BY PLAINSMAN STAFF
ABERDEEN — An 8-2 run to start the fourth quarter helped De Smet claim the consolation championship of the Class B State Tournament with a 56-45 victory against Aberdeen Christian on Saturday at the Barnett Center.
The Bulldogs led 32-28 at the half and carried a 39-38 edge into the final quarter. Slayten Wilkinson highlighted the run that helped De Smet pull away with a 3-pointer, while Carter Wilkinson capped the rally with a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs a 50-43 lead with nearly a minuted to play in the game. Aberdeen Christian would manage just two more points in the quarter, while Noah Leuthmers converted on three of six free throws the Bulldogs had down the stretch. Slayten Wilkinson had 18 points to lead three players in double figures for De Smet, which ends the season at 21-5. “Everybody kind of chipped in,” De Smet coach Jeff Gruenhagen said of his team’s balanced offensive attack. “They chose to sag off Slayten and hasn’t scored much in the tournament, you know? He kind of stepped it up.
“He kind of took a while to get going and took a couple of maybe bad decisions shots, but, you know, he’s willing to shoot the three and hit the three,” he said. “
De Smet’s Noah Luethmers dribbles past Aberdeen Christian’s Dylan Hofer during the consolation championship game of the Class B State Tournament on Saturday at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen.
Photo Courtesy SDPB
Noah Luethmers had 11 points for the Bulldogs, while Carter Wilkinson and Grant Wilkinson had 10 and nine points, respectively. Grant Wilkinson snagged a team-high 13 rebounds for De Smet.
Playing their final game for the Bulldogs on Saturday were Kolby Sinclair, Slayten Wilkinson and Grant Wilkinson. “They’ve been through a lot,” Gruenhagen said of his seniors.
“They waited a long time to play themselves, because we had great guys ahead of them and it’s just been fun that they waited their turn and they got to have a successful tourney.”
Brooks Jett and Luke Kaiser had 19 and 18 points, respectively, to lead Aberdeen Christain, which ended the season at 21-5. Jett had 15 rebounds for the Chargers, while Kaiser had two assists. Grant Wilkinson of De Smet and Kaiser of Aberdeen Christian were named to the Class B all-tournament team. Wesley Wittler of Sully Buttes was the Spirit of Su Award winner for Class B. The Freeman cheerleaders were the Spirit of Six winners.
De Smet 14 32 39 56
Aberdeen Christian 17 28 38 45
De Smet (21-5): Noah Luethmers 3 4-6 11; Slayten Wilkinson 8 0-0 18; Kolby Sinclair 1 4-6 6; Grant Wilkinson 4 1-4 9; Carter Wilkinson 3 1-2 10; Coy VanRegenmorter 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20-54 10-18 56. Aberdeen Christian (21-5): Dylan Hofer 1 4-6 6; Luke Kaiser 6 4-6 18; Brooks Jett 7 3-5 19; Ray Rodriguez-Martinez 1 0-0 2. Totals: 15-63 11-17 45. Rebounds: D 45 (G. Wilkinson 13); AC 42 (B. Jett 15). 3-point goals: D 6-19 (C. Wilkinson 3, S. Wilkinson 2, Leuthmers 1); AC 4-27 (Kaiser 2, B. Jett 2). Turnovers: D 7; AC 5. Assists: D 10; AC 3 (Kaiser 2). Steals: D 2; AC 2. Fouls: D 16; AC 12.
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