SIOUX FALLS — Despite trailing by as many as eight points in the second half, seventh-seeded Watertown rallied in the final quarter to edge sixth-seeded Huron 54-51 in the consolation semifinals of the Class AA State Tournament on Friday at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.

A pair of 3-pointers from senior CJ Gainey propelled the Tigers, offensively, in the early going before the defense was able to claim down and limit Watertown’s scoring through much of the opening half.

Gainey’s second 3-pointer gave Huron an 8-6 advantage, but the Arrows answered to even the score with 2:39 remaining in the first quarter.

Fueled by back-to-back drives to the basket by sophomore Blake Ellwein, the Tigers embarked on a 10-1 run.

Ellwein was successfully on both drives, with the last one resulting in a conventional 3-point play for five unanswered points.

Watertown would end the run with a free-throw by Will Engstrom, but that would be the final point of the opening quarter, which ended with Huron holding a 13-9 advantage.

The Tigers would start the second quarter with five unanswered points. Gavin Moeding came up with a steal and a layup and freshman Anderson Porisch scored to cap the run, which left Huron holding its biggest lead thus far at 18-9.

The Arrows would trim their deficit back to just four points, but the Tigers would follow with eight unanswered points to that their biggest lead of the game.

Holden Hegg scored on a baseline drive and then found the bottom of the net on another drive during the next trip down the floor to kick start the run for Huron. Ellwein would then convert on four straight free throws to give the Tigers a 26-16 lead with 38.8 seconds remaining in the opening half.

A pair of free throws from Watertown’s Dylon Rawdon accounted for the final points of the half, leaving Huron with a 26-18 advantage.

“I thought we played great defense in the first half and did a great job of taking away things,” Huron coach Tim Buddenhagen said.

The Arrows would score the first nine points of the second half, including a 3-pointer by Kohen Kranz to gain a 27-26 with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Ellwein converted on a conventional 3-point play and drove to the basket for a layup on the net possession to regain the advantage for the Tigers at 31-27.

Kranz would pick up his third foul for Watertown during flurry, but Huron suffered and equally devastating blow as Ellwein was whistled for his third foul on the ensuing trip down the floor.

The Tigers would manage just four points during the final half of the third quarter, but Watertown came up with just six points during that span to leaving Huron with a 35-32 lead heading into the final quarter.

“Offensively, we just stood and didn’t have a lot of movement,” Buddenhagen said of his team’s slow start in the second half.

A baseline drive and basket by Moeding, followed by a 3-pointer by Ellwein on the next possession boosted the lead for the Tigers to 40-32 early in the final quarter.

Watertown would rally back with eight unanswered points to even the game at 40-40. A conventional 3-point play by Engstrom got the ball rolling for the Arrows. Rawdon connected on a field goal and on the next trip down the floor was fouled by Ellwein on a 3-pointer. He converted on a three free throw to bring Watertown even, but hurting the Tigers more was Ellwein picking up his fourth foul on the play with 5:43 left on the clock.

Porisch put Huron back in front with a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, but it would be the final lead for the Tigers.

A basket by Rawdon followed by a 3-pointer by Kranz put the Arrows in front 45-43.

Watertown would take its biggest lead of the game as Caden Beauchamp scored on a rebound and putback and Kranz connected on a free-throw to make it 48-43 with 3:13 to play.

Huron would used a basket by Carsen Evans and a steal and layup by Gainey to slice its deficit to one at the 2:09 mark.

A basket by Beauchamp widened Watertown’s lead to 50-47 and after the teams came up empty on the next two trips down the floor, the Arrows called timeout with 1:04 remaining on the clock to talk strategy.

Coming out of the timeout, Watertown wasn’t able to extend its lead as a shot from the field missed the mark.

Huron capitalized as Ellwein pulled up for a 3-pointer with 27.7 seconds remaining to tie the game at 50-50.

However, it provided the Arrows with the final shot opportunity.

During the final 10 second Kranz drove to the basket and came up empty, but a foul was whistled on the play sending him to the line with 4.7 seconds left on the clock. He converted on both shots from the charity stripe to give Watertown a 52-50 advantage.

The Tigers would have one final chance for the win or possibly force overtime. However, the task became a little more difficult before the teams returned to the floor.

“We got a bench warning for staring at the referee and not saying anything,” Buddenhagen said of the chaos, which would eventually lead to a technical foul being called on the Huron bench. “Then I said how can we get a bench warning for staring. Both the referees said what do you want and I just stared at them and didn’t say a word.”

Rawdon would converted on both free throws from the technical to give Watertown a 54-50 lead with 4.7 still remaining on the clock. The Arrows were also awarded possession of the ball.

The Tigers weren’t done yet, however, as a steal resulted in Ellwein being fouled on a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining.

After having the first shot rattle out of the rim, he sank the second one to make it 54-51.

Ellwein intentionally missed the third shot, allowing Gainey to grab the rebound and chuck it to Moeding, who sank a 3-pointer as time expired. Unfortunately, after the officials went to the replay monitor, it was determined that time had run out before the shot left Moeding’s hands.

Ellwein would finish with a game-high 27 points for the Tigers.

“They didn’t have any answer for him and then they could grab and hold him and we wouldn’t get anything,” Buddenhagen said of some his ire with the officiating. “It was a great game and at the end do we call that foul or let it be decided by the players in the four minutes of overtime.

“I aplologize to the Huron fans and our players,” he added of his actions, which drew the technical fouls in the final seconds.

Gainey and Porisch would finish with eight and six points, respectively, for the Tigers. Ellwein had a team-high nine rebounds, while Gainey had four assists.

Rawdon led Watertown with 20 points, while Engstrom also reached double figures with 11 points. Jake Olson had five rebounds and four steals, while Kranz also had four steals.

Watertown, which improved to 14-9, will face eighth-seeded Sioux Falls Jefferson for the consolation championship at 1:45 p.m. Today. Huron, which is now 13-10, will play Sioux Falls Roosevelt for seventh place at noon.

Huron 13 26 35 51
Watertown 9 18 32 54

Huron (13-10): Colton McNeil 0 0-2 0; Gavin Moeding 2 0-0 4; CJ Gainey 3 0-0 8; Blake Ellwein 8 9-11 27; Anderson Porisch 2 1-2 6; Holden Hegg 2 0-1 4; Kolton Ogle 0 0-2 0; Carsen Evans 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 10-18 51.

Watertown (14-9): Dylon Rawdon 5 10-11 20; Caden Beauchamp 4 0-0 8; Kohen Kranz 2 3-4 9; Marcus Rabine 1 0-0 2; Jake Olson 1 2-2 4; Will Engstrom 3 4-5 11. Totals: 16 19-22 54.

FG: H 18-37 48.6%; W 16-43 37.2%. 3-pt FG: H 5-16 (Gainey 2, Ellwein 2, Porisch 1); W 3-14 (Kranz 2, Engstrom 1). Rebounds: H 21 (Ellwein 9); W 28 (Olson 5). Turnovers: H 16; W 12. Assists: H 9; W 7. Steals: H 7 (Gainey 4); W 10 (Kranz 4, Olson 4). Fouls: H 18; W 16.