The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals earned a one-point, come-from-behind, exciting win over the De Smet Bulldogs Tuesday, December 19th at Dell Rapids St Mary High School. The Cardinals held on for a 63-62 Dakota Valley Conference win.
The Cardinals found themselves in an early deficit. De Smet held a seven-point lead after the first quarter at 19-12. The lead grew to eight points at 26-18 early in the second quarter. However, the Cardinals went on an 11-0 run to take a 29-26 lead. St Mary held on to the lead throughout the rest of the quarter and led 33-31 at halftime.
De Smet battled back in third quarter and regained the lead. The Bulldogs led 47-46 heading into the final quarter. The Cardinals went on a 12-4 run in the first 3:30 of the quarter to take a 58-51 lead with 4:30 to play. De Smet answered with a 4-0 run over the next two minutes to cut the lead to 58-55 with 2:30 to play. St Mary continued to hold the lead and was ahead 62-57 with just :43 left in the game. The Bulldogs converted on a three-point play to get themselves within two points at 62-60 with :30 to go. Weston Geraets made one of two free throws to push the lead to 63-60 with :17 remaining. De Smet made a bucket with :06 to play to make the score 63-62. The Bulldogs quickly fouled with :03.5 remaining. St Mary missed both free throws, and De Smet grabbed the defensive rebound. The last second shot at the buzzer from the top of the key was no good, and the St Mary Cardinals held on for the one-point victory.
Connor Libis led all scorers with 35 points in the game. De Smet had three players in double figures led by Gage Gruenhagen with 17 points.
St Mary (2-2) will travel to McCook Central/Montrose on Thursday, December 21st. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.