HURON — Riley Schafer scored the final five points of the game as the Brookings Bobcats overcame a 29-point effort by Huron’s Kobe Busch to take a 56-53 win from the Tigers Tuesday night at Huron Arena.
It looked like Huron was about to notch its second straight win as Busch hit a pair of free throws and then a field goal on consecutive possessions to give Huron its only lead of the fourth quarter, 53-51, as the clock rolled past a minute to play. But Schafer scored a field goal and added the “and one” to it, then iced the game with 3.1 seconds on the clock with two more free throws. A late heave for the Tigers fell short.
“Poor execution,” said Tiger coach Tim Buddenhagen after the tough loss, “and that’s on the coaches. We didn’t understand the situation tonight, where every possession was critical, and we didn’t play it like it was critical.”
After both teams opened with close, five-point losses last Friday - Huron to Yankton and Brookings to Watertown - both were looking to move up in the Class AA standings. Huron rebounded on Saturday with a win over Mitchell, and the Tigers were seeking to continue the momentum.
Both teams started out red hot.
Tanner Evers got Huron on the board in the opening seconds, but Josh Sell matched the field goal. Then Kobe Busch made the nets dance for the Tigers with a long three-pointer, only to see Drew Cole hit a three-pointer of his own - all in the first two minutes of play.
Sell and Busch traded buckets again in short order, but the pace slowed for the last half of the first period, which drew to a close as a three-pointer from Jacob Engen gave the Bobcats a 13-9 lead at the horn.
Busch scored on back-to-back possessions for the Tigers early in the second quarter to tie the game again. Then, after a Sell trey, Huron got a three-pointer of their own from Isaac Carr, only to see Sell shake free again and hit from long range.
After a Huron free throw, Sell hit his third-straight shot to give Brookings a four-point cushion, at 21-17. The lead was short-lived, however, as Busch took advantage of a down-screen and popped out for a three- pointer, and with a steal and layup from Jett McGirr, Huron was back on top, 22-21.
But from there on out, Huron was only able to manage a single free throw, while Riley Schafer hit a short jumper, Trevor Woodall hit one-of-two free throws and Sell torched the twines for two more field goals for a 29-23 Bobcat lead at the half.
“We felt as if we should have had a lead, a comfortable lead, after the first half,” Buddenhagen said, “but we didn’t because of our pour execution.”
Out of the locker room, Busch again stepped to the forefront, as he hit a bucket and laced two free throws to carve into the lead. Sell scored again, but Teegan Evers scored, and Busch converted an old-fashioned three-point play to give Huron the lead once again at 32-31.
The pace quickened, as did the frequency of the referee’s whistles, as both teams found themselves in the bonus mid-way through the third quarter. The lead switched several times in the third quarter until a pair of charity tosses from Blake Cruse gave Huron a 41-39 lead as the clock wound down.
But Engen got free and hit a three-pointer with seconds remaining to stake the Bobcats to a 42-41 lead heading to the final stanza.
The story of the fourth quarter was written at the free throw line, as Brookings ended up 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. In fact, the only Bobcat field goals in the fourth quarter came on the front end of three-point plays.
“We didn’t understand down the stretch that a two really doesn’t hurt us much, and that we needed to really defend the three,” Buddenhagen said. “But again, we didn’t execute and that is on the coaches.”
Sell ended the game with 21 points, 17 of them in the first half, while Cole also hit double digits with 10 points as Brookings shot a toasty 42 percent from the field, including a 5-for-10 effort behind the arc. Woodall led the Bobcat rebounders with five caroms and Brookings turned the ball over 15 times.
No other Tiger had more than six points in support of Busch’s effort, which Buddenhagen noted as well.
“Your leader only does so much,” he said. “We need the guys around the leader to make the difference. As coaches, we put guys in position and they weren’t successful.”
Tanner Evers scored six points and had a game-high seven rebounds. Jett McGirr and Busch each contributed six boards. Huron hit 34 percent from the field and were a chilly 3-for-18 behind the three-point line, including an 0-6 effort in the second half.
Brookings is back in action on Friday, as they travel to Harrisburg, who pasted Pierre on Tuesday night. Things don’t get easier for Huron either, as the Tigers make their traditional West River swing to the Rapid City schools.
“Both Stevens and Central are good - very good - this year,” he said. “We’re going to have our work cut out for us on this trip. Hopefully, we can get some things fixed in practice the next couple of days. My work begins tomorrow.”
In preliminary action, Brookings took the JV game 45-37 despite 11 points from Teegan Evers, while Huron pulled out a 51-49 win in the Sophomore game behind Nathan Boehrns’ 16 points. The teams split the Freshmen contests, Brookings taking the “B” game 25-21 and Huron winning the “A” game 58-50 as Jaren Schley notched 19 points.
