Full Court Press: A special Saturday of ranked showdowns in South Dakota basketball
Jan. 24—MITCHELL — It was a special Saturday for South Dakota boys basketball's elite.
In all three classes, No. 1 met No. 2 on the hardwood on the same day, for what might very well be the first time ever. In Sioux Falls, No. 1 Roosevelt battled second-ranked rival O'Gorman, with No. 1 Dakota Valley and No. 2 St. Thomas More in Class A and No. 1 De Smet and No. 2 White River in Class B meeting up at the Corn Palace at the Hanson Classic.
Perhaps it was set up to be a Separation Saturday? By day's end, only one team was going to be able to make that claim.
At the packed O'Gorman Gym, Roosevelt remained perfect and moved to 9-0 with a 66-60 victory. The two teams were tied late in the third quarter, only to see Roosevelt open the game up midway through the fourth quarter and pick up a key win.
The Rough Riders have an enviable level of skill and balance, which showed through on Saturday. Six-foot-six forward Marcus Phillips led the Rough Riders' charge with 20 points, with Vance Borchers and Micah Johsnon each scoring 14 points.
Roosevelt has a pair of tricky games this week, hosting Jefferson for their second meeting of the year on Thursday, Jan. 27, before a matchup at Washington on Friday. Also looming is a trip to Mitchell on Feb. 4, with the Kernels getting a chance to weigh in on the race at the top of Class AA.
At the Corn Palace Saturday night, the much-anticipated showdowns of top-ranked teams brought the energy into the venue and Dakota Valley and St. Thomas More delivered on that, even if the offense skidded to a halt late for the victorious Panthers.
There proved to not be much separating the
No. 1 Panthers and No. 2 Cavaliers
, with Dakota Valley going the final four minutes of play without a made field goal and seeing its 11-point lead late in the third quarter whittled down as the game concluded. But Dakota Valley didn't give up that advantage, made a late stand and improved to 11-0 with a 48-46 win.
De Smet
made the most convincing case
of all of the No. 1s on Saturday, showing once again they're among the best teams in South Dakota regardless of class. The meeting between the Bulldogs and Tigers are rightfully billed for its star guards, with De Smet's Kalen Garry and White River's Joe Sayler both touted as future South Dakota State University teammates.
But Saturday was a fun look at the Damon Wilkinson Show. WIlkinson had a career game on the big stage, scoring 27 points and proving to be impossible to guard with his 6-foot-9 frame holding down the interior, with a few dunks for good measure. The Bulldogs got it done while playing only six players for the game, and only four players taking a field goal attempt.
What are the odds that the same six teams are playing in the championship games in eight weeks from Saturday? Seems pretty low.
Class AA seems like the most likely, with only a few bonafide championship contenders at this point and Roosevelt and O'Gorman standing a combined 19-2, with the only losses coming when the two teams are on the same court. Class A looks like it's very wide open with a number of battle-tested teams, led by Dakota Valley, St. Thomas More and Winner entering the weekend as undefeateds, along with upstart Groton Area.
De Smet looks good to potentially play for a second-straight state championship in Aberdeen on March 19. Who else will be there? Class B has had its share of surprises over the years but White River is as consistent as any small-school program could be.
No conversation about the contenders in Class A boys basketball can be had without a discussion about Sioux Valley. The Cossacks played for last year's state championship and are consistently in the mix at the top of the division.
And this time of year is usually the reminder of how competitive they are. The Cossacks have been Hanson Classic regulars, participating in the boys event every year since 2013. On eight occasions in that time, Sioux Valley played in one of the last three games of the event, usually getting some part of the marquee for the event.
Only St. Thomas More has a longer active streak among Class A teams, visiting the classic each year since 2007, and as you'll see below, the Cossacks and Cavaliers have been frequent foes.
The list of matchups and close games is impressive:
* 2013 — Sioux Valley 42, Vermillion 40
* 2014 — Sioux Valley 39, St. Thomas More 36 (OT)
* 2015 — Aberdeen Roncalli 64, Sioux Valley 39
* 2016 — Maple River (Minn.) 50, Sioux Valley 45
* 2017 — St. Thomas More 70, Sioux Valley 69
* 2018 — Sioux Valley 72, Bridgewater-Emery 65
* 2019 — Aberdeen Roncalli 82, Sioux Valley 81
* 2020 — St. Thomas More 57, Sioux Valley 48
* 2021 — Dakota Valley 86, Sioux Valley 73
* 2022 — Sioux Valley 63, Tea Area 47
Saturday's game was more comfortable all the way around for Sioux Valley coach Bill Vincent and his team, which entered the week ranked No. 5 and took down the No. 4 Titans.
"We're pretty familiar with it and pretty confident all day in the routine that goes along with it," he said. "A year ago, was the snowy day and we arrived late and we were rushing to the locker room. This year, we had a lot better rhythm, so I think that helped."
On Saturday, it was a change in defense — moving from zone to man-to-man — and some improved rebounded, Vincent said, that allowed Sioux Valley to flip the game in its favor using a 36-14 second half.
Sioux Valley has won four straight since a 30-point loss to Flandreau in the Big East Conference Championship game on Jan. 8 in Salem. Vincent said his team felt the effects of playing a third game in three days on that occasion but had the luxury of learning that before the postseason started.
