PHOTO BY JOHN DAVIS/AMERICAN NEWS
Aberdeen Central’s Reece Burckhard, center, goes after the ball at the rim with Huron’s Kobe Busch, left, during the first half of Saturday’s game at the Golden Eagles Arena.
Posted
Benjamin Chase of the Plainsman
ABERDEEN - After a tough game in Sioux Falls Tuesday, the Tigers came out of the gate sluggish Saturday against Aberdeen Central, but they picked up the pace and came away with a 58-49 road victory.
The Golden Eagles came out controlling the pace to open the game, jumping out by as many as five points early in the first quarter, but the Tigers came back behind a six-point run by Kobe Busch to bring the Tigers their first lead with 40 seconds left in the quarter. Aberdeen Central nailed a three to close the quarter with a 14-12 lead.
A long two-point shot early in the second quarter from Nathan Boehrns was the first Tiger scoring from anyone other than Busch or Teegan Evers, but on the play, Busch was injured. He missed roughly half the quarter, and in his absence, Evers and Boehrns led the Tigers to a 10-point lead.
Missing top scorers Evers and Busch for significant time in the first half, Boehrns stepped up with a big first half, scoring 10 points in the half. The Tigers only got scoring from Busch, Evers, and Boehrns in the first half, yet still finished with a 31-22 lead.
Using a zone defense rather than their typical heavy-switch man defense gave Aberdeen Central fits in the second quarter, and the Tigers continued using it into the third quarter, creating multiple turnovers. The Tigers took advantage with plenty of points off turnovers throughout the game.
Huron carried a lead of as many as 12 points in the second half, but Aberdeen Central made a strong run to bring the game within two points. The late nature of the game led to Golden Eagle fouling, but the Tigers nailed their late free throws and then played excellent defense to finish with the nine-point win.
Kobe Busch led all scorers with 26 points for the Tigers as they moved to 7-2 on the season. He was joined in double figures by Teegan Evers with 17 points and Nathan Boehrns with 15 points. The trio scored all of the team’s points on the evening. Evers and Boehrns each grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Tigers.
Aberdeen Central fell to 5-4 on the season. Sam Rohlfs led the Golden Eagles with 12 points. Austin Huff scored all 11 of his points in the second half, including three key three-point baskets as Aberdeen Central made a push to within two points in the fourth quarter. Reece Burckhard and Noah Behrends each had seven rebounds to lead Aberdeen Central.
The Tigers travel to Harrisburg Tuesday evening for their next action.
Huron 12 31 43 58
Aberdeen Central 14 22 34 49
Huron (7-2): Teegan Evers 7 1-2 17; Kobe Busch 6 12-14 26; Hayden Hegg 0 0-1 0; Nathan Boehrns 5 2-2 15. Totals: 18 15-19 58.
Aberdeen Central (5-4): Andrew Bergan 1 5-6 7; Colton Hansen 0 2-2 2; Reece Burckhard 2 0-0 4; Austin Huff 4 0-0 11; Sam Rohlfs 5 2-5 12; Alec Voegele 0 2-2 2; Noah Behrends 2 4-5 8; Harrison Reede 1 0-2 3. Totals: 15 15-22 49.
FG: H - 18-55 33%; AC - 15-39 38%. 3-pt FG: H 7-28 (Boehrns 3, Evers 2, Busch 2); AC 4-16 (Huff 3, Reede). Rebounds: H 34 (Evers, Boehrns 7); AC 33 (Burckhard, Behrends 7). Turnovers: H - 10; AC - 18. Fouls: H - 16; AC - 17.
