Clark-Willow Lake sweeps Roncalli and other Thursday hoops details

CLARK — Clark-Willow Lake's boys and girls basketball teams each recorded wins over Aberdeen Roncalli in a Northeast Conference doubleheader on Thursday.

The host Cyclones won the girls' game 40-31 to open the night and completed the sweep by posting a 66-33 win in the boys' game.

Here's some takeaways from the night:

Clark-Willow Lake's boys shouldn't be overlooked

Veteran Clark-Willow Lake head coach Jerome Nesheim recently posted his 500th career win (more than 400 of them in boys' hoops) and seems to always field very competitive squads. That's the case again this year for a Cyclone team that advanced to the Class SoDak 16 last year.

Thursday's win upped the Cyclones to 7-3 overall and 4-0 in the NEC. The losses, by the way, have come to No. 2 Class A Sioux Valley, No. 3 Class B De Smet and No. 5 Class B Castlewood so they shouldn't be punished for them.

Senior forward Kaplan Felberg and senior guard Trey Huber did most of the damage against the Cavaliers. Felberg scored 23 of his game-high 31 points in the first half to lead CWL to a 37-18 advantage. Huber did his part with 21 points. Felberg and Huber are players for a team that also gets key contributions from fellow seniors Brady Jordan, Cole Brenden, Cole Heiman and Mitchell Larson as well as junior Tyson Huber.

The Cyclones won the state B championship in 2019 but haven't been back to state since. With Sioux Valley in the region, it may come down a possible matchup with Hamlin for Region 2A's second rep in the Class A SoDak 16. Still, there's lot of season left.

A positive night for Clark-Willow Lake's girls

There's been some ups and downs for a Cyclone team (4-7 overall, 3-2 in the NEC) being directed this winter for the first time by former Clark standouts Angela (Seefeldt) Begeman and Shannon (Schlagel) Huber.

It showed at times, especially early in the second quarter when Roncalli gained a 19-10 advantage. The Cyclones closed the half with a 10-0 run and never trailed in the second half.

Senior guard Alicia Vig (11 points), sophomore forward Teyha Vig (10 points and 12 rebounds), junior guard Musonda Kabwe (10 points, seven rebounds and six assists) and senior guard Kayla Jordan (seven points) led the way for Clark-Willow Lake.

The Cyclones last made it to state in 2015. Begeman, who previously coached at Sioux Falls Christian, is hoping to get the program back on the right track.

Don't write off the Roncalli squads so fast

Coach Derek Larson has guided Roncalli to five-straight state tournaments, including a state A championship in 2021. He likely knew that, after having graduation losses, a sixth consecutive trip wouldn't be an easy task.

Thursday's loss dropped the Cavaliers to 6-4 and 4-3. Sophomore Ava Hanson has led the team this season and like the team, struggled to find her shooting touch against the Cyclones. She still finished with a team-leading nine points and seven rebounds. Junior Camryn Bain and sophomore Claire Crawford each added seven.

Twelve of the Cavs' 13 players are sophomores and freshmen, so don't be surprised if there's better days ahead for Roncalli than the one it had Thursday.

Coach Dan Gallagher and the Roncalli boys suffered a similar fate in the nightcap, falling to 6-3 overall and 2-3 in the NEC. The Cavaliers brought a five-game winning streak into Clark, but struggled throughout to put the ball in the hoop.

Junior guard Maddox Miller had another strong game with 13 points. Sophomore Darwin Gambler added six.

Roncalli's entered play Thursday as the third seed in Region 1A behind Waubay-Summit and Groton Area, which played in the state Class A tournament last March. It's a region that may be more balanced than most.

