Basketball: Watertown teams split, Aberdeen Central teams go 1-1, 0-2
Watertown High School's girls and boys basketball teams opened their 2022-23 seasons by splitting Eastern South Dakota Conference games against Brookings.
The Arrow girls won 59-54 in a game played in the Civic Arena. At Brookings, the host Bobcats surged in the second half for a 54-32 win.
Emery Thury's 17 points and four rebounds led Watertown's girls. Jaida Young contributed 10 points and nine rebounds and Kendall Paulson 14 points.
The Arrows converted 29 of 40 free throws, including nine of 11 by Thury, compared to 13 of 20 for Brookings, which was led by Logan Smidt's 27 points. Sofia Dvergsten added eight.
Watertown shot 40 percent (13 of 33) from the field, gained a 26-22 advantage on the boards and committed 11 turnovers. Brookings shot 53 percent (19 of 36) and made 13 turnovers.
Nathan Lease tallied 17 points, Owen Burns 13, Sam Conrad eight and Austin Clark seven for Brookings, which shot 68 percent (13 of 19) from the field in the second half to erase a 21-17 halftime deficit. The Bobcats outscored Watertown 22-8 in the third quarter and 15-3 in the fourth.
Dylon Rawdon scored 11 points and Dalton Baumberger six for Watertown, shot made only one of 16 shots from the field in the second half. The Arrows finished at 26 percent (nine of 35) from the field, snared 21 rebounds and made 15 turnovers.
Brookings shot 54 percent (20 of 37), also had 21 rebounds and made 13 turnovers.
The Arrow teams are scheduled to play Mitchell on Tuesday, weather permitting. The boys will play at home and the girls at Mitchell, starting at 7 p.m.
Other Area Boys Basketball Games
Saturday
Aberdeen Central 45, Rapid City Stevens 36: The Golden Eagles salvaged a weekend split with the non-conference win. Carter Dingman led the way with 10 points and seven rebounds. Parker Lemer added 11 points, Spencer Barr nine and Karson Carda eight. Caden Dowling tallied eight points and Dayler Segrist nine rebounds for Stsevens.
Sioux Valley 70, Clark-Willow Lake 54: The second-rated Class A Cossacks took the Lake Central Conference game with 23 points from Alec Squires, 17 from Oliver Vincent, 11 from Patrick Carey, nine from Hudsyn Ruesink and eight from Maverick Nelson. Kaplan Felberg erupted for 33 points for Clark-Willow lake, which also got 11 points from Brady Jordan.
Mobridge-Pollock 55, Sisseton 36: Michael Wald's 15 points and eight rebounds and Kobe Goodshield's 13 and six powered Mobridge-Pollock, which also received 10 points from Shane Henderson. Nate Tchida finished with 15 points, Christian Shepard eight points and 10 rebounds, Carter Stickland eight points and Mason Herzog seven rebounds for Sisseton.
Lyman 62, Potter County 60: Cooper Long poured in 24 points and sank two free throws with 4.8 seconds to lift Lyman. Ryker Choal added 13 points and nine rebounds and Damian Abrahamson seven rebounds. Alex Tanner collected 20 points and 13 rebounds and Ryder Falkenhagen 19 and nine for Potter County. Landon Larson added 11 points and six steals.
Sanborn Central-Woonsocket 45, Sunshine Bible Academy 33: SCW won by getting 13 points from Jeff Boschee, eight points and four steals from Bryce Larson, eight points from Cody Slykhuis and 10 rebounds from Toby Kneen. Nolan Triebwasser recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds and Daniel Gelbracht 11 and nine for SBA. Parker Jones dished out five assists.
Aberdeen Christian 74, James Valley Christian 45: The third-rated Knights rolled behind Malek Wieker's 23 points, Ethan Russell's 17, Jackson Isakson's 11 and Joey Johnson's nine. Landon Wallman produced 14 points and Landon Wager and Isaac Korell each 10 for JVC.
Warner 51, Webster Area 46: Hunter Cramer's 25-point, 15-rebounds performance propelled Warner to the win. Brodey Sauerwein added nine points. Webster Area got 12 points from Ian Lesnar, nine from Brent Bearman and eight from Jacob Keller.
