SIOUX FALLS — The Huron Tigers finished the Class “AA” State boys’ basketball tournament strong, earning the seventh-place plaque with a 63-58 win over the Sioux Falls Roosevelt Rough Riders Saturday afternoon at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

“Our guys just came out and played their tails off,” said Tiger coach Tim Buddenhagen.

“It says a lot about these kids coming out here after that heart breaker yesterday. I think that second half was our best half of basketball this season.”

Both teams held leads in the first quarter, but the Tigers got the final three points of the period from Anderson Porisch and held a 10-8 lead after one. Huron’s lead swelled to six points early in the second quarter, but a 6-0 run by the Rough Riders, keyed by Hayden Goff, knotted the score at 14-all.

But the Tigers ended the half on a 7-3 run, as Blake Ellwein hit two free throws and CJ Gainey drained a three to close the half with a 25-21 lead for Huron.

Coming out of the halftime break, Huron needed to avoid the lull that hindered them on Friday against Watertown.

Keyed by Gainey and Ellwein, Huron opened on a 10-4 run and owned a 37-25 lead with five minutes to play in the third quarter.

The lead swelled to 14 at the two minute mark on a pair of Ellwein free throws.

The final two minutes of the period, however, belonged to Roosevelt, as Jamre Tiger came off the Rough Rider bench and immediately hit back-to-back three pointers and after a bucket from Kamari Thomas the lead was down to seven points, and another Jamre Tiger trey, with three seconds left, cut the Huron lead to four, 44-40 headed to the final quarter.

The Roosevelt momentum continued, as Tiger hit another three and Thomas converted two free throws and gave the Rough Riders back the lead, 45-44, with 7:38 to play.

The teams traded points and the lead for two minutes until a bucket from Ellwein, on a nice feed from Porisch, broke the game’s final tie, giving Huron a 52-49 lead after the ‘and-one’ with 3:57 to play. Ellwein scored again and Gainey hit another three pointer pushed the lead back to eight points, 57-49 and Roosevelt never got closer than five points in the closing moments, as Huron hit free throws to secure the win.

Ellwein led the Tigers with 26 points, including a 14/14 effort at the charity stripe, while both Gainey and Porisch each netted 13 points. Ellwein and Porisch also claimed seven rebounds and Ellwein added four assists.

In the tournament, Ellwein scored 60 points and was credit for 14 blocks in Huron’s three games.

Tiger led the Riders off the bench with 14 points. Thomas added 12 points and Goff scored 11 points and had six rebounds for Roosevelt.

“We told the guys that the reason we were hard nosed and gritty because of their toughness and it stood out today,” Buddenhagen said.

Huron saw five seniors play their final game in black and orange, as Gainey, Kolton Olgle, Holden Hegg, Carsen Evans and Gavin Moeding will all graduate.

SF Roosevelt 8 21 40 58
Huron 10 25 44 63

SF Roosevelt (15-9): Ismail Naser 4 0-2 8; Hayden Goff 4 3-4 11; Kamari Thomas 4 4-5 12; Logan Nielsen 2 0-0 4; Memphis Bylander 1 0-0 3; Akeem Moko 1 1-2 3; Jackson Brower 1 0-0 3; Jamre Tiger 5 0-0 14. Totals: 22 8-13 58.

Huron (14-10): Gavin Moeding 0 2-4 2; CJ Gainey 5 0-0 13; Blake Ellwein 6 14-14 26; Anderson Porisch 4 5-6 13; Trace Wenz 1 0-0 2; Kolton Ogle 1 0-0 2; Carsen Evans 2 0-0 5. Totals: 19 21-26 63.

FG: H - 19-46 41%; SFR - 22-54 41%. 3-pt FG: H - 4-21 (Gainey 3, Evans); SFR - 6-23 (Tiger 4, Brouwer, Bylander). Rebounds: H - 33 (Ellwein 7, Porisch 7); SFR - 29 (Goff 6). TO: H - 8; SFR - 10, Assists: H - 10 (Ellwein 4); SFR - 8 (Goff 2). Fouls: H - 10; SFR - 20.