Other Boys Basketball

Aberdeen Christian 53, Waubay-Summit 30: The second-rated Knights (9-0) won by shooting 46 percent (22 of 48) from the field and limited the Mustangs (10-1) to 16-percent shooting (seven of 43). Jackson Isakson led the way with 16 points, Ethan Russell 13 and Konnar Furman nine. Isakson also snared seven rebounds. Damon Opdahl produced 13 points and six rebounds, Jackson Wohlleber eight points and Jared Purdy six rebounds for Waubay-Summit.

Great Plains Lutheran 51, Tri-State 48: Great Plains rallied in the fourth quarter for the Eastern Coteau Conference win, taking the lead on Myles York's bucket in the final two minutes and maintaining it at the free-throw line. Alex Heil tallied 16 points and Austin Rubendall 14 points and 11 rebounds for GPL. Micah Holien contributed eight points, York six rebounds and Brody Scharlemann six assists, four steals and five rebounds. Zach Smith had 14 points, Kaleb Foltz 12 and Jackson Steffens eight for Tri-State.

Leola-Frederick Area 59, Northwestern 56 (OT): Sam Vetter's 3-pointer at the buzzer in overtime gave LFA the Lake Region Conference win.. Noah Kippley's 22 points led LFA. Brayden Sumption added 13 and Vetter nine. Jude Ortmeier scored 13, Lincoln Woodring 12, Chase Neiber nine and Nathan Melius and Quintin Fischbach eight each for Northwestern.

Sioux Valley 100, Deubrook Area 47: Oliver Vincent poured in 26 points, Patrick Carey 20, Maxwell Engebretson 12, Maverick Nelson 11, Hudsyn Ruesink nine and Alex Squires and Jace Christensen eight each for the No. 2 Class A Cossacks (11-0). Jake Jorenby's 15 points and Treven Grimsrud's 10 led Deubrook Area.

Herreid-Selby Area 54, North Central 30: Tray Hettick had 19 points, Brenden Begeman 15 and Trevor Gill 10 for the Wolverines. Raynor Sprague finished with eight points and Dawson Walz seven points and seven rebounds for North Central.

Elkton-Lake Benton 54, Colman-Egan 38: Ryan Krog's 16 points and nine rebounds, Tanner Stein's nine and eight, Garrett Neill's 10 points and Carson Griffith's 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists paced ELB to the Dakota Valley Conference victory. Sawyer Uhing and Camden Schmidt each scored nine points for Colman-Egan.

281 Conference Tourney: James Valley Christian downed Wolsey-Wessington 74-59 in the championship, getting 24 points from MVP Landon Wager, 15 from Dax Frandsen and 10 from Jerrad Wallman. Moshe Richmond had 18 points, Tate French 17 points and nine rebounds and Blaze Herdman 11 points for W-W. Third Place: Highmore-Harrold 67 (Treyton Knox 20 points, Carson Stephenson 17 points, Mason Knox 12 points and five steals and Bryce Bourk 11 points and seven rebounds), Hitchcock-Tulare 57 (TJ Salmen 14 points and eight rebounds, Jackson Maynard 11 points and Carter Binger 10 points. Fifth Place: Wessington Springs 82 (Ryder Michalek 29 points and 10 rebounds, Blake Larson 15 points, Parker Graff 10 rebounds and Brock Krueger 10 assists and four steals), Iroquois-Lake Preston 42 (Josh McMasters and Tobias Arbeiter each 12 points, Logan Peskey 10 points and six rebounds, Riley Casper six rebounds). Seventh Place: Sanborn Central-Woonsocket 52 (Jeff Boschee 16 points), Sunshine Bible (Daniel Gerbracht 13 points and six rebounds).

Warner 74, Potter County 44: Hunter Cramer's 27-point, eight-rebound performance led the Monarchs, who also got 14 points from Brodey Sauerwein, 12 from Zachary Evans and 10 from Drew Bakeberg. Alex Tanner's 25 points and eight rebounds and Ryder Falkenhagen's 10 points led Potter County.

