Watertown's sweep over Aberdeen Central & other Tuesday hoops highlights
If you really wanted to be honest about, it was the No. 1 and not No. 227 that carried the bigger importance for head coach Pat McClemans and the Watertown High School boys basketball team on Tuesday night.
The Arrows became the final South Dakota Class AA team to notch a win, taking advantage of a fast start to record a 48-30 victory over Aberdeen Central in the Civic Arena.
Watertown improved to 1-4 and handed Aberdeen Central (1-5) its fourth-straight loss.
Here's some takeaways from the game and where the two teams stand after one-fourth of the 2022-23 regular season:
Just getting a win is a big deal
You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that there's a lot of the season remaining for both the Arrows and the Golden Eagles. Still, it's easy to tell that neither Watertown nor Brent Norberg's Aberdeen Central team has the size that many of the top teams in the class have this winter.
Both teams are going to have to rely on strong perimeter play and take advantage when they face squads with similar size. Things turned out better for the Arrows on Tuesday in part because they were playing at home and the fact that Aberdeen Central couldn't put the ball in the ocean in the first half.
Watertown jumped out to a 22-2 lead. The Golden Eagles scored only two points in the first 13 1/2 minutes and shot 14 percent (3 of 21) from the field in the first half.
"When you look at things, and Brent's in the same boat with Aberdeen. We know this is as big of a game that we're going to have because of the matchups we have coming," said McClemans. "You know you better take advantage of a game where physically you match up with each other well.
"I thought we played well defensively, but they're not going to shoot it that badly all the time. They missed some shots early that they don't normally miss."
Hitting the boards and displaying some balance
The small Arrows have struggled to match opponents on the glass but did gain a 37-22 advantage on Tuesday that including nine offensive rebounds.
Junior guard Jake Olson had another strong game, canning four 3-pointers on the way to a team-leading 14 points. Kohen Kranz, Dalton Baumberger, Will Engstrom and Marcus Rabine each added six and Dylon Rawdon and Brody Torgerson five apiece.
"I just thought tonight we showed some flashes of what we think we can be from the standpoint of balanced scoring. I know a lot of kids only had 6, 6 and 6 and I'd like to see them get to 8 and 9, but I think that's who we have to be. I think we have to have seven or eight guys getting seven or eight points a night to get us to a point where we can get over 50."
Aberdeen Central warmed up a bit in the second half and finished at 30 percent (14 of 46) but still wasn't able to match Watertown's 18 of 45 performance for 40 percent. Senior guard Spencer Barr led the Golden Eagles with 15 points. No other player had more than four points.
Rawdon, Caden Beachamp and Kranz each also snared six rebounds and Rabine five for the Arrows. Kranz also made five assists.
"We were able to get some offensive rebounds because of the size and we made some shots. We didn't make a lot of them, in my opinion we can shoot a better percentage from 3, but I thought we got to the basket," said McClemans.
Why the No. 1 meant more than No. 227
McClemans didn't know it, but after a quick late-night search of Eastern South Dakota Conference basketball records we learned that he has compiled a 226-213 career record in 20 seasons as a head girls basketball coach at Watertown (12) and Pierre (8).
This is the Brookings native's first season as a head boys basketball coach, meaning that Tuesday's win was his first just like it was the first for the 2022-23 Arrows. His son Colton is an assistant for Aberdeen Central and Norberg, who also is a Watertown High School grad.
It wasn't the coaching milestone, but the much-needed win for the Arrows that meant the most.
"We played hard in all the other games," he said. "It's just nice for the kids to have a win to justify what we're trying to do."
Aberdeen Central, which visits Tea Area at 3 p.m. on Saturday, will look to get even when its hosts Watertown on Feb. 14. Watertown visits fourth-rated Class A Sioux Falls Christian on Saturday as part of a girls-boys doubleheader. The boys are slated to play at 5 p.m.
Watertown completes sweep with girls win at Aberdeen
Watertown used a 17-6 third-quarter scoring run to pull away for a 50-34 win over the Golden Eagles.
The Arrows (2-3) snapped a three-game losing skid with 12-point efforts from Jade Lund and Jaida Young. Maddy Rohde added 10 and Emery Thury seven. Young also collected five rebounds.
