Area basketball roundup for March 3: Gregory advances to first SoDak 16 behind big third quarter
Mar. 3—MITCHELL — Behind a 21-5 third-quarter run, Gregory topped Tripp-Delmont/Armour, 53-42, in a Region 5B boys basketball semifinal on Friday night at the Corn Palace.
At the end of the first quarter, TDA led 11-8, with every Nighthawk point accounted for between Mason Reiner (seven) and Isaac Wunder (four). The second quarter swung back in Gregory's favor, as the Gorillas went into the locker room leading 20-19.
Out of halftime, spurred by eight third-quarter points from Daniel Mitchell, Gregory pulled away. While TDA got the deficit back to single digits with under 90 seconds to play, it wasn't enough to truly threaten the Gorillas, who advanced to the first SoDak 16 in program history with the win.
Mitchell put up 19 points to lead all scorers, with Cruz Klundt joining him in double figures with 10 points. Cole Serr and Lincoln Juracek chipped in eight and five points, respectively.
Reiner paced the Nighthawks with 15 points, as Wunder and Jaden Groeneweg had 10 points each.
Gregory (16-6) will be the No. 10 seed and play No. 7 Ethan in the Class B SoDak 16 on Tuesday, March 7.
MITCHELL — Trailing by nine points in the fourth quarter, Wessington Springs closed on a 23-7 push to down Marty, 64-58, in a Region 5B boys basketball semifinal on Friday night at the Corn Palace.
The run was kick-started by a two-shot foul followed by a technical foul, allowing Blake Larson to step to the free-throw line and sink four straight foul shots that began an 8-0 spurt in less than a minute.
With 2 1/2 minutes to play, a pair of free throws by Colby Flowers gave the Spartans a one-point lead, an advantage they did not relinquish.
Flowers posted 25 points to lead all scorers, while Parker Graff added 12 and Larson had 10. Ryder Michalek and Brock Krueger rounded out the Spartans' scoring with nine and eight points, respectively.
For Marty, Benicio Zephier and Greg Zephier led the way with 19 and 17 points, respectively, as Kizer Ashes had 10.
Wessington Springs (16-6) will be the No. 11 seed and play No. 6 Viborg-Hurley in the Class B SoDak 16 on Tuesday, March 7.
* Reed Rus notched 18 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and five steals, while Zach Baker and Jordan Stoltz added 17 and 16 points, respectively, in Mount Vernon/Plankinton's 66-45 win over Parkston in the Region 5A semifinals.
* Aiden Barfuss (20) and Shawn Hammerbeck (13) combined for 33 points as Blake Volmer posted 12 points, 12 rebounds and four assists for Winner in a 52-46 defeat of Lakota Tech in a Region 7A semifinal.
* De Smet's Damon Wilkinson recorded a 21-point, 15-rebound double-double as the Bulldogs defeated Wolsey-Wessington, 55-45.
* Viborg-Hurley dispatched Scotland in the Region 4B playoffs on Friday night, winning 70-38, which included 43 points after halftime for the Cougars. Gage Goettertz had 19 points, Nick Hanson scored 16, 14 came from Bryson Morrison and Brady Schroedermeier scored 11 points for V-H. Scotland had 10 points from Stephen Johnson.
* Sioux Valley's Oliver Vincent put up 18 points, six rebounds and nine assists and Alec Squires notched a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds in the Coassacks' 77-56 win over Deuel.
* Damon Opdahl had 22 points, seven rebounds and five steals, as Waubay/Summit took down Tiospa Zina, 44-36.
* Isaac Bruns scored 25 points with nine rebounds and Randy Rosenquist sniffed a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists in Dakota Valley's 74-65 win over Tea Area.
* Castlewood's Lane Tvedt led the Warriors with 21 points and Bryon Laue recorded 17 points and 15 rebounds in a 64-59 win over James Valley Christian. In the loss, Landon Wager scored a game-high 25 points with six rebounds and six assists for the Vikings.
Statewide scores
Boys basketball
Region semifinals, winners to SoDak 16
Class A
Region 1A
Groton Area 48, Milbank 39
Waubay/Summit 44, Tiospa Zina 36
Class 2A
Hamlin 55, Clark/Willow Lake 35
Sioux Valley 77, Deuel 56
Region 3A
Madison 65, Dell Rapids 60
Sioux Falls Christian 71, West Central 46
Region 4A
Dakota Valley 74, Tea Area 65
Elk Point-Jefferson 63, Vermillion 37
Region 5A
Hanson 59, Platte-Geddes 46
Mount Vernon/Plankinton 66, Parkston 45
Region 6A
McLaughlin 43, Mobridge-Pollock 35
Miller 68, Crow Creek 66
Region 7A
Pine Ridge 47, Red Cloud 44
Winner 52, Lakota Tech 46
Region 8A
Hot Springs 77, Rapid City Christian 67
St. Thomas More 48, Belle Fourche 32
Class B
Region 1B
Aberdeen Christian 85, Hitchcock-Tulare 49
Northwestern 63, Warner 38
Region 2B
Castlewood 64, James Valley Christian 59
De Smet 55, Wolsey-Wessington 45
Region 3B
Ethan 56, Dell Rapids St. Mary 44
Howard 58, Bridgewater-Emery 45
Region 4B
Irene-Wakonda 62, Freeman Academy/Marion 52
Viborg-Hurley 70, Scotland 38
Region 5B
Gregory 53, Tripp-Delmont/Armour 42
Wessington Springs 64, Marty 58
Region 6B
Ipswich 59, Highmore-Harrold 50
Lower Brule 74, Herreid/Selby Area 41
Region 7B
Crazy Horse 55, Philip 52
White River 73, Jones County 44
Region 8B
Faith 96, Tiospaye Topa 66
Harding County 70, Lemmon 44
