De Smet wins tight game to clinch SoDak 16 berth

De Smet 53, Deubrook Area 51
HURON – After falling behind big early, the De Smet Bulldogs slowly chipped away at the lead, finally coming away with a 53-51 victory over the Deubrook Area Dolphins on Saturday at Huron Arena in Region 2B action to earn a spot in the SoDak 16.
The Bulldogs, ranked second in the final Class B poll, struggled to get in sync offensively, as big 6-foot-10 center Grant Wilkinson had plenty of clean looks at the hoop, but he struggled to finish, as did other teammates when they cut to the hoop. Meanwhile, the Dolphins, ranked tenth in the final media poll, were led by 6-foot-9 Chance Shoenfeld in a blended attack of quick drives to the hoop and pinpoint outside shooting as they built a 16-7 first quarter lead.
The Bulldogs did begin to convert some on offense in the second quarter, but trailed at half, 29-17. In the third quarter, the size of De Smet began to overwhelm the Dolphins and foul trouble plagued Shoenfeld, leaving Grant Wilkinson without much of a challenge inside.
Despite the close game in the end, there were just five lead changes the entire game. De Smet claimed the lead midway through the fourth quarter after a big run to open the quarter, and the two teams went back and forth until a Bulldog bucket with six seconds left clinched the game.
De Smet moves to 18-4 behind 27 points and 13 rebounds from Grant Wilkinson. Noah Luethmers was the only other Bulldog in double-digit scoring with 10. Slayten Wilkinson dished out six assists.
The Dolphins finish the year at 15-7. Braxton Bednarek led the way with 25 points. Joshua Moberg added 10 points. Charlie Olsen paced the Deubrook rebounding with nine.

Deubrook Area 16 29 40 51
De Smet 7 17 34 53

Deubrook Area (15-7): Chance Schoenfeld 4 0-0 8, Charlie Olsen 1 1-2 3, Joshua Moberg 4 0-0 10, Braxton Bednarek 10 2-3 25, Isaac Gass 2 0-0 5. Totals: 21 3-5 51.

De Smet (18-4): Noah Luethmers 4 1-2 10, Slayten Wilkinson 3 0-2 6, Coy Van Regenmorter 2 1-1 5, Grant Wilkinson 9 9-13 27, Carter Wilkinson 2 0-0 5. Totals: 20 11-18 53.

FG: DA – 21/60, 35%; DS – 20/55, 36%. 3-pt FG: DA – 6/25 (Bednarek 3, Moberg 2, Gass); DS – 2/17 (Luethmers, CWilkinson). Rebounds: DA 37 (Olsen 9), DS 32 (GWilkinson 13). Assists: DA 9 (Schulte 3), DS 11 (SWilkinson 6). Steals: DA 7, DS 5 (GWilkinson 3). Turnovers: DA 11, DS 8. Fouls: DA 14, DS 10.