The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals earned a big Dakota Valley Conference and Region 4B win with a strong defensive second half over the Elkton-Lake Benton Elks on Thursday, February 8th at Dell Rapids St Mary High School. The Cardinals won 64-54, but only allowed 13 second half points.
The Elks opened the game on a 7-0 run in the first 2:30 of the game. The Cardinals responded with an 8-0 of their own over the next couple of minutes. The two teams went back and forth for the remained of the first quarter. Elkton-Lake Benton led 24-23 at the end of the first quarter. The game continued to go back and forth in the second quarter. The Elks were able to extend their lead by three points to 41-38 by halftime.
The Cardinals came out of halftime with a great defensive plan that was executed perfectly. St Mary held the Elks to just six points in the third quarter as the Cardinals took a three-point lead at 50-47 into the fourth quarter. The Cardinals then held Elkton-Lake Benton to seven points in the fourth quarter while scoring 14 of their own on their way to the win.
Two players finished in double figures for the Cardinals. Connor Libis had 35 points to lead all scorers. Luke Brown finished with 12 points, two rebounds, and two blocked shots. Weston Geraets had nine points, seven rebounds, and three blocked shots. Ethan Geraets tallied four points.
St Mary (10-7) will have their final regular-season home game on Saturday, February 10th when they host the Chester Area Flyers. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.