HURON — As Yogi Berra once said, “It’s deja vu all over again.”
High school basketball tournament time has come to mean a matchup between the Huron Tigers and the Sioux Falls Lincoln Patriots in Class “AA.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of been the luck of the draw where we get Lincoln at the state tournament,” agreed Huron head coach Tim Buddenhagen. “They have beaten us a couple times - in overtime last year in fact - and we’ve beaten them a couple of times.”
That rivalry will be renewed at 6 p.m. Saturday night when Huron, 7-13 and seeded 14th, travels to third-seeded Lincoln (13-6) for a ‘Round of 16’ game, with the winner going to the Class “AA” State Tournament, March 15-17 in Sioux Falls.
So, is the memory of last year lingering?
“We’re used to what they do,” Buddenhagen said, “but each year is a bit different. Last year, they just hit big shots at the right time.”
Preparation for Saturday’s game has kind of come in a rush for the Tigers, as getting a positive ID on their opponent didn’t come until Lincoln played its final regular season game on Monday night. Since Tuesday, Buddenhagen and his staff have seen several game films of the Patriots and have found out as much as they can in an abbreviated amount of time.
“They have a lot of very good athletes and they really like to spread the floor and penetrate.” Buddenhagen said. “(Dillon) Barrow has played a couple games after coming back from injury and it will be important that we do all we can to keep him under control.”
Like many college and professional teams, the Patriots subscribe to the “drive and dish“ offensive concept, getting the ball in the paint and either finishing at the rim — or getting free throws — or finding a spot-up shooter around the three-point arc. Alex Glanzer and Jared Jaros are two favorite targets.
“We have to be sure that we are meeting them on defense,” Buddenhagen said, “as opposed to having them get into us. We have to go get them.”
Defensively, Buddenhagen expects to face considerable pressure from a Lincoln team that plays eight deep in the games he’s watched.
“They like to trap and speed the game up, so we will need to be careful with the basketball. Turning the ball over is what fuels their fast break,” he said. “Also, teams have had some success when they make Lincoln play defense. So we have to be patient on offense and work to get our shot, rather than take the easy shot. We have to dictate that. And it goes without saying, we have to rebound.”
For Huron, talking on defense and defending the paint to control the drive and dish opportunities could be the difference in moving on to the state tournament and preparing for next season.
“We’ve had a really good week preparing,” Buddenhagen said. “I thought that we did a good job — particularly the seniors — of coming together against Brandon Valley and believing in each other and in the game plan. We just missed too many free throws and layups to win that game.”
Team leader Kobe Busch has been at practice all week and Buddenhagen said that the 6-foot, 5-inch sophomore is ready to go. Classmate Teegan Evers, along with juniors Jett McGirr and Tanner Evers and senior starter Isaac Carr all stepped up their game while Busch sat out with a turned ankle. Seniors Dawson Diede, Nolan Wiegel, Sean Flanery and Alex Hill as well as sophomore Cooper Fryberger all filled roles and gave Buddenhagen depth off his bench that will come in handy in South Dakota’s version of ‘One and Done.”
“This is all or nothing,” Buddenhagen said. “It’s not like before, where if you lost in the district you could get a second chance in the region. Now, it’s win and move on.”
