The De Smet Bulldogs went on an run early in the fourth quarter to build a lead they would not lose to send them to the South Dakota State B Championship game. The Bulldogs defeated the Castlewood Warriors 40-37 in the semifinals on Friday, March 15th in Aberdeen.
Offenses got off to a slow start in the first quarter. De Smet ended the quarter with a 7-3 lead. The Bulldogs went ahead 9-3 early in the second quarter. The Warriors went on a 9-2 run to take a 12-11 lead. The score was tied 16-16 with under a minute to play in the half, but Castlewood took a 19-17 lead into halftime.
Castlewood started the third quarter on a 5-0 run and led 24-17 with 6:28 to go in the quarter. De Smet responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game 24-24. Their run continued with another four points for a 28-24 lead going into the fourth quarter. After Castlewood stopped the 11-0 run with the first basket of the fourth quarter, De Smet increasted their lead to 32-26. The Bulldogs led 35-28 with 3:00 to play in the game. That advantage was enough to keep them in front the rest of the game. They led 40-34 before Castlewood hit a three-point shot at the buzzer for a 40-37 final score.
The Bulldogs shot 35% (14-40) overall, 44% (4-9) from three-point area, and 57% (8-14) from the free-throw line. Castlewood finished the game shooting 34% (15-44) overall, 24% (5-21) from three-point area, and 25% (2-8) from the free-throw line.
Tom Aughenbaugh finished with 12 points and four rebounds. George Jensen had 11 points, three rebounds, three blocked shots, and two assists. Kadyn Fast added 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists. Britt Carlson had five points, and Grant Wilkinson had two points.
