seed in the Class B SoDak 16, setting up a rematch with No. 8 seed Dell Rapids St. Mary on Tuesday.

* Hanson secured a Class A SoDak 16 bid out of Region 5A, taking down Bon Homme 57-35. Four Beavers — Jayce Slaba (12 points), Sutton Dewald (11), Isayah Price (10) and Ben Wilber (10) — scored in double figures, as Slaba tacked on five rebounds and four assists. For the Cavaliers, Landon Schmidt and Landon Bares scored seven points each, and Chapin Cooper had six points and four assists in the loss.

* Fifth-seeded Sanborn Central/Woonsocket upended top-seeded Parkston 75-66 in the Region 5A semifinals. Jeff Boschee poured in 33 points for the Blackhawks, while Payton Uecker scored 14 points and Bryce Larson added 13 points. For the Trojans, James Deckert dropped in 23 points, and Will Jodozi and Payton Koehn chipped in 16 points apiece in the loss.

* Lakota Tech foiled Winner's SoDak 16 aspirations with a 61-48 win in the Region 7A semifinal. Gilbert White (17 points) and Mackenzie Cass (16 points) combined for 33 of the Tatanka's points, while Julian Tonche added nine points. Winner's Aiden Barfuss led all scorers with 21 points, and Shawn Hammerbeck added 13 points.

* Howard held down Chester in a Region 3B semifinal on Friday in Salem 45-23. Kolt Koepsell had 16 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks in the win, with 15 points from Luke Koepsell for the Tigers.

* Region No. 2 seed Dell Rapids St. Mary held off No. 6 Bridgewater-Emery 52-50 to win a Region 3B semifinal game on Friday in Salem. Dell Rapids St. Mary had 27 points from Nic Gaspar and 13 points from Trevon Beckman. The Huskies had 19 points from Jase Kayser and Ben Weber, with 10 points from Holden Wollmann.

* Centerville staved off Freeman's fourth-quarter comeback to win 61-60 in Region 4B semifinal action. The Flyers outscored the Tornadoes 19-11 in the final quarter, but Centerville prevailed. Aiden Bobzin led the Tornadoes with 14 points and five rebounds, while Brennan Tople had 13 points and five rebounds. For Freeman, Rocky Aamman tallied 17 points and nine rebounds, and Luke Peters notched 17 points and six rebounds.

* Brady Schroedermeier notched 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists alongside 20 points 10 rebounds and two blocks by Nick Hanson, as Viborg-Hurley rolled to an 86-59 win over Gayville-Volin in Region 4B semifinal action.

* Bryon Laue recorded 21 points and six rebounds, and Lane Tvedt added 14 points, five assists and four steals, guiding Castlewood past Wolsey-Wessington 62-46 in the Region 2B semifinals.

* Dakota Valley used a 27-10 fourth quarter to swipe a 72-61 victory over Tea Area in the Region 4A semifinals. Logan Collette dropped in 27 points, and Luke Bruns tacked on 19 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Panthers.