RAPID CITY – The Huron Tigers put four players into double figures as they held off a late charge from the Rapid City Central Cobblers 64-54 Friday in a game played at Goodell Gym on the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology campus in Rapid City.
Both teams opened the game cold from the floor, something that would be a recurring theme in the first half.
Cobbler senior Jon Suarez hit the first shot of the game, knocking down a three. After a pair of empty trips, Huron’s Mason Davis answered with a long ball from the corner.
The two teams then went nearly two full minutes without scoring before Davis hit threes on back-to-back possessions. After Dylan Lichty hit one of two free throws, the Tigers had a 10-0 run and a 10-3 lead.
Lincoln Archambault hit a three for the home squad as Central began working the offensive glass. Shun-Zi White Woman hit a turn around bucket down low to bring the Cobblers within 10-8.
Dawsyn Rogers drove to the hoop and hit a turn around to put the Tigers up by four, but Cameron Steidley, fresh off the bench, shook himself free and hit a three from the top of the key. Suarez hit his second long range shot of the period to give Central a 14-12 lead.
Reilyn Zavesky took the ball at the top of the key and drove to the hoop, shooting over two defenders to tie the game at 14, which would be the score at the end of the first period.
The Cobblers banged the glass to get a second chance three for Tyson Waters to open the second. Zavesky hit a three on the ensuing possession.
After a pair of empty possessions for each club, CJ Gainey streaked down the court and was fouled as he made the layup. He converted the foul shot to give Huron the 20-17 lead.
After trading buckets to get to a 22-all tie, Rogers went coast-to-coast with a rebound for a bucket, then Lichty put in a layup on a backdoor pass from Davis.
Archambault made a bucket on a drive from the top of the key, but Rogers ended the half with a strong take to the hole to send the Tigers into half with a 28-24 advantage.
Lichty opened the second half by getting a steal within the first few moments of the third period and making a layup. Suarez hit his third three of the game for the Cobblers to bring the score within three at 30-27.
That’s when Tigers leading scorer Zavesky began to pound the ball close to the hoop. He scored on an inbounds play, then posted up his defender for a quick turnaround bucket.
After Archambault and White Woman made buckets on back-to-back possessions, Zavesky responded with a quick spin move down low to get the Tigers lead back to 36-30.
Carson Kurtenbach made a layup for the Cobblers to bring the score within four, but the Tigers then went on an 8-0 run highlighted by three second-chance scoring opportunities to extend the lead to 44-32, the largest lead of the night.
Archambault would get a layup after a Huron turnover, and with the quarter running down, Steidley was fouled shooting a three pointer and hit two of three foul shots to bring the Cobblers within 44-36 and give the home team momentum heading into the final frame.
The pace continued at a frantic pace, which had begun in the middle of the third quarter, but the Cobblers began to hit shots as well, leading to runs for both teams.
After the lead was clipped down to six at 48-42, Lichty banked in a floater and Davis hit his fourth three ball of the night to extend the lead to 53-42.
The Cobblers were not done, however, and after Jet Janvrin hit a pair of bonus free throws, the lead was down to three at 57-54. The Tigers utilized excellent free throw shooting, going 8-for-8 from the line in the final period, and timely passing in the press break to get a couple late layups to come away with the 63-54 victory.
Davis led a quartet of Tigers in double figures with 18 points. Zavesky added 13 points, Lichty had 12 points, and Rogers finished with 10 points for Huron, who moves to 4-6.
The balanced scoring was something that Huron coach Tim Buddenhagen has been looking for this season.
“I thought we moved the ball better,” Buddenhagen observed. “It was a win that we desperately needed.”
Davis and Zavesky each had nine rebounds to lead the Tigers.
White Woman scored 11 points for the Cobblers, now 6-6. Archambault scored 10 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers edged out the Cobblers in the junior varsity game 58-51 and also took the sophomore game 76-64. Central won the freshman game 75-68.
Even with the win, the Tigers have things to work on as they eye a tough matchup with Stevens and the home stretch of the schedule with February around the corner.
“We should have gone just one shot. We just played too fast, but we have to slow it down and we have to meet every pass,” Buddenhagen emphasized. “We can’t play ‘their’ game.”
The Tigers play Rapid City Stevens today.
Huron 14 28 44 63
Rapid City Central 14 24 36 54
Huron (4-6): Dylan Lichty 5 2-4 12, Gavin Moeding 0 1-2 1, Mason Davis 6 2-2 18, CJ Gainey 2 3-3 7, Blake Ellwein 0 2-2 2, Reilyn Zavesky 6 0-0 13, Dawsyn Rogers 3 4-4 10. Totals: 22 14-17 63.
Rapid City Central (6-6): Jon Suarez 3 0-1 9, Jet Janvrin 1 2-3 5, Cameron Steidley 2 2-3 8, Lincoln Archambault 4 1-2 10, Tyson Waters 1 0-0 3, Carson Kurtenbach 2 0-0 4, Cooper Totten 2 0-0 4, Shun-zi White Woman 5 0-0 11. Totals: 20 5-9 54.
FG: H - 22/55 40%; RCC - 20/59 34%. 3-pt FG: H - 5/18 (Davis 4, Zavesky); RCC - 9/28 (Suarez 3, Steidley 2, White Woman, Janvrin, Archambault, Waters). Rebounds: H 42 (Zavesky, Davis 9), RCC 29 (Suarez 5). Steals: H 5 (Gainey 3), RCC 9 (Suarez 3). Assists: H 17 (Davis 6), RCC 18 (Suarez 4). Turnovers: H 19, RCC 13. Fouls: H 12, RCC 18 (Archambault out).
