ABERDEEN – Sixth- and seventh-seeds Dell Rapids St. Mary and Aberdeen Christian advanced to the semifinals of the Boys Class B State Basketball Tournament at Northern State University’s Barnett Center and Wachs Arena. Top seed De Smet blazed its way to a solid first-round win.
De Smet 80, Lower Brule 53
Effective shooting by De Smet was too much for Lower Brule.
Kalen Garry led De Smet (23-1) with 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, including 15 points in the first quarter. Ethan McCune sank three three-pointers and scored 13. The Bulldogs shot 56 percent from the floor and made 10-of-26 threes.
Brian LaRoche Jr., Gavin Thigh and Keshaume Thigh each scored 12 for Lower Brule (16-8), whose 10-game winning streak ended. The Sioux were just 5-of-19 on threes after making 14 in their SoDak 16 win over Potter County on March 9. Overall, Lower Brule shot 39 percent from the floor.
Viborg-Hurley 53, Lyman 45
Gradee Sherman had a dominant game inside with 19 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Cougars.
Sherman’s effort helped Viborg-Hurley (18-5) outrebound Lyman 44-26 overall and 17-4 on the offensive glass. Hayden Gilbert contributed 14 points for the Cougars.
Sam McClanahan led Lyman (19-5) with 11 points. Stockton McClanahan had 10.
Aberdeen Christian 55, Canistota 49
Aberdeen Christian, in the school’s first-ever state tournament game, surprised second-seed Canistota. The Knights first qualified for the state tournament in 2020, but it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ethan Russell scored 14 for Aberdeen Christian (19-4), Brent Ekanger had 12 points and Jackson Isakson notched 11.
Tyce Ortman and Chase Merrill scored 15 each for Canistota (21-3).
Dell Rapids St. Mary 75, White River 69
Though White River remained close, Dell Rapids St. Mary used excellent shooting to win.
Connor Libis, South Dakota’s third all-time leading scorer, paced DRSM (20-4) with 28 points, six rebounds and six assists in the Cardinals’ second win over the Tigers this season. Ashaun Roach-Valandra scored 18. DRSM shot 55 percent from the floor.
Joe Sayler led all scorers with 29 points for White River (17-6) while pulling down 11 rebounds. Dylan Marshall scored 20 and Colbe Scott had 14.
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