The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys got back in the win column in an exciting way on Tuesday, January 30th. The Cardinals won in overtime over the Gayville-Volin Raiders 58-53 at Dell Rapids St Mary High School.
The two teams went back and forth throughout the entire first quarter. The first quarter ended with a 15-15 tie. The Cardinals opened the second quarter on a little 7-2 run. St Mary led 22-15 with about 6:30 to play in the first half. After the Raiders pulled within a point at 22-21, St Mary responded with five quick points to push the lead back to six points at 27-21. The half ended with St Mary leading 33-27.
The third quarter proved to be a tough offensive quarter for the Cardinals. St Mary was held to just four points, and the Raiders closed the gap at 39-35 by the end of the third quarter. The drought continued early into the fourth quarter for St Mary. The Raiders scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and took the lead 40-39. The two teams traded points throughout much of the fourth quarter. The game was tied 48-48 with under a minute to play. Connor Libis hit a tough tear-drop shot from the middle of the lane with :45 to go to give St Mary a 50-48 lead. Tristan Gustad hit a layup from the baseline with :27 to go to tie the game at 50-50. Libis got a clean look at the hoop from the free-throw line with about :04 to go, but his shot rolled off the rim. Max Herber got a hand on the ball to try to tip in the winning shot at the buzzer, but it was no good. The two teams headed to overtime tied at 50-50.
Drew Wood gave the lead to St Mary with two made free throws with 3:38 to play in overtime. Neither team scored over the next two minutes of overtime. Libis made two free throws with 1:08 to extend the Cardinal lead to 54-50. The Raiders made a three-point shot with just under a minute to play to make the score 54-53. Libis made about a six foot shot from the baseline to extend the lead to 56-53. After a missed shot and rebound by Weston Geraets, Luke Brown was fouled with :07.7 remaining. Brown made both free-throws to seal the win at 58-53 for the Cardinals.
Libis led the team with a game-high 32 points. Herber and Brown both finished with seven points in the game for St Mary.
The Cardinals (8-5) will host the Arlington Cardinals on Thursday, February 1st. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.