Clinging to a three-point lead with just eight seconds left, Connor Libis made two free throws to extend the lead to five points and help the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals get a 65-59 win over the Winner Warriors at the Sacred Hoops Classic in Mitchell on Saturday, January 4th.
In one of the most exciting games of the day, Winner and St Mary were locked in a close battle early in the first quarter. The game was tied 5-5 and 7-7 before the Warriors took an early 9-7 lead. St Mary ended the first quarter on an 10-0 run and led 17-9 heading into the second quarter. The Cardinals continued to enjoy a six-to-eight point lead early in the second quarter. The Cardinals led 25-19 with 4:15 to play before halftime. St Mary then went on an 11-3 run to push the lead to 36-22 by halftime.
St Mary extended the lead to 20 points at 42-22 with 6:19 to play in the third quarter after scoring the first six points after the halftime break. The Cardinals continued to lead by 20 points at 48-28 with 3:30 to go in the quarter, but Winner slowly started to make a run. The Warriors cut the lead down to 53-38 by the end of the third quarter. Winner then scored the first 11 points in the fourth quarter and pulled within six points at 55-49 with 5:08 to go in the game. St Mary kept Winner at bay over the next three minutes while holding on to a six-to-eight point advantage. The Cardinals led 58-50 with about 1:45 to go, but the Warriors cut the St Mary lead down to three points on three different occasions as the Cardinals struggled from the free throw line, and Winner trailed 62-59 with :16.7 on the clock. After a missed free throw by Winner and a defensive rebound by Sam Palmer, Libis was able to dribble eight seconds off the clock before being fouled. With :08.2 left, Libis made both free throws to push the lead to 64-59. Noah Dennis made one more free throw with less than a second left for the 65-59 final.
The Cardinals finished 18-34 (53%) from the free-throw line in the game. Libis led the team in scoring with 30 points. Weston Geraets and Ryan Eining both had eight points. Colin Winberg finished with six points, and Max Herber added five points.
St Mary (5-1) will travel to Estelline to play the Estelline/Hendricks Redhawks on Monday, January 6th. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.