A late fourth-quarter run by the Deuel Cardinals gave them a victory over the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals at the boys Entringer Classic in Brookings on Friday, December 31st. Deuel took the win 68-56.
The two teams went back and forth the first quarter. The two teams ended the quarter tied 16-16. The second quarter played just like the first with the two teams trading leads. St Mary held a two-point 29-27 lead at halftime.
St Mary held a 39-33 lead with about a minute to play in the third quarter, but Deuel ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 40-39 lead into the fourth quarter. The two teams traded baskets again early in the fourth quarter. St Mary took a 50-48 lead with 5:00 to play on a three-pointer by Dylan Mathis. Deuel then went on a 9-0 run for a 57-50 lead with 3:00 to go. They continued the big run outscoring St Mary 11-6 the rest of the game.
St Mary finished the game shooting 44% (19-43), 31% (4-13) from three-point area, and 54% (14-26) from the free-throw line. Deuel out-rebounded St Mary 31-29 and forced 17 St Mary turnovers.
John Pica led St Mary with 17 points and eight rebounds. CJ Smith had nine points and two assists. Mathis also had nine points with one rebound and one assist. Ty Brown added nine points and two rebounds. Nic Gaspar had eight points, five rebounds, and two assists.
St Mary (3-2) will host Garretson on Tuesday, January 4th.