BY PLAINSMAN STAFF
HURON – The top-ranked team in Class B boys hoops, the De Smet Bulldogs, clinched a spot in the SoDak 16 with a 60-40 victory over the Castlewood Warriors Friday night in Region 3B action at the Huron Arena.

Both teams had streaks in the first quarter without either really establishing control of the tempo, but as the second quarter opened, De Smet brought in their big man, 6’7” sophomore Damon Wilkinson, off the bench. His presence on offense and defense allowed De Smet to spread the court on offense and plug up the defensive lanes as well.

Castlewood was held scoreless in the second frame until only a minute remained in the half. The Bulldogs outpaced the Warriors 20-3 in the second quarter to enter halftime up 34-13.

De Smet coasted through the second half, never letting the Warriors get a strong run, to come away with the victory.

The Bulldogs will enter the SoDak 16 with a 21-1 record.

Kalen Garry led four De Smet players in double figures scoring with 18 points. Wilkinson scored 12 points and led the team with eight rebounds.

Tory Holland tossed in 11 points and Rett Osthus chipped in 10 points for the Bulldogs.

Castlewood finishes the year with a 9-12 mark. Garret Kerkviet was the lone Warrior in double figures in scoring with 11.

Kerkviet and Tristian Nielson each grabbed five rebounds to pace Castlewood.

The Bulldogs will play Tuesday in a SoDak 16 game.

Castlewood     10 13 23 40

Castlewood (9-12): Tristian Nielson 2 0-2 4, Lane Tvedt 2 0-0 5, Booker Schooley 1 0-1 2, Carson Kirwan 3 2-4 9, Garret Kerkviet 3 4-4 11, Beau Schooley 4 0-0 9. Totals: 15 6-11 40.

De Smet (21-1): Rett Osthus 3 2-2 10, Kalen Garry 6 5-8 18, Cody Cavanaugh 2 2-3 7, Ethan McCune 1 0-0 2, Tory Holland 2 6-6 11, Kadyn Fast 0 0-1 0, Damon Wilkinson 5 2-2 12. Totals: 19 17-22 60.

FG%: C - 15/56 27%; DS - 19/49 39%. 3-pt FG: C - 4/20 (L.Tvedt, Kirwan, Kerkviet, Be.Schooley); DS - 5/18 (Osthus 2, Garry, Cavanaugh, Holland). Rebounds: C 30 (Nielson, Kerkviet 5); DS 46 (D.Wilkinson 8). Turnovers: C 13, DS 14. Fouls: C 19, DS 13.

Wessington Springs, 42, Deubrook Area 39
HURON — The Wessington Springs Spartans used a 20-2 run over the last half of the second quarter and the first few minutes of the third, to climb out of an early hole, then saw freshman guard Blake Larson drain a three-pointer with a minute and change remaining, to defeat the upset-minded Deubrook Area Dolphins 42-39 in a Region 3B semifinal game Friday afternoon at Huron Arena.
Wessington Springs, now 18-4, will move on to play in next Tuesday’s Class “B” SoDak 16 game.

Deubrook Area finishes 15-6 on the season.

The game could hardly have started more poorly for the Spartans. Five and a half minutes in, the Dolphins held a seven-point lead on baskets from Nick Bowne and Mason Shaw — Bowne’s was a three — and a deuce from Sutton Fritz, while all Wessington Springs had were a couple of missed jumpers and a handful of turnover. Wessington Springs would have taken the donut for the quarter, but a bucket from Mason Schelske with 30 seconds remaining to get off the schneid. Another Fritz basket in the closing seconds gave Deubrook Area a 9-2 lead after a quarter of play.

The barrage continued to open the second period.

The Dolphins pushed their lead to 16 points, at 22-6, after a trey by Justin Moberg off the Deubrook Area bench., but then the lead began to leach away, as Schelske get the ball rolling.

The 6-foot, 5-inch junior went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe over a bit more than a minute of game time, to cut the lead to 10, then Schelske hit a short shot with just over 30 seconds to play in the half. After a Deubrook Area missed shot, the Spartans moved the ball quickly up court and Tyler Kole was able to bury a three-pointer at the buzzer, to make the score 22-17 at the break, as Wessington Springs closed the quarter on a 11-0 run over the final two-and-a-half minutes of the quarter.

Mason Shaw put the Dolphins back up by seven points with a jumper seconds into the second half, but Kole knocked down another three, igniting a 9-2 Spartan run as Schelske hit two field goals, and a pair of free throws to earn the Spartans their first tie since the tip.

The teams traded baskets, then a pair of free throws from Jacob Messmer gave Springs its first lead of the contest, at 30-28. A late charity toss from Shaw made the score 30-29 as the clock was set for the final quarter.

A basket from Cooper Hainey and one-of-two from the line by Dylan Schimke staked the Spartans to a 33-29 lead with six-and-a-half to play, but a 7-2 spurt by the Dolphins, keyed by a pair of baskets from Andrew Trooien, put Deubrook Area back ahead, 36-35, with 3:45 to play.

The two teams traded body blows - and the lead - over the next two minutes, then Wessington Springs’ freshman Larson drained a three pointer that made it 41-39 for the Spartans. Deubrook Area turned the ball over on two straight possessions in the final minute, then missed a late half-court heave after a Messmer free throw with one tick on the clock.

Schelske scored 18 points and hauled down 11 rebounds for the double-double for Wessington Springs. Kole added 10 as well for the Spartans.

Trooien scored 13 points and had six boards for the Dolphins while Shaw came off the bench to net 10 points.

Deubrook Area     9 22 29 39
Wessington Springs     2 17 30 42

Deubrook Area (15-7): Sutton Fritz 2 2-2 6; Andrew Trooien 6 0-0 13; Nick Bowne 2 1-2 7; Justn Moberg 1 0-0 3; Mason Shaw 4 2-4 10. Totals: 15 5-8 39.

Wessington Springs (18-4): Blake Larson 1 0-1 3; Jacob Messmer 0 3-5 3; Mason Schelske 5 8-8 18; Tyler Kole 4 0-2 10; Dylan Schimke 0 1-2 1; Cooper Hainy 2 3-4 7. Totals: 12 15-22 42.

FG: DA - 15-48 31%; WS - 12-44 27%. 3-pt FG: DA - 4-14 29% (Bowne 2, Trooien and Moberg); WS - 3-14 21% (Kole 2, Larson 1). Rebounds: DA - 30 (Trooien 6); WS - 39 (Schelske 11). Turnovers: DA - 12; WS - 13. Fouls: DA - 19; WS - 9.