Taryn Hermansen scored 13 points and Taryn Hettich eight for Aberdeen Central (now 1-6).
The Golden Eagles host Tea Area at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Watertown plays Sioux Falls Christian at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in a doubleheader at Sioux Falls.
Other Boys Basketball
Waubay-Summit 57, Sisseton 26: The Mustangs won big behind Damon Opdahl's 19 points and five assists; Jackson Wohlleber's 15 points, six assists and five steals; and Jonathan Johnston's 10 points and eight rebounds. Traveion Neilan added eight points and Jared Purdy seven rebounds. Ethan DeSpiegler's 11 points paced Sisseton.
Sioux Valley 69, Hamlin 65: The second-rated Class A Cossacks prevailed in the Throwback Classic at the Sanford Pentagon by getting 25 points and six assists from Oliver Vincent, 18 points and 12 rebounds from Alec Squires and 22 points from Patrick Carey. Tyson Stevenson poured in 26 points for Hamlin, which also got 11 points and 11 assists from Easton Neuendorf, 11 points and six assists from Brennan Keszler and nine points and seven rebounds from Zac VanMeeteren.
Castlewood 54, Clark-Willow Lake 51: Bryon Laue's 16-point, 18-rebound performance lifted the fourth-rated Class B Warriors to the Lake Central Conference win. Lane Tvedt had 21 points, Joe Decker seven and Jackson Schofield six. Trey Huber finished with 16 points, Kaplan Felberg nine, Brady Jordan eight and Mitchell Larson seven for the Cyclones.
Deuel 67, Arlington 51: Dravyn Carlson scored 13 points, Gavin Benck 12, Trey Maaland and Braydon Simon each 11 and Carter Leddy eight for Deuel. Simon added four steals and four assists, Maaland four steals and Leddy six rebounds. Evan Fonseca's 10 points and five rebounds and Tommy Bacon's eight points topped Arlington.
Miller 51, Redfield 46: Isaak Hunter produced 13 points and 10 rebounds, Alex Schumacher 11 points and Dylan Hass nine for the Rustlers. Jerrod Haider tallied 16 points, Nolan Gall 15 and Justin Ratigan nine for the Pheasants.
Estelline-Hendricks 62, Great Plains Lutheran 56: The Redhawks won the non-conference game with 19 points from Joseph McAninch, 12 from Braxton Pravecek, 10 from Braxton Saathoff and eight from Mattix Hausman. Austin Rubendall collected 16 points and 10 rebounds, Brody Scharlemann 14 points, Myles York 12 points and six rebounds and Alex Heil seven points for GPL.
Leola-Frederick Area 47, North Central 42: The Titans prevailed with 17 points from Noah Kippley, 13 from Hans Lapka and 10 from Brayden Sumption. Raynor Sprague led all scorers with 24 points for North Central. Dawson Walz contributed eight.
De Smet 67, Howard 23: Damon Wilkinson notched 22 points and 18 rebounds and George Jensen 20 and seven for the third-rated Class B Bulldogs. Kadyn Fast added seven points and Kasen Janssen six. Logan Mentele scored eight points and Kolt Koepsell six for Howard.
Northwestern 65, Florence-Henry 49: Northwestern won with 15 points from Quintin Fischbach, 14 from Lincoln Woodring and 10 from Chase Neiber. Mehki Keller, Peyton Roe and Ty Bergh each had 11 points for Florence-Henry.
Ipswich 63, Sully Buttes 46: Tyler Hettich scored 16 points and Trevor Heinz 15 for Ipswich. Carter Geditz added eight points and seven rebounds and Colby Sylte seven rebounds. Wesley Witter led Sully Buttes with 18 points.
Warner 50, Hitchcock-Tulare 47: The Monarchs won by getting 16 points from Hunter Cramer, eight points from Brodey Sauerwein and seven points and nine rebounds from Levi Scepaniak. Carter Binger had 13 points and Riley Fliehe 10 for Hitchcock-Tulare, which also got 18 rebounds from TJ Salmen.
Highmore-Harrold 66, Faulkton Area 57: Treyton Knox's 17 points and 18 rebounds sparked Highmore-Harrold. Carson Stephenson contributed 16 points, Brice Bourk 15 and Dawson Hale 11. Layne Cotton recorded 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists and Roman DiMaria 13 points and five steals for Faulkton Area.
