Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley
Playing in the final regular season game of the year, the Bridgewater-Emery Huskies stunned the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals on Friday, February 25th. The Huskies led for almost the entire game and took the 54-48 victory on the Cardinal senior night.
The opening quarter was a defensive battle as both offenses struggled to find anything. The two teams combined for 10 total points, and the Huskies led 6-4 at the break. The Huskies built a nine-point lead, 16-7, with 4:48 to play in the second quarter. The Cardinals cut the lead to one point at 16-15 and then again at 19-18 with :05 to play in the quarter. Bridgewater-Emery hit a three-pointer with just seconds left to give them a 22-18 lead at halftime.
The Huskies were able to push their four-point halftime lead to seven, 33-26, with 3:25 to play in the third quarter. St Mary went on a 7-0 run to tie the game, 33-33, which was the first tie since 4-4 early in the first quarter. Bridgewater-Emery ended the third quarter, however, leading 37-35. Another run by the Huskies gave them a 47-39 lead with 3:20 to go in the game. The Cardinals were only able to get within three points, 51-48, after a three pointer by Nic Gaspar with :17 to go. The Huskies made three of four free throws in the closing seconds to get the win.
St Mary finished the game shooting 38% (18-48) from the field, just 4-17 from three-point area, and 53% (8-13) from the free-throw line. The Huskies were 44% (21-48) shooting overall, 3-14 on three pointers, and 9-16 from the free-throw line. Bridgewater-Emery out rebounded St Mary 34-24 in the game.
John Pica had 13 points, four rebounds, three steals, and three assists to lead the Cardinals. Gaspar had 11 points, five rebounds, two steals, and two assists. Ty Brown also had 11 points along with four rebounds. Dylan Mathis finished with 10 points, six rebounds, two steals, and two assists.
The Cardinals finish the regular season with a 15-5 record and the #2 seed in the Region 4B tournament. St Mary will host a Region 4B game on Tuesday, March 1st and will play the winner of Bridgewater-Emery and Sioux Falls Luthrean.
Eight seniors for the Cardinals were recognized prior to the game. This year’s seniors are Noah Reiff, Aiden Geraets, Brandon Cook, Ty Brown, Gabe Lamb, Luke Geraets, John Pica, and Seth Roemen.