Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

The Dell Rapids Quarrier boys basketball team played their final regular season game on Monday, February 22nd at Garretson.  The Quarriers ended the season on a three-game winning streak after defeating the Blue Dragons 62-54.

The Quarriers found themselves in another tight battle in their fourth straight road game.  Garretson led by two points, 10-8, with 1:49 to go in the first quarter.  The Quarriers ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to lead 13-10.  They pushed the lead to nine points at 20-11 with 4:00 left in the first half.  Garretson got within three points at 22-19, but Dell Rapids ended the half on a 6-0 run to lead 28-19.

Dell Rapids then led by as many as 11 points, 41-30, with 2:00 left in the third quarter.  The Blue Dragons went on an 8-2 run to in the final minutes of third quarter to make the score 43-38 heading into the fourth.  Garretson scored the first three points of the fourth quarter, but 43-41 was as close as they could get.  Every time the Blue Dragons got within a couple of points, Dell Rapids had an answer.  The Quarriers were able to extend their lead to 10 points, 56-46, after a three-pointer by Brayden Pankonen with 2:30 left in the game to give the Quarriers enough of a cushion for the win.

Dell Rapids finished the game shooting 42% (25-60) from the field, but only 18% (4-22) from three-point area.  They were 57% (8-14) from the free-throw line.

Colin Rentz led the team with 24 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and four steals.  Pankonen had 18 points, three rebounds, and two assists.  Carter Nelson also had double figures with 10 points along with six rebounds.  Coby Maeschen had seven rebounds.

The Quarriers finish the regular season with a 14-6 record.

Another big three-pointer late in the game helped the Dell Rapids Quarriers get a 57-52 win over the Lennox Orioles in Lennox on Friday, February 19th.

Dell Rapids found themselves in another tight battle for the second time in the week.  Lennox had the early advantage in the game and led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.  The Quarriers took the lead in the second quarter with 4:13 to play on a three-pointer by Brayden Pankonen and didn’t trail the rest of the game.  Dell Rapids led 29-24 at halftime.

The Quarriers held a three-to-six point lead throughout most of the third quarter, but ended the quarter on a 4-0 run to push the lead to nine points at 43-34.  Lennox chipped away at the lead throughout the fourth quarter and got within a point at 49-48 with 2:20 to play in the game.   Carter Nelson, for the second game in a row, hit a three-pointer to give Dell Rapids a four-point, 52-48 lead with 1:30 left in the game.  Colin Rentz followed with a steal and layup with 1:00 left to push the lead to 54-48, which was enough of a cushion to get the win.

Connor Rentz finished with 14 points, two rebounds, and two steals.  Colin Rentz had 13 points, five rebounds, five assists, and three steals.  Pankonen added 10 points, three steals, and two rebounds.  Avery Boechler and Nelson both had seven points in the game.  Boechler also had three steals.

Dell Rapids (13-6) will conclude their regular season on Monday, February 22nd at Garretson.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

Carter Nelson made a three-point shot in the right corner with second remaining in the game to turn a one-point lead into a four-point for the Dell Rapids Quarriers on Tuesday, February 16th.  Dell Rapids used a big fourth quarter rally to get a 55-51 win over the Sisseton Redmen.

The Quarriers had a couple of quarters where shots didn’t fall for them.  The first quarter was one of those as Dell Rapids scored just eight points and trailed 10-8 at the first break.  They seemed to get the offense going in the second quarter and outscored Sisseton 16-11 for a 24-21 halftime lead.

Sisseton came out of the break on fire and scored the first eight points of the third quarter in a matter of minutes for a 29-24 lead.  Dell Rapids got within two points at 35-33, but the Redmen ended the quarter leading 42-35.  Dell Rapids kept chipping away at the lead in the fourth quarter and finally tied the game, 45-45, on a made three-pointer by Avery Boechler with 3:25 to play.  The two teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes.  Colin Rentz made the go-ahead layup with 1:20 to play to give the Quarriers a 52-51 lead.  After a missed three-point shot by Sisseton, the Quarriers got the ball back with :41 to go.  Colin Rentz drove into the lane with seconds remaining on the shot clock, and Nelson drained the three-pointer with :06 on the clock to secure the win.

Brayden Pankonen led the team in scoring with 18 points and had three rebounds.  Colin Rentz had 16 points, five rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Connor Rentz finished with eight points and four rebounds, and Nelson had five points and four rebounds.

Dell Rapids (12-6) will travel to Lennox on Friday, February 19th.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

Playing in their second game in less than 24 hours, the Dell Rapids Quarriers couldn’t solve the change of pace by the St Thomas More Cavaliers at the DWU Classic on Saturday, February 13th.  The Cavaliers held Dell Rapids to their lowest point total of the season in a 63-53 victory.

The plan by the Cavaliers was obvious from their opening possession of the game.  St Thomas More was going to slow the Quarriers down by holding the ball for almost the entire shot clock.  The slow pace seemed to frustrate the Quarriers and kept them out of their comfort zone all game long.

The Cavaliers held a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter, 12-11.  They pushed the lead eight points by halftime at 30-22.  The Cavaliers continued to grow the lead in the third quarter and led 45-30 heading into the final quarter.  Dell Rapids was finally able to get more into their offensive pace in the fourth quarter and scored nearly half of their points in the final period.  The Quarriers cut the lead down to seven points, 48-41, with 3:34 to play, but the Cavaliers stopped the Quarrier rally.

Dell Rapids shot 50% (21-42) from the field, 39% (7-18) from three-point area, but only shot 4-of-8 from the free-throw line.  The difference in the game came down to the free-throws.  St Thomas More finished the game 14-for-18 from the line, while shooting 45% (21-47) from the field and 37% (7-19) from three-point area.

Brayden Pankonen finished with 12 points, two rebounds, two steals, and two assists.  Connor Rentz had 11 points.  Colin Rentz had 10 points, six assists, and three rebounds.  Coby Maeschen added eight points and eight rebounds, and Avery Boechler had seven points and four assists.

Dell Rapids (11-6) will travel to Sisseton on Tuesday, February 16th.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

Colin Rentz finished with a rare triple-double, but the Dell Rapids Quarriers fell to the Dakota Valley Panthers at home on Friday, February 12th.  Dell Rapids held Dakota Valley to 32 first-half points, but the Panthers missed just three shots in the third quarter and scored 55 points in the second half as they defeated Dell Rapids 87-72.

The Quarriers started the game on a 6-0 run, but the Panthers ended the first quarter with a 17-15 lead.  Dell Rapids got on a roll in the second quarter and went on a 16-7 run for a 31-24 lead with 3:30 to play in the first half.  The Panthers pulled within four at 36-32 at halftime.

Dakota Valley was 6-for-6 from three-point area and 12-for-15 from the field in the third quarter in a 30-point effort to take a 62-54 lead into the fourth quarter.  They extended the lead to 66-54 with 6:35 to play.  The Quarriers cut the lead in half in the next minute to 66-60, but that was as close Dell Rapids would get.

Dell Rapids shot 45% (26-58) from the field, 25% (6-24) from three-point area, and 78% (14-18) from the free-throw line.

Colin Rentz had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists to lead the Quarriers.  Carter Nelson had 16 points and six rebounds.  Connor Rentz finished with 15 points.  Coby Maeschen had nine points, two rebounds, and two blocks, while Brayden Pankonen had eight points.