by Benjamin Chase
of the Plainsman
BRANDON –– It wasn’t easy, but the Huron Tigers never trailed as they clinched the regular season Easter South Dakota Conference title with a 60-45 victory over the Brandon Valley Lynx in Brandon on Friday.
Huron began the game spreading the ball around to find size matchups, and it worked well. Davis Chase opened scoring with a backdoor cut. Blake Ellwein was fouled and hit two free throws, then Anderson Porisch cut along the baseline and got a basket to give the Tigers an early 6-0 lead.
Brayden Knutson hit a three to open scoring for the Lynx, by Myles Ellwein answered him with a three. Carter Porisch was fouled and hit two shots to make it 11-3 Huron.
Ayuel Deng was fouled and hit one of two for Brandon, but Chase answered with a baseline jumper to give Huron a nine-point lead, 13-4.
Austin Dowd got a basket on a backdoor cut and then made a baseline cut on the next possession to get the Lynx within 13-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Deng got a basket off an inbounds play as the shot clock expired to open scoring in the second quarter.
Anderson Porisch confidently nailed a corner three, but Deng got a basket right away on a backdoor lob.
Porisch was fouled and hit one of two free throws, then Caelen Christian did the same for Brandon Valley.
Blake Ellwein was fouled on a hard drive, got the bucket, but he missed the free throw. Lincoln McInerney stepped in the passing lane on Huron’s next possession and streaked down the court for a layup to close within 19-15.
Anderson Porisch nailed a three from the top of the key and then was fouled on a drive and hit one of two. Deng sliced through the Huron defense for a basket to cut the lead to 23-17.
Blake hit one of two free throws, and then Chase cut to the hoop for two. Briggs Knutson hit a three to close within 26-20.
Myles Ellwein stopped and popped a jumper to close out the first half scoring with Huron holding onto a 28-20 lead.
Deng would be the primary offense for the Lynx in the third quarter, but that was almost enough at times. He opened the second half with a putback basket. Mason Jurgens responded with a three.
Anderson Porisch pulled up on the drive for two, and Myles Ellwein did the same on a baseline drive. Carter Porisch and Blake Ellwein each got buckets in close to push the lead out to 39-22.
At that point, Blake picked up his third foul and needed to sit for a bit. The Lynx took advantage, as they found Dowd underneath on the inbounds for two, then Briggs Knutson drove through the lane for two and Deng launched a wing three to bring it back within 39-29.
Carter Porisch got a kick out pass from his brother and nailed a three to stop the Lynx run, but Deng responded with another three.
Blake Ellwein hit one of two free throws, and Deng responded with a pull-up jumper.
Huron finished strong with a post move by Blake Ellwein and a three from Myles Ellwein as the quarter buzzer rang to head to the fourth quarter with a 48-34 lead.
Deng got fouled on a putback and sank both free throws to open the fourth quarter. McInerney then nailed a three to bring the Lynx within single digits, and after a Deng three, the home squad had the crowd going as they’d closed within 48-42.
That’d be as close as the Lynx would get, though, as Carter Porisch hit one of two free throws and on consecutive possessions, Chase had a big dunk and Myles Ellwein hit a corner three to quickly push the lead back out to 12, 54-42.
The Tigers then spent the rest of the game at the line, but the Lynx simply couldn’t hit the long balls needed to upset Huron as it closed out a 60-45 victory.
Huron moves to 16-4 with a very balanced scoring attack. Anderson Porisch and Myles Ellwein each had 13 points, and Blake Ellwein chipped in 12 points.
Chase and Carter Porisch had eight points, and Jurgens added six points.
Huron coach Tim Buddenhagen was impressed how his team did the hard work to earn the victory.
“Rebounds were very important tonight. In the second half, we started getting to the glass,” Buddenhagen observed. “Then we started hitting threes, and we started rolling.”
The Lynx (12-8) were led by Deng with 22 points.
Brandon Valley took the junior varsity game, 65-60.
While he is enjoying the celebration, Buddenhagen was quick to share credit for the ESD title and the strong regular season.
“We want the kids to enjoy this one, then we’ll get focused back in on Sunday,” Buddenhagen smiled. “I can’t say enough good things about our assistant coaches. Those guys have done a fantastic job with these guys getting the most out of this team.”
Huron will host a SoDak 16 game next Saturday.
Huron 13 28 48 60
Brandon Valley 8 20 34 45
Huron (16-4): Myles Ellwein 5 0-0 13, Mason Jurgens 1 3-4 6, Blake Ellwein 3 6-9 12, Anderson Porisch 4 3-6 13, Davis Chase 4 0-0 8, Carter Porisch 2 3-6 8. Totals: 19 15-25 60.
Brandon Valley (12-8): Brayden Knutson 2 0-0 6, Ayuel Deng 8 3-4 22, Briggs Knutson 2 0-0 5, Austin Dowd 3 0-0 6, Lincoln McInerney 2 0-0 5, Caelen Christian 0 1-2 1. Totals: 17 4-6 45.
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