Groton Area 64, Milbank 36: Groton Area took the Northeast Conference game with 23 points from Lane Tietz, 13 points and seven rebounds from Jacob Zak and nine points from Tate Larson. Jaxson Wildung tallied 16 points and nine rebounds and Joe Schulte nine points for Milbank.

Scores: Central Minnesota Christian 77, Canby 74 (Minn.). No other details were reported.

Other Girls Basketball

Milbank 40, Groton Area 33: The Bulldogs took the Northeast Conference game by getting 12 points and six rebounds from Maurina Street and 10 points from Siera Wenzl. Isabella Anderson chipped in with seven points and six rebounds. Sydney Leicht had 11 points, Jaedyn Penning eight and Kennedy Hansen seven for Groton Area. Jerica Locke hauled in six rebounds.

Hamlin 56, Redfield 14: Top-rated Class A Hamlin improved to 10-0 by scoring all of its points in the first three quarters. Kami Wadsworth still scored 18 points, Addie Neuendorf 15, Brooklyn Brandriet and Ally Abraham 10 for the Chargers. Grace Fast led Redfield with five points.

Waubay-Summit 46, Aberdeen Christian 14: Eva Benike led the way for the Mustangs with 14 points. Madison Zirbel contributed nine and Brianna Lindholm seven. Chloe Bosma had six for Aberdeen Christian.

Warner 53, Potter County 39: Kamryn Anderson's 14 points led a balanced attack for the fifth-rated Class B Monarchs, who also got nine points from Ava Nilsson, eight from Lauren Marcuson and seven from Kiah Koch. Tyler Simon and Emma Schlachter each notched 13 points for Potter County.

Faulkton Area 45, Ipswich 31: Paislee Martinmaas and Addison Melius each scored 14 points and Carley Cotton 11 for Faulkton Area. Martinmaas also had nine rebounds and four steals. Ashlyn Weg paced Ipswich with 13 points.

281 Conference Tourney: Mallory Miller's 25 points and eight rebounds, MVP Leah Williams' 15 points and Mya Boomsma's 12 points led second-rated Class B Wolsey-Wessington past Wessington Springs 56-38 in the championship. Avery Orth collected 14 points and eight rebounds and Kristie Munson's 13 points for Wessington Springs. Third Place: Sanborn Central-Woonsocket 42 (Liz Boschee 18 points and 12 rebounds), James Valley Christian 37 (Kaylie Robinson 13 points and Alexa Goertz seven points and eight rebounds). Fifth Place: Iroquois-Lake Preston 70 (Adison Moore 34 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals and Hadlee Holt 20 points and eight rebounds), Hitchcock-Tulare 44 (Katelyn Schroeder 18 points and eight rebounds, Gracyn Bixler 13 points and Isabel Gilbert 10 points and 12 rebounds. Seventh Place: Highmore-Harrold 50 (Kendall Cermak 14 points and five rebounds), Sunshine Bible Academy 22 (Sadie Konechne seven points and eight rebounds).

Leola-Frederick Area 46, Northwestern 38: The Titans took the Lake Region Conference game with 15 points and seven rebounds from Sofia Losure, 11 points from Chloe Arneson, 10 points from Laura Sumption and eight from Alyx Hoffman. Northwestern received 19 points from Adrianna Ratigan, 12 points from Ella Haven and 10 rebounds from Ashley Haven.

Langford Area 49, Waverly-South Shore 18: Alexa Darling scored 17 points and Megan Gustafson 15 for Langford Area. Jolene Krantz tallied nine points for WSS.

Scores: Colman-Egan 50, Elkton-Lake Benton 39; Mobridge-Pollock 80, McLaughlin 45; Sisseton 59, Webster Area 25; Deuel 41, Tiospa Zina 39; Tri-State 58, Wyndmere-Lidgerwood/Hankinson (N.D.) 57; Carrington 59, Oakes 48 (N.D.). No other details were reported.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: No. 2 Class B Aberdeen Christian wins battle of unbeatens.