The two-time defending State B Champions are headed back to the South Dakota State B Boys Basketball Tournament. The De Smet Bulldogs punched their ticket to the state tournament after an 89-54 win over the Crazy Horse Chiefs in the SoDak 16 in Huron on Tuesday, March 7th. This year will be the fifth straight appearance for the Bulldogs in the state tournament.
De Smet led start to finish in the game, but really put the game out of reach in the third quarter. The Bulldogs opened the game on a 14-3 run. Crazy Horse got the lead down to 18-11 by the end of the first quarter. De Smet was able to extend the lead in the second quarter, but only by four points. The Bulldogs held a 38-27 lead at halftime. They then had twice as many points as the Chiefs in the third quarter (28-14) and led 66-41 going into the fourth quarter.
De Smet shot 59% (36-61) from the field overall, 50% (7-14) from three-point area, and 83% (10-12) from the free-throw line. Crazy Horse finished the game shooting 42% (19-45) overall, 50% (9-18) on three-point attempts, and 7-7 from the free-throw line.
Damon Wilkinson finished with 31 points, 18 rebounds, two assists, and two steals. George Jensen added 16 points and three assists. Kasen Janssen had 10 points and seven rebounds. Gannon Gruenhagen ended with nine points and three steals. Kadyn Fast had eight points, five assists, and four steals. Tom Aughenbaugh also had eight points.
The 2023 South Dakota State B Boys Basketball tournament will be held at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen March 16th through the 18th.
