Five area boys basketball teams qualify for state A, B tournaments

Area Class A teams Sioux Valley and Hamlin and Class B teams Aberdeen Christian, De Smet and Castlewood each secured berths in upcoming state boys basketball tournaments by winning SoDak 16 playoff games on Tuesday night.

The state Class A tourney runs March 16-18 at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in Sioux Falls. The state Class B tourney will be held the same three days in the Barnett Center at Aberdeen.

In the Watertown Civic Arena, third-rated and fourth-seeded Sioux Valley (21-2) qualified for the state A tourney for the fourth-straight year with a 73-56 win over No. 13 seed Groton Area (16-6).

Here's some takeaways from the game:

Sioux Valley's size works on both ends

The biggest difference between the two teams is that the Cossacks' feature 6-foot-10 junior center Alec Squires in the middle. Groton Area senior Tate Larson, who stands 6-4, did what he could to try to slow down Squires. Even then, the Tigers had no match for Sioux Valley's 6-3 junior Hudsyn Ruesink.

How did it work? Sioux Valley not only outrebounded Groton Area 35-23 but also shot 56 percent (29 of 52) compared to 33 percent (19 of 58) for the Tigers. More than half of Groton Area's field-goal attempts (30) came from 3-point range. A good share of Sioux Valley's shots came from closer range.

"We kind of take advantage of our size a lot of times because it's South Dakota and we've got a 7-footer on our team," said Sioux Valley senior guard Oliver Vincent. "He's (Alec) a huge advantage for us almost every single game so we try to force it inside as much as we can. Ruesink got a lot of great offensive rebounds and put-backs tonight. He was the player of the game tonight that's for sure."

Ruesink helped Sioux Valley race to a 10-2 lead and scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half.

After a back-and-forth first half, Sioux Valley took over

Groton Area survived Sioux Valley's quick start and even tied the game at 20 in the final minute of the first period. The Tigers, looking to make it back to state for a second-straight year, still were within striking distance (down 43-35) after the first half.

Even after Sioux Valley pulled ahead by scoring the first eight points of the second half, Groton Area answered with an 8-0 run of its own. Back-to-back field goals by Vincent in the final 43 seconds of the third period ignited an 11-3 run that ended the Tigers' hopes.

Sioux Valley's defensive focus all night was on slowing down Groton Area's 5-10 junior guard Lane Tietz, even opening the game with a box-and-one defense on him. A couple of adjustments at halftime paid off even more.

"We wanted to quit giving up points at the rim and still try to find Tietz, so we packed in our zone tighter," said Sioux Valley head coach Bill Vincent. "It helped us get enough of a run and gain enough breathing room."

The Cossacks appear ready to make another run

Sioux Valley has finished second in each of the past two state tournaments with the help of OIiver Vincent and Squires, who each finished with 21 points against the Tigers. Ruesink also came up huge, recording a double-double (19 points and 13 rebounds) along with Squires, who also collected 12 rebounds.

"We're going to give it our all next week and that's all you can ask for," said Oliver Vincent. "I hope the end result won't be the same as it was the last two years and we can finish things off."

Senior Cole Simon tallied 18 points, junior Jacob Zak and Tietz 12 for the Tigers.

"He's a stud," Oliver Vincent said of Tietz. "They obviously have other good players otherwise they wouldn't be in the SoDak 16, but we knew it all kind of runs through him. We had to try to shut him down early. He got some good looks early but we were able to force him into some tougher shots after that."

Bill Vincent has led the Cossacks to more than 450 wins and 13 state A appearances in his 26 seasons as a head coach. Winning a state title has proved elusive.

"You want to be in the hunt all the time," he said. "You want to be play in the SoDak 16 games with a 50-50 chance of going to the state tournament. That (chasing the title) drive still feeds our practices and our program. These guys will go back out there and get after it again."

Other Area Class A SoDak 16 Games

No. 5 Hamlin 66, Madison 41: Hamlin (20-3) snapped a 30-year state tournament drought by rolling to the win in the Huron Arena. The Chargers led only 20-17 after one quarter before grabbing control with a 19-9 surge in the second quarter.

Easton Neuendorf tallied 17 points, Evan Stormo 16 and Tyson Stevenson 14 for Hamlin, which drained 14 of 27 3-pointers compared to Madison's four of 18. Stormo also hauled in eight rebounds. Zac VanMeeteren contributed seven points and Brennan Keszler and Jackson Wadsworth six each.