Other Saturday Games: Lennox downed Milbank 68-32, Estelline-Hendricks rolled past Sioux Falls Lutheran 71-26 and North Central defeated McIntosh 54-29. No details were reported from these games.
Friday
Rapid City Central 57, Aberdeen Central 52: The Cobblers completed a second-half comeback by with a 14-9 spurt in the fourth quarter. Jet Janvrin had 16 points and Shun-Zi White Woman 11 points and seven rebounds for RCC, which shot 55 percent (21 of 38) from the field.
Carter Dingman collected 13 points and six rebounds, Spencer Barr nine points and five steals, Parker Lemer eight points and Brian Johnson five rebounds for the Golden Eagles, who shot 41 percent (21 of 49) from the field.
Hamlin 69, Groton Area 57: Easton Neuendorf scored 20 points, Brennan Keszler 18, Tyson Stevenson 15 and Zac VanMeeteren 12 to lead Hamlin to the Northeast Conference win. Lane Tietz poured in 31 points for Groton Area, which also got nine from Tate Larson and seven from Jacob Zak.
Great Plains Lutheran 58, Evergreen Lutheran (Wash.) 48: The Panthers won their final game the Martin Luther College Tip-Off Tournament behind Austin Rubendall's 23 points and 12 rebounds. Brody Scharlemann added 12 points, four assists and three steals; Myles York 16 points and seven rebounds and Micah Holien six points and seven steals.
Deuel 69, Florence-Henry 48: Gavin Benck's 20 points and Trey Maaland's 18 led the way for Deuel, which also got eight from Ronnie Begalka and seven apiece from Braydon Simon and Dravyn Carlson. Ty Bergh had 16 and Mehki Keller and Payton Roe each 11 for Florence-Henry.
De Smet 70, Deubrook Area 51: Two-time defending State B champion and No. 2-rated De Smet won its opener by getting 24 points and 13 rebounds from Damon Wilkinson. Kadyn Fast added 16 points and five rebounds, George Jensen 11 points and Trace Van Regenmorter five rebounds. Jacob Jorenby collected 19 points and 10 rebounds and Gavin Landmark 11 and nine for Deubrook Area.
Redfield 54, Aberdeen Roncalli 52: Jerron Haider's 22 points and Mitchell Mack's 11 points and 10 rebounds led Redfield to the Northeast Conference win. Maddox Miller notched 25 points and Darwin Gambler 13 for Roncalli.
Tiospa Zina 58, Britton-Hecla 43: Reondre Greeley and Juan Rios each scored 15 points and Storm Sierra eight to lead the Wambdi to the Northeast Conference win. BoDell Davidson had 16 points, Landon Carlson nine and Ty Fagerland eight for Britton-Hecla.
Waverly-South Shore 55, Wilmot 26: Grant Holman's 15 points, nine rebounds and six steals sparked Waverly-South Shore, which also received 12 points and six rebounds from Troy Kneeland and nine points from Landon Maag. Dennis Creadon paced Wilmot with 13 points.
Other Friday Games: Iroquois-Lake Preston downed Oldham-Ramona-Rutland 61-53 and McLaughlin turned back Herreid-Selby Area 49-36. No other details were reported.
Other Area Girls Basketball Games
Saturday
Rapid City Stevens 55, Aberdeen Central 52: Taaliyah Porter made 14 of 17 free throws and scored 20 points to lead Stevens. Macey Wathen contributed 15 points, Hailey Oswald 14 points and Izzy Higgins 11 rebounds. Sydney Evans scored 15 points, Caydi Withers 14 and Lauryn Burckhard 11 for Aberdeen Central. Evans also had four assists and six steals, Withers 11 rebounds and Burckhard eight rebounds.
Great Plains Lutheran 54, Nebraska Lutheran 34: The Panthers brought home the championship in the Martin Luther College Tip-Off Tournament with 11 points from Esta Cameron, 10 from Olivia Holmen and nine from Katherine Prohl. Holmen added six rebounds, Madeline Prahl six points and five rebounds, Abby Kjenstad four assists and Halle Bauer three steals. Rebecca Hueske's 15 points paced Nebraska Lutheran.
