HURON It definitely didnt come easy, but the Huron Tigers put one in the victory column with a 65-60 victory over the Brookings Bobcats at the Huron Arena Tuesday.
After a couple of empty possessions for each team, Trace Wenz and Jonathan Peterson played the two-man game with Wenz getting fouled and hitting both free throws. Wenz moved without the ball and Blake Ellwein found him on a cut across the lane for a bucket to give Huron an early 4-0 lead.
Drew Johnson came off the bench for Brookings to hit a three and a backdoor cut on an inbounds play by Jase Bauer gave Brookings their first lead, 5-4.
Peterson cut backdoor to get Huron back the lead at 6-5, then the Huron defense kicked in and Wenz and Ellwein had back-to-back layups off defensive steals to give Huron a 10-5 lead.
Jones Huntimer hit a three for Brookings, but Wenz answered with a three to close out the first quarter with a 13-8 Tiger lead.
Bergan Tetzlaff hit his first bucket of the game on a reverse layup to open the second quarter, and the Tigers answered with a backdoor cut to Colton McNeil.
The teams went back and forth until a pair of buckets from Huntimer and Jonathan Kahler gave Brookings a 22-21 lead.
Wenz responded with a rare three-point shot to fall for the Tigers and Ellwein got the ball on a steal and slammed the ball down for a 26-22 lead.
Brodie McCarty got a bucket and Kahler hit a three to give the Bobcats a 27-26 lead.
Ellwein would cut through traffic as the clock expired for the half, giving Huron a 28-27 lead at the break.
Huron coach Tim Buddenhagen saw things shift in the second half defensively with the Tigers.
I thought our defensive effort in the first quarter was outstanding, Buddenhagen observed. Then our effort started to wane a little bit, and they just seemed to hit everything.
Wenz scored the Tigers first two buckets of the second half, giving Huron a 32-27 lead moments into the third quarter, but Brookings big man Tetzlaff got going, scoring on three of four trips down the floor, helping Brookings to a 42-39 lead.
A Wenz bucket brought it within 44-43, but Kahler then went on a mini-run all his own, scoring four points to close out the quarter. Brookings held a 48-43 lead going into the fourth.
Ellwein got his first free throws to open the fourth quarter, and after Wenz and Kahler traded buckets, Ellwein tied the score at 50 with his first three of the game.
Tetzlaff hit one of two free throws to give Brookings back the lead at 51-50, but Ellwein answered with a step-through bucket to retake the lead at 52-51. Huron would not trail again.
A long pass to McNeil got a layup and also forced the third Brookings starter to be wary of foul trouble with four fouls.
Playing with four fouls, McCarty drained a three to bring the game within 55-54 but Peterson answered with a cut to the hoop, giving Huron a 57-54 lead.
Ellwein sank a pair of free throws, McCarty answered with a three, but then Ellwein made a strong move in the lane for a bucket to make it 61-57.
Jase Bauer drained a three from the top of the key to bring it within one, but Peterson was fouled by McCarty to send the long-range sharp shooter to the bench for the remainder of the game. He would sink both free throws. Ellwein added two more free throws to clinch the game at 65-60 for Huron.
Huron moves to 1-1 behind 21 points from Ellwein, 13 in the fourth quarter. Wenz added 20 points and Peterson chipped in 12.
Brookings fell to 0-2 despite three players in double figures, led by McCarty with 14 points. Kahler and Tetzlaff each added 11.
Buddenhagen was pleased with the win, but he sees some concerns heading to the matchups this weekend.
I felt like we wore them down in the second half, but we wore down ourselves as well, so we have to be smart, Buddenhagen said. Rapid City this weekend will be quick and well have to be smart to not wear ourselves down.
Huron will head west to face both Rapid City schools on Friday and Saturday, with Central scheduled for Friday evening and Stevens for Saturday afternoon.
Brookings 8 27 48 60
Huron 13 28 43 65
Brookings (0-2): Jones Huntimer 3 0-2 8, Brodie McCarty 5 0-0 14, Jonathan Kahler 4 2-2 11, Jase Bauer 2 2-2 7, Drew Johnson 2 0-0 6, Bergan Tetzlaff 4 3-5 11, Gavin Smith 1 0-0 3. Totals: 21 7-11 60.
Huron (1-1): Trace Wenz 8 2-3 20, Colton McNeil 4 1-1 9, Jonathan Peterson 4 4-4 12, Blake Ellwein 7 6-6 21, Ty Kleinsasser 1 1-1 3. Totals: 24 14-15 65.
FG: B – 21/46 46%; H – 24/61 39%. 3-pt FG: B – 11/20 (McCarty 4, Huntimer 2, Johnson 2, Kahler, Bauer, Smith); H – 3/26 (Wenz 2, BEllwein). Rebounds: B 27 (Johnson 4), H 38 (BEllwein 8). Assists: B 14 (Huntimer 6), H 16 (McNeil 6). Steals: B 7 (McCarty 3), H 11 (Porisch 4). Turnovers: B 16, H 10. Fouls: B 18 (Huntimer, McCarty out), H 15.
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