The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys advanced to the semifinal round of the Dakota Valley Conference tournament after an 83-53 win over the Estelline/Hendricks Redhawks on Tuesday, January 15th at Elkton High School.
The #1 seeded Cardinals found themselves in a tight battle in the first half with the Redhawks. The two offenses had things rolling right away in the first quarter. St Mary was able to give themselves a nine-point lead at the first quarter break of 26-17. The Redhawks kept pace with St Mary in the second quarter and trailed by just 10 points by a score of 44-34 at halftime.
St Mary’s defense locked down on the Redhawks in the second half. Estelline/Hendricks was only able to score 10 points in the third quarter as the Cardinals scored 22 to push the lead to 66-44. The Cardinals outscored the Redhawks 17-9 in the final quarter for the win.
Three players finished in double figures for St Mary. Connor Libis finished with 25 points, four assists, and two steals. Weston Geraets had 15 points, 10 rebound, and three blocked shots. Sam Palmer added 11 points and three blocked shots.
The Cardinals (8-1) will play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, January 18th in Elkton. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.