The Dell Rapids Quarrier boys basketball team earned their second straight trip to the SoDak 16 after a 68-53 win over the Garretson Blue Dragons in the Region 3A Tournament on Friday, March 1st at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls. The game was much closer than the 15-point difference suggests.
Dell Rapids got out to an 8-4 lead in the first three minutes of the game and extended that lead to 10 points at 16-6 after a three-point basket by Colin Rentz with 3:39 to play in the opening quarter. The Quarriers led 21-15 by quarter’s end. Garretson went on an 11-2 run and took the 26-23 with 4:30 to play in the second quarter. Dell Rapids responded with an 8-0 run to close out the quarter and regain the lead at 31-26 by halftime.
The Quarriers maintained about a six-point advantage over the first four minutes of the the second quarter, but the Blue Dragons cut the lead to 37-34 with just under four minutes to play in the quarter. Dell Rapids did not let Garretson get any closer than that and pushed the lead back to nine points at 48-39 heading into the final quarter. Logan Ellingson knocked down a three-point shot from the right wing with 6:33 to play in the game giving Dell Rapids a 12-point lead at 51-39. Garretson rallied to cut the lead down to five points at 54-49 after a Drew Blosmo three-point shot with 4:00 to go. Dell Rapids again responded and pushed the lead back to nine at 58-49. The Blue Dragons would once again cut the lead down to five points at 58-53 with 2:12 remaining. The Qurriers closed out the game on a 10-0 after a couple of made baskets and made free throws down the stretch.
Drew Van Regenmorter led Dell Rapids with 19 points in the game. Connor Rentz had 16 points, Logan Heim added 13 points, and Ellingson finished with nine points. The Blue Dragons were led by Trevor Fiegen and Blosmo with 22 points each.
Dell Rapids (13-7) will enter the SoDak 16 as the #12 seed and play the #5 seeded Parker Pheasants on Tuesday, March 5th at 7:00 p.m. at Sioux Falls Roosevelt High School. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.