Warner 51, Webster Area 36: Warner prevailed with 18 points from Kyra Marcuson and 14 from Ava Nilsson. Erin Case and Addy Kuecker scored nine points apiece for Webster Area.
Sioux Valley 53, Clark-Willow Lake 38: Isabelle Bloker canned five 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 20 points to lift Sioux Valley in the Lake Central Conference game. Landree Wilson followed with 12 and Talya Vincent nine. Ashley Bjerke added nine rebounds. Musonda Kabwe and Alicia Vig each scored 13 points and Teyha Vig pulled down seven rebounds for the Cyclones.
Hitchcock-Tulare 57, Ipswich 30: The Patriots rolled with 18 points from Cambree Hoekman and 16 from Katelyn Schroeder. Gabby Wald led Ipswich eight eight. Baylee Kulesa and Kaylin Onken each added six.
Sanborn Central-Woonsocket 57, Sunshine Bible Academy 7: Liz Boschee's 20 points set the pace for SCW, which also got six points and six points from Kameron Ochsner and seven points, six assists and four steals from Kennedy Ochsner. Annaliese Van Zee hauled in nine rebounds for SBA.
Potter County 60, Lyman 58: Tyler Simon's two free throws with 4.9 seconds left gave Potter County the win. Simon tallied 22 points and eight rebounds and Kayden Cronin 19 and 12. Ashlee Kaup pitched in with 10. Skyler Volmer's 24 points and eight rebounds and Mak Scott's 22 and 11 topped Lyman.
Lennox 42, Milbank 41 (2 OTs): Dani Highum scored 19 points and Carli Kuyper 13 to lead Lennox. Isabella Anderson finished with 22 points and Maurina Street 10 points and nine rebounds for Milbank.
James Valley Christian 61, Aberdeen Christian 12: Alexa Goertz notched 21 points and Kaylie Robinson 15 for JVC. Chloe Holt scored eight for Aberdeen Christian.
Other Games: Sisseton handled Mobridge-Pollock 70-49, North Central topped McIntosh 52-23 and Oakes (N.D.) edged Grafton (N.D.) 40-36. No other details were reported on these games.
Friday
Rapid City Central 41, Aberdeen Central 30: Aaliyah Jones scored 13 of her 17 points in the second half and closed the third quarter to give first-year head coach Josh Mach, a longtime Aberdeen Central boys assistant, his first win. Marielle Colhoff added eight points,
Taryn Hermansen and Grace Kuch scored six points each for Aberdeen Central.
Great Plains Lutheran 60, Evergreen Lutheran (Wash) 26: The Panthers closed out play in the Martin Luther College Tip-Off Tournament with the win, getting 10 points from seven rebounds from Olivia Holmen and 10 points and four assists from Halle Bauer. Abby Kjenstad and Esta Cameron each had six points. Emma Dornbush contributed five rebounds, Myra Lentz five steals and Katherine Prahl four steals. Evergreen received nine points from Hannah Rodmyre and seven from Elsa Brauer.
Hamlin 57, Groton Area 41: Third-rated Class A Hamlin used Addie Neuendorf's 24 points to win the Northeast Conference game. Kami Wadsworth tallied 19 points, Ally Abraham eight and Marissa Bawdon six. Brooke Gengerke garnered 10 points, Jaedyn Penning nine, Kennedy Hansen eight and Sydney Leicht seven for Groton Area.
Britton-Hecla 42, Tiospa Zina 40: Tiyanna Schott's layup with four seconds left gave Britton-Hecla the Northeast Conference win. Schott finished with eight points and nine rebounds, RaeAnn Hagenson eight and eight and Sterling Brassfield and Alyssa James each six and nine. Addison Wade also scored six points. Kennadee Bissonnette's 18 points and 12 rebounds sparked Tiospa Zina, which also got nine points from Alexia Quinn and eight from Hannah Ziegler.
De Smet 48, Deubrook Area 32: The defending State B runner-ups used Jada Burke's 27 points, 12 rebounds and five steals to notch the Dakota Valley Conference win. Hazel Luethmers added eight points and seven rebounds, Alyssa Asleson six points and Emma Albrecht five points and seven rebounds. Ellie Koenig had nine points and Skyla Petersen eight rebounds for Deubrook Area.
