ABERDEEN – Lower Brule wants to take the step they couldn’t quite take at the state tournament last year, and the Sioux went off to a good start on Thursday.
Gavin Thigh hit six three-pointers and scored 34 points as top seed Lower Brule held off Castlewood 67-55 in the first round of the SDHSAA Boys Class B State Tournament at Northern State University’s Barnett Center.
Thigh hit three three-pointers for his first nine points in a 15-2 run for the Sioux in the first 4:03 of the game.
Castlewood (18-6) cut the lead to five twice before Lower Brule took a 39-31 halftime lead. Thigh scored 20 in the first half.
Lower Brule (21-5) then scored the first 10 points of the second half and led by as many as 23 in the fourth quarter.
Thigh was 10-of-13 shooting, including six-of-eight on three pointers, and eight-of-10 on free throws. Brian LaRoche, Jr. scored 15. Ellwyn Langdeau had eight rebounds.
Bryon Laue had 25 points on 12-of-13 shooting and 14 rebounds for Castlewood.
On Friday, Lower Brule will play in the semifinal against White River, who defeated Faith 72-56 on Thursday. This will be a rematch of last year’s incredible semifinal game, won by Lower Brule 86-83 in three overtimes. Coverage will begin at around 5:40 PM on Friday on 94.5/100.5 KPLO and at the KPLO page at the DRG News app & drgnews.com.
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