HURON — The Huron Tigers built a huge early lead, withstood a pair of rallies by the Brookings Bobcats, then held the Bobcats scoreless over nearly half of the fourth quarter, to notch a 66-53 ESD boys’ basketball win Thursday night at Huron Arena.
After dropping their season opener, the Tigers had rattled off four straight wins to end the 2018 portion of their schedule 4-1 and climb to second in the latest Class “AA” basketball poll. Huron was without the services of All-State forward Kobe Busch, who suffered a minor injury at practice this week, as well as Blake Cruse, who was out sick for the game.
“I was very pleased with the way the team stepped up tonight,” said Huron coach Jon Schouten. “We told the guys that we’re a good team and good teams respond when they have an obstacle. Being without Kobe and Blake put some responsibility onto some other players and I was very happy with how we responded.”,
Brookings had ended 2018 with a mark of 2-3, sandwiching wins in the season opener and its last game of the old year, both ESD wins for the Bobcats.
Thursday’s battle almost seemed over from the opening time as things could hardly have been scripted better for the Tigers. A first possession, extended by some solid offensive rebounds, led to a Nathan Boehrns three-pointer after nearly a full minute had elapsed and set the tone for the early going.
Huron then hit the gas, sprinting to a double digit lead with an 18-3 run that was capped by a Cooper Fryberger put-back and free throw for a 20-3 lead. Through the run Huron got points from Tanner Evers, Teegan Evers and Jett McGirr - pretty much everyone wearing a white uniform on the Huron Arena floor - while Brookings survived on a Drew Cole three-pointer and two free throws from Ryan Treiber. Huron shot 10-19 from the floor while Brookings ended the period 1-10.
The second quarter for the Bobcats opened with four straight free throws from Trevor Woodall, while Fryberger had another three-point play to maintain the margin for Huron. A pair of Boehrns threes on consecutive possessions pushed the margin to 22-points, at 31-9 at the 4:47 mark of the half.
The Bobcats began to chip away at the lead as Cole hit a pair of free throws - Brookings would end the game 14-15 from the line - then hit a short jumper. Over the rest of the half, Woodall, Cole and Jay Wilber kept up the pressure for the Bobcats - Cole and Wilber each hit threes - while Huron got another three from Boehrns and a late back from McGirr to make it 38-25 at the break.

The third quarter belonged to Evers and Evers, as the Huron Tiger brothers scored 16 of the team’s 19 points in the period. Teegan opened the scoring with a driving layup in the opening seconds, then converted a steal at the top of the key into a one-handed flush as Huron pushed the lead back to 17.
“The threes are really great,” Schouten said, “when they’re going in. I thought tonight we showed a lot of patience, and our threes came in the flow of our offense, and we did a good job of not settling for a quick three. Again, with the two guys out, I thought that Jett and Tanner - two of our senior leaders returning from injury themselves - really sent a powerful message to the rest of the team with their play tonight.”
In the game, Huron shot 51 percent from the field and 46 percent from behind the three-point arc.
Cole scored on back-to-back possessions for Brookings to cut the lead again, but two baskets from Tanner Evers and one from Teegan pushed the margin to 18, before a basket from Trent Broksieck stemmed the bleeding. The teams traded baskets until the 2:10 mark, as a Teegan Evers jumper pushed the margin to 20, at 54-34.The final two minutes of the quarter belonged to Cole, however, as the 6-foot, 6-inch senior hit a trio of three-point field goals and added a free throw that got the lead to 13 as the teams headed to the fourth quarter.Brookings maintained the momentum into the fourth quarter, as Cole was fouled on a long shot and hit all three free throws to get the margin to 10 points. After some trading of baskets, Cole - who led all scorers with 29 points - hit a short shot that made the Huron lead eight points - at 61-53, with 3:50 to go in the game.But all of the hard work to get back in the game was for naught, as the Bobcats went scoreless the remainder of the game. Huron increased its defensive intensity and always had someone in Cole’s face - and often two players - as the Tigers earned the win.
“You really have to tip your hat to (Cole),” Schouten said. “He took everything we threw at him tonight and still got 29 and 12. We did a good job down the stretch of keeping on top of him.”
With their big gun Busch on the bench, Huron got double-figure points from four players in the game, as Boehrns notched 18 to lead the Tigers. Tanner Evers had a double double with 17 points and 10 boards, while brother Teegan Evers added 16 points. Fryberger, pressed into his first varsity start, dented double figures with 11 points.
“Good production from the entire lineup tonight,” Schouten noted. “Some guys got the opportunity to play some minutes and made the most of them.”
Cole’s 29 points and 12 rebounds led all players in both areas, however, no other Bobcat scored in double figures in the game.
Brookings will be back on the road tonight, traveling to 3-2 Brandon Valley, while Huron will get ready to host Mitchell on Saturday night, in a girls’/boys’ double header at Huron Arena, beginning at 5:15 p.m.
In preliminary action, Huron won the JV game 55-44, behind Hayden Hegg’s 27 points, while Brookings pulled away late to win the sophomore game, 70-47. The Freshmen game also went to the Bobcats, 77-48, despite 36 points from Max Kranzler for Huron.

BROOKINGS       5 25 44 53
HURON         22 38 57 66
BROOKINGS (2-4): Jay Wilber 1 0-0 3; Trever Woodall 2 4-4 8; Trent Broksiek 3 0-0 7; Drew Cole 8 8-9 29; Ryan Treiber 2 2-2 6. Totals: 16 14-15 53.
HURON (5-1): Jett McGirr 2 0-0 4; Tanner Evers 7 3-4 17; Teegan Evers 7 2-6 16; Nathan Boehrns 6 1-3 18; Cooper Fryberger 4 2-3 11. Totals: 26 8-16 66.
FG: B - 16-53 30%; H - 26-51 51%. 3-pt FG: B - 7-22 32% (Cole 5, Wilber and Broksiek); H - 6-13 46% (Boehrns 5, Fryberger). Rebounds: B - 31 (Cole 12); H - 37 (Tanner Evers 10, Boehrns 7). TO: B - 8; H - 11. Fouls: B - 13, H - 14.