MADISON — The second-seeded Castlewood Warriors are set to play in the Round of 16 after a 53-34 victory over the Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds, in the Region 3B boys’ basketball tournament, Friday night in Madison.
The Warriors improved to a 14-7 season record after the win, while the Warbirds ended their season with a 14-7 record also.
Castlewood dashed toward a 7-0 lead early in the first period. Five of those points were tallied by Caleb DeKam for the Warriors, which led the Warbirds to an early time-out.
Coming back from the time-out, Carter Mehling netted a three-pointer to put Wolsey-Wessington on the board. Then Lynden Williams came in for the steal and claimed two more points, bringing the score to 7-5 to the Warriors.
With 10 seconds on the clock, Brandon Benike put a ten-foot shot in the basket, finishing the first period with a 9-5 Castlewood advantage.
Dylan Johnson came in fast to start the second period with three points for the Warriors, before Mark Hamilton earned a free-throw point from a Justin Heyn foul. Benike answered for the Warriors with another two-pointer, but Williams came back for the Warbirds, bringing the score to 14-10 at 4:10 left in the first half.
Then Mehling came in with a two-point layup followed by a three-point bucket from a DeKamp turnover, which gave the Warbirds their first lead of the game at 15-14.
The Warbirds had a 6-0 run, which brought them to a tied score of 16-16, but Castlewood’s DeKamp made a 10-foot shot, with 20 seconds. Then a three-point buzzer beater by Benike, took the score to 21-16 to the Warriors.
Coming back from half-time, DeKamp tallied five points in the opening moments of the third, taking the Warrior’s lead up by 10.
Williams netted another two points coming back from a Warbird’s time out, but Johnson came back fast for Castlewood, which started a 15-2 run for the Warriors. At 36-18 for Castlewood, Mehling landed an 18-footer before Williams made another two points 30 seconds before the fourth quarter, before Kaden Eng’s bucket ended the third at 38-22.
Skylar Zomer made a two-point bucket for the Warbirds to begin the last quarter, while Williams added one free-throw point, to cut Castlewood’s lead down to 15 points.
The Warbirds struggled to get the points they needed to catch up to the Warriors, only having one lead midway through the second quarter. Wolsey-Wessington tallied some more points to not go down without a fight, but did not recover in the last period.
Castlewood rallied at the end, picking up the lead to 20 at 46-26 and continued to increase in points through the rest of the game.
Mehling, Hamilton and Williams took the Warbirds score up with some last minute shots, but Castlewood finished with a 19-point lead at 53-34.
DeKam led the game with 19 points for the Warriors, while Benike followed with 16.
The Warbirds were led by Mehling with 14 points. Williams tallied 13 and led the rebounders with 12.
Castlewood moves on to the Round of 16, which is scheduled for Tuesday.
