BROOKINGS – Tenacious.
That described the no-holds-barred Eastern South Dakota Conference battle between the Bobcats and Huron on Tuesday at Bob Jostad Gymnasium. The Tigers came out on top, 52-48.
“If you struggle to score, you have to try to get more possessions, so we tried to put more pressure on them; tried to make guys that really don’t handle the ball handle it more,” said Huron head coach Tim Buddenhagen of his team’s defensive strategy. “Fortunately, we got some tips; we got some steals and made some crucial baskets at the end.
“We have to continue to improve – hopefully, we’re getting better – we just struggle at times scoring, and tonight, fortunately the ball went in.”
Early on, it looked as if it was going to be a rout as Huron took a 12-2 midway through the first quarter, but the Bobcats went on an 11-2 run to trail 15-13 after 8 minutes.
The Tigers built their lead back up to eight points – 25-17 – with 3:23 to play in the second quarter on the way to a 28-22 advantage at halftime.
Isaac Carr’s offensive-rebound basket with 3:12 left in the third quarter gave Huron a 37-28 edge before the Bobcats closed the frame on a 9-0 run to tie it at 37-37 heading into the fourth.
Drew Cole’s 3-pointer with 5:54 on the clock broke the tie as the ‘Cats built a 46-39 lead as Trevor Woodall’s basket in the lane capped a 7-2 run with 3:21 to play.
Carr was fouled on another putback attempt and knocked down both free throws to pull the Tigers within five before Teegan Evers converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 46-44 at the 1:43 mark.

Brookings missed the front end of a bonus chance and Evers drained a 25-footer from the wing to give the Tigers a 47-46 lead, and then Jett McGirr went coast-to-coast after a steal for a 49-46 advantage with 52 seconds to play.
After Cole was whistled for a player-control foul on the Bobcats’ next possession, Nolan Wiegel ran a fly pattern on the inbounds play and scored on a layup to make it a two-possession game – 51-46 – with 26 seconds left.
Riley Schafer scored in the lane to cut the Huron lead to 51-48 before Kobe Busch went 1-of-2 from the foul line for the final margin.
Evers led the Tigers with 17 points while Busch finished with 13.
Tanner Evers added eight points, a game-high 11 rebounds and three assists as Huron improved to 4-8 on the season and 4-6 in the ESD.
Cole scored a game-high 22 points, to go along with seven rebounds.
Schafer chipped in with 11 points and a pair of assists, as Woodall contributed eight points and Josh Sell added seven points, nine boards and three takeaways.
Huron heads to Yankton on Friday while the Bobcats, 2-8 and 2-6 ESD, travel to Watertown on Saturday.

HURON 52, BROOKINGS 48

Huron        15  13  9  15  –  52
Brookings        13  9  15  11  –  48
Huron (4-8, 4-6 ESD): Tanner Evers 4-15 0-0 8, Jett McGirr 2-3 0-1 4, Teegan Evers 7-13 1-1 17, Kobe Busch 4-20 1-2 13, Isaac Carr 2-5 2-2 6, Nolan Wiegel 2-2 0-0 4, Sean Flanery 0-0 0-0 0, Dawson Diede 0-1 0-3 0, Alex Hill 0-1 0-0 0, Cooper Fryberger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-60 4-9 52.
Brookings (2-8, 2-7 ESD): Seth Swedlund 0-3 0-1 0, Drew Cole 7-12 5-5 22, Riley Schafer 4-8 2-2 11, Trevor Woodall 3-5 2-2 8, Josh Sell 3-12 0-0 7, Trent Broksieck 0-2 0-1 0, Jacob Engen 0-1 0-0 0, Parker Beers 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan McMacken 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-44 9-11 48.
3-point goals – H 6-23 (Ta. Evers 0-3, Te. Evers 2-5, Busch 4-14, Carr 0-1); B 5-16 (Cole 3-6, Schafer 1-2, Woodall 0-2, Sell 1-4, Broksieck 0-1, Engen 0-1). Rebounds – H 39 (Ta. Evers 11); B 33 (Sell 9). Assists – H 10 (Ta. Evers 3); B 4 (Schafer 2). Steals – H 9 (Te. Evers 2, Carr 2); B 5 (Sell 3). Blocks – B 2 (Cole, Sell). Turnovers – H 11; B 16. Total fouls – H 15; B 11. Fouled out – None.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TROY MARONEY/THE REGISTER
Huron’s Isaac Carr beats Drew Cole to the hoop during the second quarter of the Tigers’ 52-48 Eastern South Dakota Conference win over the Bobcats on Tuesday at Bob Jostad Gymnasium in Brookings.