"Flandreau is really good and I think we all know that. ... We knew we had to get into better shape and prepare ourselves for those situations," he said. "More than anything, it was the guys coming back with a re-focused attitude and it was really player driven, and (Saturday), I think, it was a reward from that refocus."
Gregory's Daniel Mitchell scored his 1,000th career point in a 64-29 win over Kimball/White Lake on Thursday, Jan. 20.
The sophomore finished the game with _, helping Gregory win its fifth game of the season.
Perhaps the shot of the season arrived on Monday, Jan. 17, as Platte-Geddes' Jackson Neuman drilled a shot from three-quarter quarter as time expired to give the Black Panthers a 56-53 victory.
Moments prior, Daniel Mitchell hit a game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left to tie the game at 53.
It was the start of a busy week for the Black Panthers, who were in action at the Hanson Classic on Saturday, as well.
Read more about Platte-Geddes here
:
* Tripp-Delmont/Armour's Megan Reiner posted a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds, along with five assists and four steals as the Nighthawks topped Colome 48-21 on Monday afternoon.
* Wessington Springs' Avery Orth had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans in a 45-43 win against Highmore-Harrold on Monday. Courtney Moser added 21 points for Highmore-Harrold in the loss.
* Avery Broughton's 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, four steals and four blocks led Corsica-Stickney to its 10th win of the season in the 61-38 victory over Andes Central/Dakota Christian. Broughton also had 31 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks in a win against Ethan on Thursday.
* Liz Boschee scored 21 points in Sanborn Central/Woonsocket's 18-point win over Wessington Springs on Tuesday.
* Wagner's Ashlyn Koupal notched 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, five steals and five blocks in the Red Raiders win Tuesday against O'Neill (Neb.).
* Viborg-Hurley's Coral Mason had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the Cougars take down Avon 58-23 on Tuesday.
* Rachel Gerlach scored 24 points on only 13 shots, and had nine rebounds and four assists in Corsica-Stickney's 11th win of the season on Thursday.
* Tiffany Pelton's double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds led Avon to hand Andes Central/Dakota Christian a 36-33 loss, its third loss of the season on Thursday. Allison Muckey had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder.
* Hanson's Annalyse Weber shot 9-for-13 from the field for 21 points, along with nine rebounds and four steals, to lead the Beavers past Canistota on Friday.
* Mount Vernon/Plankinton's Emilee Fox had a game-high 19 points, with nine rebounds and five assists, to beat Kimball/White Lake in White Lake 67-37 on Friday night.
* Jessy Vanderwerff scored 31 points to help Gregory take down Gayville-Volin 57-49 on Saturday in Gregory.
* Mason Schelske had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in Wessington Springs 48-45 win over James Valley Christian at the boys 281 Conference tournament on Tuesday.
* Corsica-Stickney's Tyson Wentland had 32 points and 12 rebounds for the Jaguars in a 86-54 win against Andes Central/Dakota Christian on Tuesday.
* Reed Rus piled up 29 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three blocks in Mount Vernon/Plankinton's victory over Redfield on Tuesday.
* Freeman Academy/Marion's Quincy Blue notched 16 points and 12 rebounds in the Bearcats 71-55 win Tuesday against Canistota. Teammates Thalen Schroeder had a game-high 20 points and five rebounds while Connor Epp had 19 points and eight assists.
* Kolt Koepsell double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds led Howard past Bridgewater-Emery 49-42 in Emery on Thursday.
* Parkston's Will Jadozi posted a 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Trojans as they beat Bon Homme 61-40 on Thursday.
* Kody Klumb helped Ethan end Corsica-Stickney's four-game winning streak with a game-high 20 points on Thursday night in Corsica.
* Flandreau's Tash Lunday shot 11-for-20 from the field for a game-high 35 points in the Fliers 71-53 win over McCook Central/Montrose Friday night.
* Daniel Mitchell had 30 points and six rebounds in Gregory's 65-35 victory against Gayville-Volin on Saturday.
* Castlewood's Tristin Nielsen scored 22 points to help the Warriors beat Canistota on Saturday 67-52. Tage Ortman had 21 points for the Hawks in the loss.
* Josh McMasters had 22 points and seven rebounds for Lake Preston in a two-point loss to Menno on Saturday in Elkton.
Keep an eye on these games over the next few days:
* Two 10-win teams collide in Corsica this Monday, Jan. 24. Class B girls No. 2-ranked Corsica-Stickney hosts Bridewater-Emery. Bridgewater-Emery is 10-2 this season and has won five straight games. Corsica-Stickney, 11-2, has won seven of its last eight games.
* Class A girls No. 2 West Central hosts a formidable opponent in Sioux Falls Christian on Monday, Jan. 24. Sioux Falls Christian has two losses on the season, to Wagner and Unity Christian from Iowa, but are currently on a four-game winning streak. West Central's only loss came against Wagner, but since that loss, the Trojans have won two games by at least 36 points. West Central will also host Vermillion on Tuesday and Vermillion is 10-2 this season.
* Class A girls No. 1 Wagner hosts Mount Vernon/Plankinton on Tuesday, Jan. 25. MVP is 8-1 this season, are led by South Dakota State University commit Emilee Fox and haven't lost since Dec. 24 against West Central. Wagner is still undefeated at 10-0 and beat West Central, the one team to beat MVP, 75-47 on Jan. 15.
