Boys' Championship: Wolsey-Wessington 55, Wessington Springs 29
HURON — The Wolsey-Wessington Warbirds cranked up the defense, hit the boards and overwhelmed the Wessington Springs Spartans 55-29 to win the 281 Conference boys’ basketball tournament. The win, which pushed the Warbirds’ record to 8-2, was a bit of revenge for the 47-43 win that the Spartans earned in last year’s title game.
The Warbirds played without head coach Gordon Hooks, who was out ill, but under assistant coaches Brevan Hooks and Ralph Newton, Wolsey-Wessington never missed a beat.
Wessington Springs standout Mason Schelske gave the Spartans a quick 2-0 lead 30 seconds in the game, but after back-to-back-to-back field goals from Payson Gohn, Marrien Gohn and Payson Gohn again, the Warbirds were up 6-2 and never trailed again.
Schelske notched a three-point play and a field goal in the final minute cut the margin to a single point, but a Carson Zomer three with 30 seconds in the quarter put Wolsey-Wessington up by four at the quarter break.
Zomer continued his barrage, scoring the first five points of the second quarter, but Cade Mohling hit a three for Springs to cut the lead back to five, at 15-10, and setting off a 5-0 Payson Gohn run, as the 6-foot, 5-inch senior scored on a put back, hit one of two from the line and then shook loose underneath for another bucket. A three-point play from Schelske was countered by a field goal from Landon Cleveland for the Warbirds and sent them to the locker room up by nine, at 22-13.
Throughout the first half, the Warbirds made life difficult for the Spartans guards to get the ball in to Schelske, in a position where the big left-hander could operate, then made sure that if Wessington Springs did get off a shot, the Spartans were limited to one shot. For the game, Wolsey-Wessington got off 13 more shots than did Wessington Springs, as they limited the Spartans’ opportunities.
Any chance that the Spartans had to gain momentum and get back into the game evaporated quickly in the second half, as the Warbirds opened on an 8-0 run - a bucket from Zomer, two field goals from Marrien Gohn and a short jumper from Tate French made the score 30-13 and the Spartans never got any closer.
Zomer led the Warbirds to the title with 17 points, while Payson Gohn added 13 and Marrien Gohn tossed in 12 and had a game-high eight rebounds.
Schelske led the Spartans with 15 points, while Blake Larson, Bryce Kopfmann and Brock Krueger shared rebounding honors, with four boards each.
The Warbirds will host Sunshine Bible Academy on Tuesday, while Wessington Springs, now 7-5, is on the road Tuesday, traveling to take on Andes Central/Dakota Christian.
Wolsey-Wessington (8-2): Marrien Gohn 5 2-6 12; Carson Zomer 7 0-0 17; Tate French 1 0-0 2; Payson Gohn 6 1-3 13; Jemetrius Scott 3 0-2 7; Landon Cleveland 1 0-0 2; Moshe Richmond 1 0-0 2. Totals: 24 3-11 55.
Wessington Springs (7-5): Blake Larson 1 0-0 3; Bryce Kopfmann 1 0-0 2; Brock Krueger 1 0-0 2; Cade Mohling 2 0-0 6; Mason Schelske 6 3-4 15. Totals: 11 3-4 29.
FG: WS - 11-40 28%; WW - 24-53 45%. 3-pt FG: WS - 4-19 21% (Mohling 2, Larson, Krueger); WW - 4-15 27% (Zomer 3, Scott). Rebounds: WS - 24 (Larson, Kopfmann and Krueger, all with four); WW - 38 (M. Gohn 8; French 7). Turnovers: WS - 12; WW - 8. Fouls: WS - 12; WW - 10.
Girls' Championship: Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 44, Wolsey-Wessington 31
HURON – The 281 Conference girls’ basketball tournament concluded Thursday at Huron Arena with games that began at 9 a.m. and alternated with the boys’ tournament throughout.
The Sanborn Central/Woonsocket Blackhawks went on a first quarter run to open a deficit over the Wolsey-Wessington Lady Warbirds and never looked back, coasting to a 281 Conference girls’ basketball tournament title Thursday at Huron Arena by the score of 44-31.
After Leah Williams gave the Lady Warbirds an early 3-2 lead, the Blackhawks took control of the game, spreading the ball among a number of players.
Williams was the only offense that the top-seeded Lady Warbirds could get going in the first half, as she scored six of the first seven Warbird points.
The Blackhawks led by as many as 13 in the first half before taking a 20-8 lead into halftime with Trinity Boschee leading the way for SC/W with eight points.
After the teams played fairly even in the third quarter, Trista White opened the fourth quarter with a three-point basket to put the Blackhawks out by 14 points, the largest lead of the game. SC/W would push the lead to 16.
W-W tried to chip into the lead and got within nine at one point in the fourth quarter, but the Blackhawks had an answer for every Lady Warbird run.
After falling to Highmore-Harrold in the championship last year, the Blackhawk girls run their record to 9-3 by winning the 2022 tournament championship. Trinity Boschee led the way with 16 points. White had 13 points. Brooke Doering cleared the glass for the Blackhawks with six rebounds.
Wolsey-Wessington falls to 7-5 despite the efforts of Leah Williams, who scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds, both game-high totals.
The Lady Warbirds host Sunshine Bible Academy Tuesday while the Blackhawks travel to Hanson Tuesday.
Sanborn Central/Woonsocket 14 20 28 44
Wolsey-Wessington 4 8 17 31
Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (9-3): Teya Moody 0 0-2 0, Trinity Boschee 6 4-6 16, Trista White 5 2-2 13, Brooke Doering 0 2-2 2, Kennadie Oschner 2 0-0 4, Liz Boschee 3 3-6 9. Totals: 16 11-18 44.
Wolsey-Wessington (7-5): Hailey Clarke 0 1-2 1, Leah Williams 5 5-7 17, Faith Nelson 1 0-0 2, Mya Boomsma 2 4-5 8, Lainey Uttecht 1 0-0 3. Totals: 9 10-14 31.
FG: SCW - 16/41 39%; WW - 9/31 29%. 3-pt FG: SCW - 1/14 (White); WW - 3/13 (Williams 2, Uttecht). Rebounds: SCW 22 (Doering 6), WW 29 (Williams 7). Steals: SCW 9, WW 7 (Williams 3). Turnovers: SCW 9, WW 18. Fouls: SCW 13, WW 14.
