Clark-Willow Lake claims Class B state championship

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BY MIKE CARROLL
OF THE PLAINSMAN
ABERDEEN — After falling just short of winning a state championship a year ago, Clark-Willow Lake wasn’t going to let another opportunity slip through its hands.
The Cyclones recorded a 49-41 victory against the De Smet Bulldogs in the Class B State Boys’ Basketball Tournament’s championship game on Saturday at the Barnett Center in Rapid City. It was the first boys’ basketball title for the team and the school’s involved.
“These guys have put in a ton of hours and they are just true competitors,” Clark-Willow Lake coach Jerome Nesheim said. “They just love to compete and it was true this weekend.”
Back-to-back 3-pointers by senior guard Jacob Prouty propelled the run the Cyclones used to stake a lead they would maintain throughout the contest.
After baskets by seniors Grayson Florey and Micah Burke, Prouty drained his third 3-pointer and connected on two more field goals to cap a 17-2 run, which gave Clark-Willow Lake at 19-9 advantage midway through the second quarter.
At that point, Prouty had outscored the entire De Smet roster 13-9 and he would continue that trend through the remainder of the first half. He finished the first 16 minutes of play with 19 points.
A pair of free throws by junior Stone Burke gave the Cyclones a 27-17 lead heading into the second half.

Despite struggling to contain Prouty throughout the opening half, De Smet’s young roster was able to stick within striking distance. Freshman Rett Osthus scored on consecutive possessions, including a conventional 3-point play on the final one, to help the Bulldogs keep pace in the third quarter. Sophomore Ethan McCune would also score on back-to-back possessions, which included a 3-pointer to narrow the deficit to 36-27.
Prouty would score 10 of the 14 points in the third quarter for Clark-Willow Lake, which carried a 41-29 lead into the final quarter after Kalen Garry hit the final basket for De Smet.
The Bulldogs mounted their run early in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Cyclones 8-2. Back-to-back baskets by McCune sparked the rally, which ended with a basket by Garry to bring De Smet as close as it would get at 43-37.
Prouty ended the threat with his first basket of the fourth quarter and then converted on 3 of 5 shots from the free-throw line in the final minute to score the win for Clark-Willow Lake.
Prouty, who would be named as the Class B boys’ Spirit of Su winner during halftime of the title game, finished with 35 points to lead the Cyclones. He has 37 points during the semifinals on Friday and nine points on Thursday to give him 81 points for the tournament.
“He’s a big time player,” Nesheim said of Prouty. “When the lights come on he just gets better and better because he’s just such a true competitor.”
Stone Burke would also reach double figures for Clark-Willow Lake with 10 points. He also had a team-high 13 rebounds and three steals, while Florey had four assists.
Garry tallied 14 points to lead the Bulldogs, while McCune also reached double figures with 12 points. Osthus and Tory Holland added seven and six points, respectively.
Garry also had a team-high nine rebounds, while Trevin Holland and Osthus each had a pair of assists.
Prouty, Micah Burke and Stone Burke were named to the All-Tournament Team for Clark-Willow Lake, which ended the season at 23-2.
Trevin Holland and Garry were named to the All-Tournament Team for De Smet, which ended the season at 23-3.

Clark-Willow Lake     17  27  41  49
De Smet           9  17  29  41
Clark/Willow Lake (23-2): Jeffrey Paulson 0-3 0-0 0, Grayson Florey 1-3 0-2 2, Jacob Prouty 14-24 4-7 35, Travis O’Neill 0-1 0-0 0, Stone Burke 3-7 3-6 10, Micah Burke 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 19-41 7-15 49
DeSmet (23-3): Rett Osthus 3-9 1-1 7, Kalen Garry 6-15 1-2 14, Cody Cavanaugh 0-4 0-0 0, Ethan McCune 5-9 0-1 12, Trevin Holland 1-10 0-1 2, Tory Holland 2-2 1-2 6. Totals 17-49 3-7 41.
FG%: Clark/Willow Lake .463, DeSmet .347. 3-pt FG:Clark/Willow Lake 4-16 (Paulson 0-3, Florey 0-1, Prouty 3-8, O’Neill 0-1, Burke 1-3), DeSmet 4-19 (Osthus 0-3, Garry 1-4, Cavanaugh 0-1, McCune 2-4, Holland 0-6, Holland 1-1). Rebounds: Clark/Willow Lake 33 (Burke 13), DeSmet 28 (Garry 9). Fouls Clark/Willow Lake 11, DeSmet 16. Fouled out: none. Technical: none. Assists: Clark/Willow Lake 6 (Florey 4), DeSmet 7 (Osthus 2, Holland 2). Steals: Clark/Willow Lake 4 (Burke 3), DeSmet 3 (Garry 1, Cavanaugh 1, Holland 1). Blocked shots: Clark/Willow Lake 1 (Burke 1), DeSmet 3 (Osthus 2). Turnovers: Clark/Willow Lake 11, DeSmet 8. Attendance: 0.