The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team bounced back into the win column with a big 85-29 win over the Oldham-Ramona/Rutland Raiders on Saturday, January 16th. The game got moved to Saturday from Friday due to weather.
St Mary lead from start to finish in the game as they build a 22-6 lead by the end of the first quarter. The lead grew to 34 points at 48-14 by halftime. The game was played with a running clock in the second half as the Cardinals outscored the Raiders 37-15 in the second half.
The Cardinals did anything they wanted on the offense end, and their defensive rebounding also led to some easy fast break points. St Mary finished the game shooting 66% (38-58) from the field, 31% (4-13) from three-point area, and 62% (5-8) from the free-throw line. The Raiders, meanwhile, were only 18% (9-50) from the field, 9% (2-23) from three-point area, and 56% (9-16) from the free-throw line. St Mary out rebounded the Raiders 39-18 in the game.
Four players finished in double figures for St Mary. Connor Libis had 23 points, six rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Max Herber had 14 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Sam Palmer finished with 12 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and two blocked shots. John Pica added 11 points and seven rebounds. Ashaun Roach-Valandra had eight points and eight rebounds, while Ty Brown had seven points.
The Cardinals (6-3) will play Colman-Egan in the opening round of the Dakota Valley Conference tournament on Tuesday, January 19th at 7:30 p.m. in Colman. The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.