Sully Buttes 55, North Central 20: Lydia Hill scored 21 points and Stevie Wittler 15 for Sully Buttes. Alaina Dosch led North Central with eight points.
Other South Dakota Scores
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Friday
Alcester-Hudson 42, Gayville-Volin 38
Avon 64, Marty Indian 63
Belle Fourche 59, Spearfish 55
Bennett County 54, Lead-Deadwood 36
Beresford 32, Baltic 28
Burke 47, Kimball/White Lake 42
Dell Rapids St. Mary 46, Howard 42
Edgemont 39, New Underwood 36, OT
Elk Point-Jefferson 65, Canton 60
Flandreau Indian 45, Sioux Falls Lutheran 19
Harding County 41, Newell 25
Harrisburg 46, Yankton 19
Hay Springs, Neb. 51, Hot Springs 44
Kadoka Area 57, Philip 39
Mitchell 47, Huron 44
Parkston 56, Tri-Valley 45
Pierre 58, Rapid City Stevens 46
Rapid City Central 41, Aberdeen Central 30
Sioux Falls Christian 50, Lennox 29
Sioux Falls Jefferson 56, Sioux Falls Roosevelt 26
Tea Area 58, Dakota Valley 26
Timber Lake 59, Lemmon 43
Tripp-Delmont/Armour 46, Menno 21
Viborg-Hurley 60, Freeman 44
Wagner 73, Winner 26
Gillette Early Bird Tournament
St. Thomas More 48, Thunder Basin, Wyo. 35
Saturday's Games
Alcester-Hudson 44, Menno 35
Elk Point-Jefferson 66, Madison 33
Hanson 75, Ethan 65
Harding County 56, Lead-Deadwood 10
Jones County 46, Highmore-Harrold 23
McCook Central/Montrose 54, Parker 37
Pierre 62, Rapid City Central 35
Potter County 60, Lyman 58
Upton (Wyo.) Tournament
Arvada-Clearmont, Wyo. 37, Spearfish 26
BOYS BASKETBALL
Friday's Games
Alcester-Hudson 49, Gayville-Volin 31
Beresford 55, Baltic 44
Brandon Valley 57, Sioux Falls O'Gorman 51
Bridgewater-Emery 63, Corsica/Stickney 54
Canistota 63, Centerville 54
Crazy Horse 75, Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 40
Dell Rapids 57, West Central 44
Edgemont 75, New Underwood 10
Ethan 50, Hanson 49
Flandreau Indian 52, Sioux Falls Lutheran 36
Freeman Academy/Marion 61, Mitchell Christian 37
Hot Springs 39, Alliance, Neb. 37
Lead-Deadwood 55, Bennett County 31
McLaughlin 49, Herreid/Selby Area 36
Mitchell 75, Huron 57
Parkston 40, Tri-Valley 36
Pierre 59, Rapid City Stevens 41
Sioux Falls Christian 93, Lennox 68
Sioux Falls Lincoln 60, Sioux Falls Washington 58
South Sioux City, Neb. 62, Vermillion 50
Spearfish 64, Belle Fourche 44
Tea Area 67, Dakota Valley 43
Timber Lake 63, Lemmon 42
Tripp-Delmont/Armour 56, Menno 32
Viborg-Hurley 64, Freeman 34
White River 83, Jones County 44
Winner 57, Wagner 33
Yankton 66, Harrisburg 61
Gillette Early Bird Tournament
St. Thomas More 56, Thunder Basin, Wyo. 38
Upton (Wyo.) Tournament
Sundance, Wyo. 51, Custer 39
Saturday's Games
Bison 55, Newell 54
Chester 38, Garretson 36
Elk Point-Jefferson 70, Madison 63
Harding County 66, Lead-Deadwood 41
Highmore-Harrold 67, Jones County 45
Lower Brule 87, Marty Indian 67
Menno 50, Alcester-Hudson 39
Pierre 71, Rapid City Central 44
Wall 75, Edgemont 15
Upton (Wyo.) Tournament
Spearfish 60, Arvada-Clearmont, Wyo. 8
Spearfish 64, Ten Sleep, Wyo. 51
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown girls kick off their season with 59-54 win over Brookings.
