South Dakota Playoff Central – Tickets Punched!
Eight tickets were punched for state on Saturday and tonight 16 more teams will earn their way to the big stage.
The Big Stage. Sweet 16 (SoDak 16) Double Headers. There are five different spots tonight where you can settle in and watch a 6pm/7:30 double header. Those locations are Fort Pierre, The Corn Palace, Chamberlain, The Pentagon, Pierre, and Madison High School. What is the best double header to choose?
If I wanted to see talent and the best basketball teams I would head to Madison to see Sioux Falls Christian take on Milbank and Sioux Valley facing Parker. If your choice is to see the most competitive games I would pick the Sanford Pentagon. Why? First off this year’s Cinderella is Elkton-Lake Benton and it would be fun to see if they can continue their run with a win over Viborg-Hurley. And then at 7:30 you can watch the 7/10 game between Dell Rapids facing Vermillion. The last time these teams played (late January) Dell Rapids won 64-52 led by the 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists of 6-foot-2 wing Drew Van Regenmorter.
Upset City. We took the exclamation point off of “Upset City!” because Rapid City Central beating SF Lincoln was the 8/9 game and really not that big of an upset. Lincoln had beaten the Cobblers by seven earlier in the season but 6-foot-2 guard Micah Swallow made sure that wasn’t going to happen again as he controlled the game with the Patriots. Swallow scored 20 of the team’s 52 points plus collected nine boards in leading his team to state.
Right on Schedule. Huron may not be the 1 seed at state but they earned the #1 ranking in the state with a stretch of nine wins in ten games including a victory over Yankton. The balance of the Tigers overwhelmed Douglas on Saturday with Kobe Busch scoring 16 points, Derick Siemonsma scoring 14, and Mr Midwest Magic Man Teegan Evers scoring 11. Huron faces defending champion Brandon Valley at state next week.
Tip Of the Hat to the Career: Best 5 Seniors not at Class AA state, we go with:
G: Sam Fawcett of SF Lincoln
G: Maxwell Burchill of SF Lincoln
G: Evan Falconer of Watertown
F: Andrew Bergan of Aberdeen Central
F: Gray Zabel of Pierre
March 19! Here are the State Tournament Match-Ups for Class AA
Yankton vs Rapid City Central, 3 p.m. at the Premier Center
Huron vs Brandon Valley, 3 p.m. at Sioux Falls Arena
Sioux Falls Washington vs Rapid City Stevens, 7 p.m. at the Premier Center
Sioux Falls Roosevelt vs Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 7 p.m. at Sioux Falls Arena