On January 17th earlier this year, Lyman and Stanley County matched up in the final game of the Jones County Invitational in the championship. The Buffaloes got out to a healthy lead that the Raiders slowly whittled away throughout the contest, ultimately leading to overtime. The Raiders would outlast, complete the comeback and take home the trophy with a 52-47 victory. After three days of grueling basketball, Lyman came out on top, but Stanley County knew they would get one final shot at them.
Fast-forward to Monday night, the final regular season game for Stanley County and Lyman’s second to last. Both teams came into the game playing some of their best basketball. Lyman had just gone on the road and beaten a 13-5 Kadoka Area team and the Buffaloes had won their last seven. Stanley County had revenge on their mind, and the game would unfold almost exactly as it did in mid-January.
On their senior night, Stanley County jumped out to a double-digit advantage after a close first quarter. The shots started to fall for the Buffaloes as they took a 16 point lead into the halftime break on the back of 13 from Paxton Deal.
Cooper Garnos delivered some key halftime adjustments as he saw his team quickly close down the deficit in the third. A 16 point lead was quickly cut in half heading into the fourth quarter. The Raiders found success in the post fitting into Cole Kieffer who scored almost all of his 14 points in the paint.
As the fourth quarter drove on, Lyman’s defense forced some late turnovers that completely shifted the momentum in their favor. A few quick buckets made it a 45-40 game with a few minutes to play. Stanley County completely shifted their gameplan in those final minutes, turning an up-tempo, high-paced offense into a “kill-clock” unit as they tried to avoid the same fate from the JCI.
The Raiders had no choice but to start fouling, and Tegyn Breitag’s two made free throws offered some breathing room. The Buffaloes forced the ball to Eddie Duffy, one of their top free throw shooters, and he was able to ice the game and get the clutch win for his team 53-43. Duffy finished with 17 points and Player of the Game honors.
Stanley County finishes 18-2, one of their best records in program history, and await the final games from around 6A to see who their opponent will be in Parkview next week. Lyman fell to 13-6, but has a winnable game to close their season on the 27th against 1-17 Kimball White Lake.
Comments