by Benjamin Chase
of the Plainsman
HURON –– The Huron Tigers, ranked second in the most recent poll, battled a hot-shooting O’Gorman Knights, but the Tigers came out on top with a 61-57 victory Tuesday at Huron Arena.
O’Gorman came out using speed and outside shooting to get the first basket for Kamden Cisse. Jaxson Weeldreyer drove baseline to give the Knights an early 4-0 lead.
After Anderson Porisch made a post move for two, Weeldreyer nailed a three on a kickout pass to give O’Gorman a 7-2 lead.
Huron then went on an extended run, keyed by a pair of Anderson Porisch scores, on a kick-out three in the corner and a pair of free throws to tie the game at 7-7.
Chase then made a lefty move in the lane for two, and Carter Porisch was fouled underneath and hit two free throws to make it 11-7 Huron.
Mason Clark had a lightning-quick drive to the hoop, and then Weeldreyer nailed consecutive threes to give the Knights a 15-11 lead. Chase was fouled on the way to the hoop and hit both free throws to close out the first quarter with O’Gorman up 15-13.
Blake Ellwein scored his first points of the night on a baseline drive to open the second quarter. Chase then got a bucket, and Blake got a putback dunk to put the Tigers up 19-15 early in the second quarter.
Talec Schlimgen got a basket on a give-and-go, and Jason Trooien got a putback to tie the game at 19.
The teams then exchanged baskets for the rest of the half, as Anderson Porisch scored on a feed from Chase, but Clark quickly attacked the lane to tie the game. Chace Hermanson got a putback for the Knights to put them up 23-21, but Carter Porisch quickly responded with a post move.
Mason Jurgens nailed a three, but O’Gorman’s Matthew Mead nailed a long-range shot of his own. Blake Ellwein hit a pair of free throws to close out scoring in the first half with Huron up 28-26.
Huron’s Davis Chase puts up a shot in the paint during a game Tuesday against O’Gorman at Huron Arena.
Blake Ellwein got the first two baskets of the second half to push the Tiger lead out to 32-26, but then the O’Gorman offense simply couldn’t miss the rest of the quarter.
Clark used his speed to drive to the hoop and was fouled, making the free throw for a three-point play. Then, he did the same thing the next time down the court to quickly tie the game, 32-32.
Weeldreyer nailed a three. Blake Ellwein tried to answer with a drive to the hoop, but Clark immediately drove to the hoop for two.
Carter Porisch got a bucket at the back end of the press, but Clark was feeling it, and he pulled up from the top of the key for three. Carter would get another chip shot bucket, but then Hermanson nailed a three to give the Knights a 43-38 lead.
Anderson Porisch knocked in a pair of free throwers, but Hermanson responded with another three.
Blake Ellwein scored on back-to-back possessions to bring the Tigers within two, 46-44.
Cisse hit a free throw and a floater as the third quarter ended to send the game into the final frame with O’Gorman up 49-44.
A 23-point third quarter is not typical for a Huron defensive effort and Huron coach Tim Buddenhagen pointed that out after the game.
“We let them get hot and let them get to the rim,” Buddenhagen lamented. “They started to see shots go in, and then things fell in from outside.”
Ellwein scored the first six points of the fourth quarter on two close baskets and a pair of free throws. He then found Chase cutting to the hoop for a dunk to give Huron a 52-49 lead.
Hermanson sank a free throw line jumper, and Weeldreyer then nailed a three to put the Knights back up by two, 54-52.
Weeldreyer then worked around multiple Huron defenders and still nailed the three to push the lead to 57-52.
Chase made a post move and scored. Carter Porisch was fouled and put in one of two free throws to get within 57-55.
After both teams had a few empty possessions, Blake Ellwein put in a basket on a quick post move to tie the game, 57-57, with 40 seconds remaining in the game.
After the Knights missed on a three, Ellwein sprinted down the court with a clean look at a dunk, but he was intentionally fouled. He sank both free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining to give Huron a 59-57 lead. Carter Porisch would sink two more free throws with 1.8 seconds on the clock to ice the game and give Huron a 61-57 victory.
The Tigers move to 15-4, behind four players in double-figures scoring, led by Blake Ellwein with 26. Anderson Porisch and Carter Porisch each had 11 points, and Davis Chase chipped in 10 points.
Chase had seven assists to pace Huron, while Carter Porisch grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
The Knights fall to 11-8. Weeldreyer hit six threes on the way to 20 points. Clark added 15 points, and Hermanson had 10 points.
Huron closes out the season with a chance to win an outright ESD championship on Friday at Brandon Valley.
After coming up short in energy in Buddenhagen’s eyes, he’s hoping the team is ready on Friday from opening tip.
“We knew we had to match their energy, and we just didn’t for whatever reason. We were on our heels a lot in the first half,” he said. “We have to play defense like we did to end the game when we get to the state tournament.”
O’Gorman 15 26 49 57
Huron 13 28 44 61
O’Gorman (11-8): Kamden Cisse 2 1-2 5, Chace Hermanson 4 0-0 10, Mason Clark 6 2-2 15, Matthew Mead 1 0-0 3, Jaxon Weeldreyer 7 0-0 20, Talec Schlimgen 1 0-0 2, Jason Trooien 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 3-4 57.
Huron (15-4): Mason Jurgens 1 0-0 3, Blake Ellwein 10 6-6 26, Anderson Porisch 3 4-4 11, Davis Chase 4 2-2 10, Carter Porisch 3 5-6 11. Totals: 21 17-18 61.
FG: OG – 22/45, 49%; H – 21/43, 49%. 3-pt FG: OG – 10/25 (Weeldreyer 6, Hermanson 2, Clark, Mead); H – 2/11 (Jurgens, APorisch). Rebounds: OG 16 (Cisse 5), H 22 (CPorisch 8). Assists: OG 10 (Hermanson, Clark 4), H 13 (Chase 7). Turnovers: OG 12, H 9. Fouls: OG 14, H 9. Technical fouls: OG – Yellow Bird.
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