The Sioux Valley Cossacks defeated the Dell Rapids Quarriers 59-52 at the Boys Entringer Classic in Brookings on Saturday, December 28th.  Sioux Valley had a first quarter lead of 16-11, but the Quarriers erased that lead to tie the game at 26-26 heading into halftime.  A tough third quarter for the Quarriers gave Sioux Valley a 43-33 lead after the third quarter.  The Quarriers pulled to within four points a couple of times in the fourth quarter, but the Cossacks were able to knock down enough free throws in the final quarter to hang on for the win.

Dell Rapids shot 22-51 (43%) from the field in the game.  They were 2-12 (17%) from three-point range and 6-10 (60%) from the free throw line.  Meanwhile, Sioux Valley went 18-46 (39%) from the field, while shooting 5-17 (29%) from three-point range and 18-25 (72%) from the free throw line.  Sioux Valley also out-rebounded the Quarriers 30-24 in the ball game.

The Quarriers were led by Ty Hoglund and Ben Hammer who each had 12 points in the game.  Riley Schmidt finished with nine points, and Zach White had eight points.  Cody Nielsen had a team-high six rebounds in the game.  Tayt Vincent had a game-high 19 points for Sioux Valley.  Spencer Hanson finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Head coach Jason Fersdahl said, “I thought we played pretty well in the first half as we battled to a 26-26 tie.  We had good ball movement on offense, and we played very aggressively.  Sioux Valley made a big run on us in the 3rd quarter as they hit some perimeter shots, and we missed some shots we usually make.  I am proud that our team fought back in the 4th quarter, and we had some good opportunities to cut it to a one possession game late, but credit Sioux Valley for consistently hitting their free throws down the stretch and maintaining their lead.  We gave up too many second chance opportunities on offensive rebounds in the second half and good teams really make you pay for those mistakes.”

Dell Rapids falls to 2-1 on the year.  The Quarriers will travel to Elk Point-Jefferson for a Dakota 12 Conference game on Saturday, January 4th.

	1	2	3	4		Final
Sioux Valley	16	10	17	16		59
Dell Rapids	11	15	7	19		52

Highlights

The Dell Rapids Quarrier boys basketball team picked up a win over the Tea Area Titans 65-57 on Friday, December 20th, in Dell Rapids.  Dell Rapids jumped out to a quick early lead and led 17-11 after the first quarter.  Tea was able to close the gap by two points by halftime at 32-27.  The Titans chipped away at the lead, before taking a 38-36 lead late in the third quarter, but the Quarriers regained the lead at 43-41 after the third quarter.  The Quarriers were able to pull away at the end by hitting free throws late in the game for the win.

Dell Rapids was led by Ben Hammer with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocked shots.  Cody Nielsen finished with 13 points, and Riley Schmidt and Ty Hoglund each had 12 points in the game.  Hoglund also finished with seven assists, and Zane Schumaker had six assists.  Shumaker also had 10 steals in the game.  Tea was led by Tarin Smallfield with a game-high 22 points.

Head coach Jason Fersdahl said, “This was a total team victory! Tea is a good team that plays very aggressive defense, and I thought we did a good job of moving the ball to find good scoring opportunities. We were able to work the ball inside to our post players who were able to finish strong at the basket. We knew that Tea would make a strong run at us, and I am proud that our guys responded with a strong 4th quarter; we were able to hit clutch shots down the stretch. We didn’t shoot free throws very well for the night, but Zane hit 5 -6 down the stretch to finish the game.”

The Quarriers improved to 2-0 on the year.  Dell Rapids will take on Sioux Valley at the Entringer Classic in Brookings on Saturday, December 28th, in their next game.  The game will be webcast on Big Sioux Media.

	1	2	3	4		Final
Tea Area	11	16	14	16		57
Dell Rapids	17	15	11	22		65

Highlights

The Dell Rapids Quarrier boys basketball team picked up a season-opening win against the West Central Trojans on Friday, December 13th, in Hartford by a score of 67-45.  The Quarriers led at every break in the game.  Dell Rapids led 18-9 at the end of the first quarter, 30-19 at halftime, and 49-35 after the third quarter.

Ty Hoglund and Zane Schumaker both scored 18 points in the game.  Schumaker also hit four 3-point field goals.  Cody Nielsen added 10 points, and Ben Hammer finished with eight.  Schumaker had a team-high six assists in the game, and Hoglund dished out five assists.  Zachary Schroeder finished with nine rebounds followed by Hammer who had eight.  Hoglund also finished the game with four steals.

Dell Rapids out-rebounded West Central as a team 35-22.  The Quarriers also had 17 total team assists, 11 team steals, and only turned the ball over 12 times.

Head coach Jason Fersdahl said, “Offensively, we were able to move the ball pretty well to find some good scoring opportunities and we were able to free up some of our perimeter shooters for open looks at the basket.  Our guards did a good job of pushing the ball in transition and our post players ran the floor well.  I was very pleased that we outrebounded West Central as team rebounding has been one of our main early season points of emphasis; Zachary Schroeder and Ben Hammer in particular hit the boards very hard.  Defensively, we were able to put good pressure on the ball at times and Hammer was able to patrol the lane well, finishing the night with 3 blocked shots while altering numerous others.  We need to continue to improve our half court defense and I know our players will keep working hard on that end of the floor all season.”

The JV team also picked up a win against the Trojans by a score of 36-28.

The Quarriers will host Tea in their next game on Friday, December 20th, as part of a girls-boys double header.  Both games will be webcast on Big Sioux Media.