Scores: McLaughlin 52, Mobridge-Pollock 37; Britton-Hecla 62, Wilmot 55; Oakes 70, Napoleon-Gackle-Streeter 53 (N.D.); Lisbon, N.D. 62, Tri-State 40; Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 64, Dawson-Boyd 53 (Minn.); MACCRAY 65, Canby 50 (Minn.) and Rothsay 56, Ortonville 37 (Minn.). No other details were reported.
Other Girls Basketball
Hamlin 63, Sioux Valley 46: The top-rated Chargers won the Lake Central Conference game that was part of the Throwback Classic at the Sanford Pentagon. Kami Wadsworth led the way with 20 points, followed by Marissa Bawdon with 14, Addie Neuendorf 12 and Ally Abraham 10. Keyra Kruse had 15 points, Ashley Bjerke 11 and Julia Schneider eight for Sioux Valley.
Great Plains Lutheran 41, Estelline-Hendricks 39: Olivia Holmen scored of her team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to pace the Panthers, who got six points apiece from Katherine Prahl, Abby Kjenstad and Myra Lentz. Lentz also had four rebounds, three steals and three assists. Kenzy Beare scored 23 points and Brooke Johnson seven for the Redhawks.
Warner 56, Hitchcock-Tulare 20: The fifth-rated Class B Monarchs rolled with 13 points from Lauren Marcuson, 11 from Kyleigh Schopp, eight each from Kiah Koch and Kamryn Anderson and seven from Ava Nilsson.
Castlewood 44, Clark-Willow Lake 37: Mackenzie Everson tallied 17 points, Presley Knecht 12 and Gracie Haug nine to lead the Warriors to the Lake Central Conference victory. Teyha Vig garnered 13 points, Alicia Vig nine and Musonda Kabwe eight for the Cyclones.
Potter County 64, Stanley County 42: Tyler Simon's 30-point outburst carried Potter County to victory. Ashlee Kaup chipped in with 16 points and Olivia Mikkelsen seven points and seven rebounds. Mattie Duffy notched 14 points, Morgan Hoffman 10 and Cadence Hand seven for Stanley County.
Arlington 60, Deuel 42: Arlington leaders included Jaelyn Huntimer with 17 points, Addie Steffensen with 16 points and six rebounds, Jo Steffensen 11 points and Harley Johnson 10 points, six rebounds and six steals. Harley Hennings had 10 points and six rebounds and Jaycee Hourigan 10 points for Deuel.
Milbank 69, Tiospa Zina 38: The Bulldogs won the Northeast Conference game with 19 points from Tyra Berry, 16 from Maurina Street, 14 from Isabella Anderson and eight for Siera Wenzl. Street also hauled in eight rebounds. Kennadee Bissonette poured in 21 points, Alexia Quinn 10 and Jaia Bursheim seven for the Wambdi. Quinn snared nine rebounds.
Aberdeen Roncalli 71, Faulkton Area 43: A 35-point outburst from Ava Hanson including eight 3-pointers and sparked the Cavaliers, who also got 14 points from Maddie Huber. Huber and Claire Crawford had six rebounds each, McKenna O'Keefe six assists and Huber five assists and four steals. Addison Melius collected 14 points and eight rebounds, Kelli Stoecker 10 points and Gabby Kast eight rebounds for Faulkton Area.
Miller 41, Redfield 27: Miller was led by Morgan Kolda's 14 points and seven rebounds and Tyra Gates' 12 points. Katie Rozell collected seven points and eight rebounds for Redfield.
Groton Area 53, Aberdeen Christian 25: Jerica Locke produced 11 points and seven rebounds, Sydney Leicht 10 points and Jaedyn Penning seven rebounds to lead Groton Area. Chloe Bosma's 11 points paced Aberdeen Christian.
Scores: Dell Rapids St. Mary 67, Elkton-Lake Benton 53; Mobridge-Pollock 58, Herreid-Selby Area 45; De Smet 59, Howard 48; Wilmot 53, Britton-Hecla 48; Lower Brule 64, Sunshine Bible Academy 29; Leola-Frederick Area 51, North Central 39. No other details were reported.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Arrow boys break into win column with 48-30 win at home.
