Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley
At moments it looked like the #2 seed Dell Rapids Quarriers were going to blow the game wide open against the #7 seed Tri-Valley Mustangs. The Mustangs threw everything they could at the Quarriers, but the Quarriers took the 75-67 win on Tuesday, March 1st.
The first half was a low-scoring battle. Dell Rapids held a 10-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. They were able to push the lead to 10 points in the second, but the Mustangs battled back to cut the lead down to 27-24 by halftime.
Tri-Valley scored the first four points of the third quarter and led 28-27 with 7:20 left in the quarter. The lead was short lived, however, as Dell Rapids went on a 12-2 run for a 39-30 lead with 4:45. That lead grew to 17 points, 54-37, with just :35 left in the quarter. At this point it seemed the Quarriers were going to be able to cruise to victory. The Mustangs, however, drained a half-court shot at the buzzer to make the score 54-40 heading into the final quarter. That shot gave Tri-Valley new life. They slowly chipped away at the Quarrier lead in the fourth quarter and got it down to 63-59 with 2:10 to play in the game. Dell Rapids was able to shut down the rally and outscored the Mustangs 12-8 over the final two minutes to secure the win.
Shane Stone had a huge game for the Quarriers. Stone finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Brayden Pankonen had 19 points, seven rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Jack Henry added 18 points. Landon Ruesink had 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Aiden Boechler had four points, five rebounds, and four assists, and Camden Justice also had four points.
Dell Rapids shot 42% (26-62) from the field, 33% (6-18) on three pointers, and 74% (17-23) from the free-throw line. Tri-Valley was also 42% (25-59) from the field, 44% (7-16) from three-point area, and 56% (10-18) from the free-throw line.
The Quarriers will play #3 seed Sioux Falls Christian on Friday, March 4th at 8:00 p.m. at the Elmen Center. The winner will advance to the SoDak 16.