WHITE RIVER – White River High School has its first girls state champion after the Tigers won the Class B championship on March 13. Now, the boys will try for their fifth championship under Head Coach Eldon Marshall and sixth overall when the Boys B tournament begins Thursday in Aberdeen. The first-round opponent for White River (17-5) will be Dell Rapids St. Mary (18-5). White River has now qualified for state tournament play for 16 seasons in a row, the second-longest such streak in South Dakota boys’ basketball history. Mitchell has the longest streak, with 19 straight appearances from 1983 to 2001.
Marshall is especially happy to make state this year.
Marshall was asked how 16 straight qualifications for state have happened.
Joe Sayler leads White River in scoring and is one of the best in South Dakota in any classification with 29.3 points per game. Marshall said that while Sayler had been good last year, his improvement this season has been remarkable.
This game will be a rematch of a regular season game where Dell Rapids St. Mary defeated White River 89-72 on January 2 at the Corn Palace Classic in Mitchell.
Marshall discussed his team’s matchup with the Cardinals and their top scorer, Connor Libis, who is third in scoring in boys state history.
Coverage of Thursday’s game between White River and Dell Rapids St. Mary at Wachs Arena at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen will begin at 7:25 PM on 1060/107.1 KGFX with Brian Oakland. The game also can be heard on the KGFX page at the DRG News app and at drgnews.com.
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