The Dell Rapids Quarrier boys basketball team advanced to the District 6A Championship game by defeating the Garretson Blue Dragons in the opening round 65-51 on Tuesday, February 26th, in Dell Rapids. The Quarriers led at the end of each quarter break, leading 17-8 after the first quarter, 35-18 at halftime, and 51-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Head coach Jason Fersdahl said, “Our players really came ready to play against Garretson. Our seniors have a lot of postseason experience, and they did a great job of providing leadership throughout the game. Defensively, I thought we did an outstanding job of contesting perimeter shots, and we needed to because Garretson has some players that can really shoot the ball.”
Dell Rapids was led by Cole Langer with 21 points, five assists, and three steals in the game. Ty Hoglund added 12 points. Bryce Koch had eight points and 15 rebounds. Matt Kolbeck and Jacob Morris each finished with seven points for Dell Rapids. Garretson was led by Derek Dillon with 11 points. The Quarriers shot 42% (24-57) from the field, 40% (6-15) from three-point area, and 65% (11-17) from the free throw line. Garretson shot 35% (18-51) from the field, 32% (6-19) from three-point area, and 90% (9-10) from the free throw line.
“We were able to limit Garretson to one shot per possession as we really dominated the rebounding battle, led by Bryce Koch’s 15 rebounds. Offensively, we shot the ball with confidence and we moved the ball pretty well against Garretson’s defense. Cole Langer was able to work his way inside consistently to break down their defense and that really opened some things up for our other players,” said Fersdahl.
Dell Rapids improves to 16-5 on the year and won for the 10th time in a row. The Quarriers will face the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers in the championship game on Friday, March 1st, at the Elmen Center in Sioux Falls at 6:30 p.m. The game will be webcast on Big Sioux Media.
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