A strong second-half rally by the Dell Rapid Quarriers came up a little short against the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers in boys basketball on Tuesday, January 8th at Sioux Falls Christian High School. Dell Rapids erased a nine-point halftime deficit and led briefly with about 5:00 to go in the game, but the Chargers took a 72-62 win over the Quarriers.
The Chargers put the pressure on the Quarriers early in the game as Sioux Falls Christian built a 13 point lead of 20-7 after the first quarter of play. Dell Rapids was able to settle into a groove and cut the lead down to nine points by halftime at 32-23.
After the Chargers scored the first four points of the third quarter, the defensive intensity increased for Dell Rapids. The Quarriers cut the lead to three points at 41-38 with about 3:20 to play in the third quarter. And then Dell Rapids was able to get the game tied at 49-49 with under :50 to play in the quarter. The score remained tied 49-49 heading into the final quarter.
Sioux Falls Christian scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and took at 54-49 lead with 6:00 to go in the game. Dell Rapids responded with a 6-0 run on a four-point play by Logan Ellingson and two made free throws by Colin Rentz over the next minute. Dell Rapids had their first lead of the game at 55-54 with 5:07 to play. The Chargers, however, would get the last spurt of the game. Sioux Falls Christian closed out the last five minutes of the game on an 18-7 run, knocking down their free throws, to get the victory.
Drew Van Regenmorter led the Quarriers with 19 points in the game. Ellingson finished with 18 points, and Rentz added 12 points. Sioux Falls Christian also had three players in double figures. Gavin Schipper had 18 points, Mitchell Goodbary had 15 points, and Xavier Van Beek had 14.
Dell Rapids (3-3) will host the Milbank Bulldogs on Saturday, January 12th. The games will start an hour earlier than normal with the C Game starting at 4:00 p.m. The varsity game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.