The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team continued their strong season with another win on back-to-back nights. The Cardinals traveled to Centerville on Tuesday, February 5th and defeated the Tornadoes 84-50.
St Mary won the opening tip and scored in the first 10 seconds on a layup by Weston Geraets. Centerville did have a short 7-6 lead with 5:00 to play in the first quarter, but St Mary made sure it was a short-lived lead as they scored on their next two possessions. The Cardinals maintained a four-to-six point lead through much of the rest of quarter and pushed that lead to eight points at 25-17 by the break. St Mary pushed their lead into double digits early in the second quarter, but the Tornadoes got back within five points at 34-29 with 2:30 to go in the half. The Cardinals then ended the quarter on a 10-2 run to take a 44-31 lead into halftime.
The Cardinal offense and defense put together a great third quarter that helped push the St Mary lead to nearly 30 points. The Cardinals outscored the Tornadoes 26-12 in the quarter for a 70-43 lead heading into the final quarter. St Mary again outscored Centerville in the final quarter 14-6 for the win.
Three players finished in double figures for the Cardinals. Connor Libis led the team with 21 points. Geraets finished with 15 points, and Max Herber added 11 points. Centerville was led by Dallas Knutson with 12 points.
The Cardinals (12-3) will play in their fourth straight road game and third game of the week when they travel to Arlington on Thursday, February 7th for a battle of the Cardinal. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.