Stanley County head coach Joey Fischer made it clear in his pregame interview before their game against the Chamberlain Cubs last night, each game here on out is essentially a playoff game. The Buffs headed into last nights matchup at 12-4, sitting in the upper third of Region A. There isn’t much climbing to do with wins, but there’s certainly a lot of falling that can happen with losses, so Fischer and his squad are approaching each of their final four games with a “must-win” mentality.
Chamberlain came into Parkview Auditorium last night boasting a stout size-advantage, with about 80% of their roster standing at or above six-feet. Stanley County’s game plan was clear, fluid ball movement to create open looks from outside the arc, and active hands on defense to try and generate turnovers. The game got off to a blazing start as both teams were flying up and down the floor, except the shots were not falling for either side. That is, until Eddie Duffy got going. Duffy started his night off with a drained three from the corner, and he was off and running. Duffy would hit three more three’s, miss only one shot from the line, and finish with 20-points being named the Baumann Lumber Player of the Game. Chamberlain started to find a rhythm in the second half with Blaze Knippling, who was using his size to create space and started to dominate the paint. But it was too little too late as Stanley County would go on to win this game comfortably, 58-26, and now look at a tough final stretch of games to close out the season.
The Buffs will get a welcome break as they are now off until the 18th when they will host 9-3 Mobridge-Pollock. They follow that up with a home game versus 8-7 Little Wound then close out the season on the road at 10-4 Lyman.
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