Final pairings set for 2023 281 tournaments

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HURON – The Hitchcock-Tulare Patriots had upset on their mind, and even led the top-seeded Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds at half, but the Warbirds powered by in the second half for a 55-36 victory in semifinal action Tuesday at the JVC gym.

Blaze Herdman paced the Warbirds with 18 points and Ricky Maurovic powered in 14 points.

TJ Salmen was the lone Patriot in double figures with 15 points as Hitchcock-Tulare falls to 4-2.

Wolsey-Wessington will take a 7-0 record into the championship game against James Valley Christian on Thursday at Huron Arena, while Hitchcock-Tulare will play Highmore-Harrold for third place.

Hitchcock-Tulare     12 24 25 36
Wolsey-Wessington     13 22 41 55

Hitchcock-Tulare (4-2): Carter Binger 3 2-2 8, Riley Fliehe 2 0-0 4, TJ Salmen 7 1-2 15, Jackson Maynard 0 0-2 0, Erik Salmen 3 0-0 7, Brendan Nowell 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 3-6 36.

Wolsey-Wessington (7-0): Blaze Herdman 7 3-5 18, Caleb Richmond 3 2-2 8, Grant Timm 1 1-2 4, Tate French 3 0-1 6, Ricky Maurovic 5 4-5 14, Peyton Rainford 2 0-0 5. Totals: 21 10-15 55.

James Valley Christian 68, Highmore-Harrold 61
HURON — The second-seeded James Valley Christian Vikings built an early lead then had to hold off the Highmore-Harrold Pirates to earn a 68-61 win in a championship consolation game of the 281 Conference boys’ basketball tournament Thursday night at the JVC gym.

The Vikings got 25 points from Landon Wager, while Jerrad Wallman came off the bench to cash in 12 points to lead JVC, 5-3, into the 281 title game Thursday night against Wolsey-Wessington.

The Pirates, who fall to 8-2 with the loss, got 19 points from Bryce Bourk and 15 from Trey Knox, as they battled back from an eight-point halftime deficit to cut the margin to one point after three quarters.

Highmore-Harrold will take on Hitchcock-Tulare in the third-place contest on Thursday evening.

Highmore-Harrold     11 28 44 61
James Valley Christian 18 36 45 68

Highmore-Harrold (8-2): Dawson Hale 3 0-0 8; Carson Stephenson 1 3-4 6; Trey Knox 4 7-8 15; Mason Knox 2 2-2 7; Bryce Bourk 8 3-5 19; Trake Cowan 3 0-3 6. Totals: 21 15-22 61.

James Valley Christian (5-3): Dax Frandsen 2 0-0 4; Landen Wager 9 4-4 25; Landon Wallman 1 5-7 7; Ethan Bartholow 1 1-2 3; Isaac Korell 4 0-1 8; Brennan Hood 1 0-0 2; Jerrad Wallman 6 0-1 12; Huntley Steele 1 2-2 5; Davis Chase 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26 12-17 68.

Wessington Springs 66, Sunshine Bible Academy 18
WOLSEY – The Wessington Springs Spartans jumped out to a 25-4 first quarter lead and cruised into the consolation championship game of the 281 Conference Tournament with a 66-18 victory over the Sunshine Bible Academy Crusaders in consolation semifinal play in Wolsey.

The Spartans move to 3-5 behind three scorers in double figures, led by Ryder Michalek with 15 points.

Colby Flowers dropped in 14 points and led Wessington Springs with 6 rebounds. Parker Graff added 12 points.

The Crusaders (0-6) were led by 10 points from Daniel Gerbracht. Ryder Jones grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists to top SBA.

Sunshine Bible Academy 4   6 14 18
Wessington Springs       25 40 53 66

Sunshine Bible Academy (0-6): Daniel Gerbracht 4 0-3 10, Jensen Wipf 0 4-6 4, Owan Watson 1 0-0 2, Parker Jones 1 0-1 2. Totals: 6 6-10 18.

