Class A State Second Round Recap
No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian 68 vs. No. 5 Tea Area 76
The Tea Area Titans are headed back to defend their title after an impressive 76-68 win over the No. 1 seed Sioux Falls Christian.
The Chargers jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead before Tea Area answered back with 7 straight points to take the 7-4 lead midway through the first half. Noah Friedel got it going early and often as he had seven at the end of the first quarter and 14 at the half. A couple three’s from Kade Stearns and Chris Morales to end the half gave the Titans a 31-27 lead.
Whatever coach Fechner said at halftime really got the Titans going as they started the second half on fire. Tea started the second half on a 15-5 run to push the lead to 14 points, 46-32. But Sioux Falls Christian wasn’t going down without a fight as they clawed away at the lead and trailed 50-40 after three.
The fourth quarter was hard-nosed basketball. The Titans started the final quarter like they started the second half on fire. Friedel elevated for a block on one end and then they converted on the other end with a layup to take a 15-point lead with 5 minutes left, 58-43.
The Chargers really picked up the defensive intensity after calling a timeout after the transition layup. It paid off for Sioux Falls Christian as they cut the lead down to nine at 65-56 with two minutes remaining. But the Titans didn’t panic, made clutch free throws and didn’t turn the ball over to pull out the 76-68 win and advance to the title game tomorrow night at 8 p.m.
For Sioux Falls Christian they suffered their first loss of the season. Mitchell Goodbary had 30 points and 13 boards, Koln Oppold chipped in with 23 points and 6 boards. The Chargers will play Sioux Valley Saturday at 6 p.m. for third place.
Stat of the game: This was only the second time Tea has beat Sioux Falls Christian since coach Fechner became the varsity coach.
MVP: Freidel led the team in scoring with 29 points, 9 boards and made several crucial free throws down the stretch. Four starters had double-digits in scoring as well.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
Sioux Falls Christian | 13 | 14 | 13 | 28 | 68 |
Tea Area | 14 | 17 | 19 | 26 | 76 |
Team Stats
Tea Area: 27-52 FG (51%), 9-21 3P (43%), 13-21 FT (62%), 5 offensive boards, 27 defensive boards, (32 total), 15 assists, 6 turnovers, 4 blocks, 6 steals.
Sioux Falls Christian: 27-56 FG (48%), 8-17 3P (47%), 6-12 FT (50%), 8 offensive boards, 24 defensive boards (32 total), 13 assists, 9 turnovers, 4 steals
No. 2 Madison 58 vs. No. 3 Sioux Valley 55
The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 12-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and increased the lead even more going into the second quarter. It was quite the opposite for the Cossacks, everything went right for them the night before but tonight it felt like they couldn’t do anything right. They shot 31 percent from the field and 1-of-12 from 3-point range.
The Bulldogs had 12 first half turnovers, but balanced it out by shooting 50 percent from the field. They also hit 6-of-13 from deep.
At halftime, Madison led 33-19 and to most people it felt like the game was on the verge of getting away from Sioux Valley. Well they were right, Madison would continue to extend their lead to 17 at 41-24 with 5 minutes to go in the third quarter.
Then all of a sudden something happen to Sioux Valley, they were able to get Trevor Hanson some touches inside and the big man responded knocking down eight of his game-high 28 points. They were able to go on a run to end the third quarter to cut the lead down to single digits at 47-38. They would continue to chip away at the lead thanks to an eight-point third quarter by Trevor Olson, until they cut it down to two points, 54-52 with 2 minutes left.
Both teams would trade three-pointers to make the score 57-55 with 47 seconds left. Down by two Sioux Valley got the rebound off a Madison missed shot and called timeout to set up a play. Chance to tie or take the lead late in the game, but Madison intercepted a pass and Sioux Valley was forced to foul Jadon Janke with 31 seconds left.
Janke makes the first and misses the second to make the score 58-55. The Cossacks have a chance to tie the game once again, but fumble the ball and are forced to foul again. Josh Giles misses both from the line though it didn’t matter as Max Nielson’s last second half court heave came up short.
Madison advances to face Tea Area in a rematch of last year state title, Saturday at 8 p.m.
Sioux Valley advances to play Sioux Falls Christian Saturday at 6 p.m. for third/fourth place.
MVP: Madison’s big three. Aaron Fiegen had 14 points, Jadon Janke had 15 and Jaxon Janke had nine for the Bulldogs. Both Jadon Janke had a big three late in the game to help weather the late surge by Sioux Valley.