Aiden Jensen finished with 18 points and nine rebounds for Madison (14-9). Charles Callahan and Ben Brooks each added nine points.

No. 8 Elk Point-Jefferson 58, No. 9 Waubay-Summit 50: The Huskies overcame a slow start to win the tight battle at Madison High School. Waubay-Summit led 23-15 after one quarter before EPJ (17-5) pulled even at 25 at halftime.

Garrett Merkley scored 15 points, Jakob Scarmon 14 and Evan Fornia 13 for the Huskies, who shot 63 percent (22 of 35) from the field compared to Waubay-Summit's 38 percent (19 of 50). Easton Kemp chipped in with seven points and nine rebounds and Devon Schmitz seven rebounds.

The Mustangs (19-4), a State B qualifier last March, received 18 points from Damon Opdahl and 16 from Jonathan Johnston. Jackson Wohlleber and Treveion Neilan each scored six.

Area Class B SoDak 16 Games

No. 1 Aberdeen Christian 51, No. 15 Ipswich 34: The top-rated Knights (21-2) secured their fourth-straight trip to state behind Jackson Isakson's 14 points and 12 rebounds and Malek Wieker's 11 and seven. Joey Johnson scored nine points and Ethan Russell and Andrew Brennan six each.

Aberdeen Christian's defense limited Ipswich to 30-percent (13 of 44) shooting from the field and held the Tigers to 14 second-half points in a game played at Aberdeen Central High School.

Ipswich (15-7) got eight points from Tyler Hettich, six from Carter Geditz and five from Ian Beyers. Chet Peterson snared 10 rebounds and Beyers six.

No. 3 De Smet 89, No. 13 Crazy Horse 54: The second-rated and two-time defending state B champion Bulldogs (20-3) earned their fifth-straight trip to state with the help of Damon Wilkinson's 31-point, 18-rebound performance in the Huron Arena.

George Jensen added 16 points, Kasen Janssen 10, Gannon Gruenhagen nine and Kadyn Fast and Tom Aughenbaugh eight each for De Smet, which shot 59 percent (36 of 61) from the field and owned the boards 29-17.

Hayden Martin's 24 points and six rebounds paced Crazy Horse (17-5). Donnie Hood contributed 11 points and Le Bron White Eagle nine.

No. 8 Castlewood 53, No. 9 Harding County 51: Lane Tvedt hit two free throws with nine seconds left and then added a steal to nail down the comeback win for the Warriors (18-5) in the game played at Stanley County High School.

Harding County (18-5) led 9-1 early, 20-15 after one quarter, 32-26 at halftime and 43-38 after three quarters. Tvedt's 3-pointer tied the game at 43 and Bryon Laue's conventional three-point play with 2:15 left put Castlewood ahead 51-49. After the Ranchers tied the game, Tvedt's free throws and steal decided the outcome.

Tvedt recorded 20 points and Laue 16 points and 17 rebounds for Castlewood, which is making a return trip to the State B. Joe Decker had eight points.

Keegan Hett tallied 22 points and Dawson Kautzman 12 for Harding County.

Other Tuesday SoDak 16 Scores

Class A

Dakota Valley 94, Miller 41

Hot Springs 47, Winner 43

Mt. Vernon-Plankinton 82, Pine Ridge 66

Sioux Falls Christian 73, Hanson 31

Note: No. 15 McLaughlin (12-8) vs. No. 2 St. Thomas More (19-2) postponed to 5 p.m. Central time Thursday at Wall High School.

Class B

Ethan 52, Gregory 37

Lower Brule 72, Irene-Wakonda 50

Viborg-Hurley 62, Wessington Springs 56

White River 72, Howard 51

Note: No. 4 Faith (21-2) vs. No. 13 Northwestern (17-5) postponed to Thursday at 7 p.m. at Timber Lake High School.

North Dakota Region 3B

Ellendale advanced to the championship game of the Region 3B tournament with a 62-40 victory over South Border on Monday and a 68-46 win over Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier on Tuesday in the Jamestown Civic Center. Ellendale (14-9) faces Medine-Pingree-Buchanan (20-4) in the championship game at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. No other details were reported.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on Twitter @PO_Sports.

This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: State A and B tourneys run March 16-18 at Sioux Falls and Huron.