Wessington Springs (3-5): Blake Larson 4 0-0 8, Parker Graff 5 0-1 12, Brock Krueger 1 0-0 2, Colby Flowers 7 0-0 14, Ryder Michalek 7 1-2 15, Luke Larson 1 0-0 2, Blake Miller 1 0-0 2, Jack Neely 1 0-0 2, Branden Flowers 4 1-2 9. Totals: .

FG: SBA 6/26 23%; WS - 31/45 68%. 3-pt FG: SBA - 0/6; WS - 2/6 (Graff 2). Rebounds: SBA 14 (RJones 4), WS 28 (Flowers 6). Assists: SBA 2 (RJones 2), WS 29 (Krueger 5). Turnovers: SBA 6, WS 11. Fouls: SBA 5, WS 9.

Girls

Wolsey-Wessington 58, Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 43
HURON — The Wolsey-Wessington Lady Warbirds will play for the championship in the 281 Conference girls’ basketball tournament Thursday. The Lady ‘Birds punched their ticket Tuesday afternoon via a 58-43 win over the Sanborn Central/Woonsocket Blackhawks in a championship round semifinal at the James Valley Christian School gymnasium.

Mallory Miller led a trio of W-W double figure scorers with 22 points in the contest, while teammates Leah Williams and Mya Boomsma netted 14 and 12, respectively.

The Blackhawks got 17 points from Liz Boschee and 16 from Kenna Oschner.

Wolsey-Wessington, now 8-1, will play Wessington Springs on Thursday evening at Huron Arena for the championship hardware in the 2023 girls’ tournament. The Blackhawks will tangle with James Valley Christian in the third place game.

Sanborn Cent/Woon     10 17 27 43
Wolsey-Wessington      17 29 42 58

Wolsey-Wessington (8-1): Leah Williams 4 5-6 14; Lainey Uttecht 0 1-2 1; Taylor Horn 3 0-0 7; Mya Boomsma 3 4-7 12; Mallory Miller 8 4-5 22; Payton Kemnitz 1 0-0 2. Totals: 19 14-20 58

Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (5-3): Liz Boschee 8 0-1 17; Kenna Oschner 8 0-1 16; Kara Wormstadt 0 1-2 1; Jaycee Baruth 1 1-1 3; Ellie Evans 0 1-2 1; Cameron Oschner 3 1-2 7. Totals: 20 4-8 43.

Wessington Springs 47, James Valley Christian 37
HURON — The third-seeded Wessington Springs Lady Spartans sputtered through the first half, but got things fixed in the second half, coming back for a 47-37 upset win over the second-seeded James Valley Christian Lady Vikings in a championship semifinal of the 281 Conference girls’ basketball tournament, on the JVC court.

The Lady Vikes had no answer for Springs’ post player Avery Orth. Orth ended the contest with a game-high 24 points - 19 of them in the second half - when the Lady Spartans turned a 20-10 deficit into a ticket to the championship game Thursday night.

JVC was led by Lily Hofer’s 14 points, while Alexa Goertz chipped in 12.

Wessington Springs, now 6-3, will face top-seeded Wolsey-Wessington for the tournament title Thursday evening, in a rematch of the season opener for both teams, which was won by Wolsey-Wessington.
JVC, 6-2, will take on Sanborn Central/Woonsocket in the third-place contest on Thursday.

Wessington Springs         4 10 26 47
James Valley Christian     9 20 26 37

Wessington Springs (6-3): Carissa Scheel 1 3-5 5; Avery Orth 9 5-8 24; Alyssa Grohs 1 1-2 3; Kirsten Munsen 3 0-0 7; Kate Havlik 3 0-0 8. Totals: 17 9-15 47.

James Valley Christian (6-2): Rhayonna Hood 0 3-4 3; Kaylie Robinson 6 0-0 6; Alexa Goertz 5 0-0 12; Lily Hofer 6 2-2 14; Addyson Knight 0 2-2 2. Totals: 14 7-8 37.