Class A Recaps: State Tournament
**Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.** FINALS No. 1 Tea Area 68, No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian 57 It was the stellar play of senior guard Justin Hohn that sealed the deal for the Titans on Saturday night. Hohn…
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Continue Reading**Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.**
FINALS
No. 1 Tea Area 68, No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian 57
It was the stellar play of senior guard Justin Hohn that sealed the deal for the Titans on Saturday night.
Hohn made sure his fellow senior teammates along with his coach went out with a bang. The UC Irvine commit scored 19 points on a perfect 7-of-7 shooting night and dished out six assists on the night as well.
Sioux Falls Christian was the team that came out hot, scoring 15 first and second quarter points to take a 15-12 lead after one and a 30-27 lead at the break. SFC’s Mitchell Oostra had nine first-half points on 3-of-3 shooting from deep that included hitting a deep shot as the first half clock expired.
In the second half, it was all Tea Area, as they outscored the Chargers 21-6 in the third and scored 20 4th quarter points as well. The Titans led by as many as 15 with just under six minutes to go in the game. Sioux Falls Christian’s Zach Witte made things interesting with 1:14 left to go as he hit back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the Chargers within 64-55. That was the closest the Chargers would get as Tea Area hit some clutch free throws down the stretch.
Hohn scored 15 second-half points along with Noah Freidel chipping in with 10 second-half points to give the Titans their second title in three years.
Team Scoring
Tea Area — 12 15 21 20 — 68
SF Christian — 15 15 6 21 — 57
Individual Scoring
Tea Area: Justin Hohn 19, Noah Freidel 17, Kade Stearns 12, Kaleb Joffer 10, Mason Ritter, 4, Colby Fechner 6.
SFC: Zach Witte 17, Gavin Schipper 12, Mitchell Oostra 11, Mitchell Goodbary 8, Parker Nelson 6, Dawson Mulder 3.
MVP: Justin Hohn
The senior went a perfect 7-of-7 from the field for 19 points along with six assists. He was a huge role in the Titans big third and fourth quarters. The athletic UC Irvine commit isn’t known for his shooting efficiency but quieted the doubters on Saturday night. It was a great way for a talented senior to finish his career on a talented Titans team.
SEMIFINALS
No. 1 Tea Area 57, No. 4 Pine Ridge 51
The Thorpes came out and were determined to shock the tournament by upsetting Tea Area but Noah Freidel and the Titans had other plans.
Pine Ridge largest lead was seven points in the first quarter and held a 14-13 lead at the end of one. The score may show it was only a one-point game but Pine Ridge dominated the opening stanza.
After that, it was pretty much all Tea Area as they outscored the Thorpes in the second and third quarters to secure the six-point win. It was one of the most physical games of the tournament with trash talking and the refs having to separate the teams on more than one occasion.
Tea Area will look to win their second Class A title in the last three years tomorrow night against SF Christian.
Team Scoring
Tea Area — 13 17 17 10 — 57
P. Ridge — 14 14 11 12 — 51
Individual Scoring
Tea Area: Noah Freidel 23, Kaleb Joffer 11, Kade Stearns 11, Mason Ritter 6, Justin Hohn 3, Zach Wilber 3.
Pine Ridge: Charles Shrader 14, Halen Bad Bear 12, Corey Brown 11, Jesse Jensen 8, Jarren Crow 3, Joe O’Rourke 3.
MVP: Noah Freidel
It was a rough second half for Freidel as he only scored three points but the first half he carried the Titans on his back. At one time the senior had 15-of-the-17 Tea Area points in the first half before they started rolling on the offensive side.
No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian 53, No. 6 Lennox 46
This was a tightly contested contest game from start to finish as the Chargers were able to come away with the seven-point victory to advance to the championship game. SFC jumped out to an early 16-11 lead before Lennox showed some fight in the second and third quarters to tie the game in the third quarter at 36 a piece.
In the final quarter, Lennox put together a mini-run with under five minutes to go to build their largest lead at three points. But the rest of the 4 minutes or so left in the game was all Mitchell Goodbary and the Chargers as they rallied to put the Orioles away for good late in the game.
Sioux Falls Christian advances to take on Tea Area in a rematch of No. 1 vs. No. 2 earlier this season in which the Titans handly won in Sioux Falls.
Team Scoring
Lennox — 11 11 14 10 — 46
SFC — 16 9 14 14 — 53
Individual Scoring
Lennox: Brock Anderson 17, Quincy Ihnen 14, Will Daugherty 6, Josh Arlt 5, Zach Leisinger 2, Kaleb Johnson 2.
SFC: Xavier Van Beek 16, Gavin Schipper 12, Mitchell Goodbary 10, Zach Witte 8, Mitchell Oostra 7.
MVP: Xavier Van Beek
Only averaging eight-points throughout the season Van Beek isn’t known as a big-time scorer but he showed up big time in the semifinals game to help his team get the big win. The sophomore had a team-high 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
QUARTERFINALS
No. 1 Tea Area 81, No. 8 Dell Rapids 38
The Quarriers came out and play with some great defensive pressure early on to only trail by four going into the second quarter. That was closest they would get the rest of the game as the Titans shutout Dell Rapids 18-0 in the second quarter to make it 33-11 at the half.
