Photo taken and used with permission by Sara Stadem
The #7 seed Tri-Valley Mustangs gave the #2 seed Dell Rapids Quarriers all they could handle in the opening round of the Region 3A tournament on Tuesday, March 1st. The Mustangs cut a 17-point deficit down to four points late in the fourth quarter, but the Quarriers held for a 75-67 win.
The first half was a low-scoring battle. Dell Rapids held a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. They were able to push the lead to 10 points in the second, but the Mustangs battled back to cut the lead down to 27-24 by halftime.
Tri-Valley scored the first four points of the third quarter and led 28-27 with 7:20 left in the quarter. The lead was short lived, however, as Dell Rapids went on a 12-2 run for a 39-30 lead with 4:45. That lead grew to 17 points, 54-37, with just :35 left in the quarter. Noah Haynes drained a half-court three pointer at the buzzer to make the score 54-40 heading into the final quarter. The Mustangs kept chipping away at the lead all quarter long. They had the deficit cut to 63-59 with 2:10 to go in the game, but unfortunately, that was as close as they could get.
Tri-Valley shot 42% (25-59) from the field, 44% (7-16) from three-point area, and 56% (10-18) from the free-throw line. Dell Rapids was 42% (26-62) overall, 33% (6-18) on three pointers, and 74% (17-23) from the free-throw line. Both teams had 12 total assists and six steals.
Connor Christensen had 15 points, 18 rebounds, and five blocked shots. Cory McDonald finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Haynes added 18 points and six rebounds. Brayden Oyen had seven points, and Lance DeWitt had six points.
The Mustangs season ends with an overall record of 5-16.