The Titans really amped up the defensive intensity to go on a huge run in the second quarter. The Quarriers scored their first points since the one minute mark in the first quarter at the 5:50 mark in the third quarter. At the U5 media timeout in the third quarter, the Titans had outscored the Quarriers 33-9 since the first quarter.
Tea Area now moves onto the semifinals to play the winner of the Hot Springs and Pine Ridge game.
Team Scoring
Dell Rapids — 11 0 16 11 — 38
Tea Area — 15 18 23 25 — 81
Individual Scoring
Dell Rapids: Drew Van Regenmorter 8, Colin Rentz 7, Logan Ellingson 5, Coby Maeschen 4, Logan Heim 3, Landon Ruesink 3, Nick Boever 2, Karsen Welbig 2, Carter Nelson 2, Carter Rentz 1, Connor Rentz 1.
Tea Area: Noah Freidel 25, Justin Hohn 19, Colby Fechner 9, Kaleb Joffer 8, Kade Stearns 7, Mason Ritter 3, Austin Lake 2, Zach Wilber 2, Joe Walnofer 2, Jack Unruh 2, Max Peterson 2.
MVP: Justin Hohn
The senior almost put up a quadruple-double with 19 points, 7 boards, 8 assists and 7 steals in the opening game of the state tournament. He was a nightmare for the Dell Rapids guards on the defensive side and on the offensive side. He would drive and score, drive and dump or drive and dish to shooters and there was little Dell Rapids could do about it. He played one of the most complete games he has all season.
No. 4 Pine Ridge 75, No. 5 Hot Springs 51
The Thorpes came out and played with tons of energy in the opening day. They took it to Hot Springs from the opening tip and never looked back. Pine Ridge was really active on the defensive side of the ball always having a hand in the passing lane disrupting the groove of things offensively for Hot Springs.
Pine Ridge forced 22 turnovers and converted 31 points off those turnovers compared to Hot Springs five points off turnovers. The Thorpes also had 16 fast break points to the Bison’s four, 50 points in the paint compared to 20 and 15 second-chance points off 15 offensive rebounds. The Thorpes also had some major help from the bench getting 26 points from the bench players.
The Thorpes will move on to the next round to take on No. 1 Tea Area. This will be the first matchup between the two teams this season. The winner moves on to the state championship on Saturday.
Team Scoring
Hot Springs — 10 14 11 16 — 51
Pine Ridge — 19 17 19 20 — 75
Individual Scoring
Hot Springs: Morgan Harkless 17, Alex Bilbruck 7, Kelton Harris 7, Gage Uhlir 5, Andy Wendland 5, Thane Lockhart 5, Matt Norton 5.
Pine Ridge: Charles Schrader 14, Corey Brown 14, Halen Bad Bear 11, Joe O’Rourke 1, Corey Blacksmith 8, Jesse Jensen 6, Jarren Crow 4, Joe Mousseau 3, Shelby Swick 2, Darrell Vitalis 2.
MVP: Charles Schrader
The junior played an all-around great game from both sides of the ball. He had 14 points, 6 boards and dished out 3 assists. He made the right decisions on the offensive side and was a big factor in their defensive intensity throughout the game.
No. 2 Sioux Falls Christian 63, No. 7 Madison 46
The Bulldogs made it back to the state tournament against all odds, they lost most of their scoring and their longtime coach. Madison would give the Chargers a scare throughout the game but eventually, Mitchell Goodbary and the Chargers would take over in the fourth quarter to bring home the win.
SF Christian would outscore the Bulldogs 23-8 in the fourth quarter to advance the semifinals against Lennox. If Tea defeats Pine Ridge it will be an all Dak 12 title game on Saturday night.
Team Scoring
Madison — 11 9 18 8 — 46
SFC — 9 18 13 23 — 63
Individual Scoring
Madison: Doyle Brown 11, Nic Comes 11, Jerett Lurz 6, Tyler Tappe 6, Caileb Reilly 2.
SFC: Mitchell Goodbary 31, Zach Witte 9, Mitchell Oostra 9, Xavier Van Beek 7, Gavin Schipper 5, Collin Reitsma 2.
MVP: Mitchell Goodbary
The big guy had his way with the Bulldogs down low. He was able to do anything and everything he wanted to in the paint and on the defensive end. He went for 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting and pulled in 12 boards.
No. 6 Lennox 48, No. 2 St. Thomas More 40
The Cavaliers and the Orioles were the two teams throughout the season that gave the No. 1 team the biggest scare. Lennox led for most of the game after a hot start to the game and the second half allowing only four points in the third quarter for the Cavaliers. St. Thomas More had a late-game comeback that ended up being just short. The Cavaliers outscore the Orioles 15-9 in the final quarter but clutch free throws sealed the win for Lennox.
Lennox will face off against Sioux Falls Christian for a chance to make the state championship on Saturday.
Team Scoring
Lennox — 14 13 12 9 — 48
STM — 7 14 4 15 — 40
Individual Scoring
Lennox: Quincy Ihnen 17, Will Daugherty 14, Brock Anderson 8, Kaleb Johnson 4, Josh Arlt 3, Zach Leisinger 2.
STM: Caden Casey 14, Ryder Kirsch 8, Micheal Gylten 8, Connor Hollenbeck 6, Ryan Wojcik 2, Grant Huber 2.
MVP: Quincy Ihnen
Quincy Ihnen put the team on his back to help his team earn the big upset win over the No. 2 seed Cavaliers on the opening day of the state tournament. He went 5-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from the line.