The Dell Rapids Quarriers boys basketball team picked up a win over Region 3A foe, the Garretson Blue Dragons, 68-63 on Tuesday, January 21st, in Dell Rapids. The Quarriers got out to a quick start once again, scoring 21 first quarter points and taking a 21-12 lead after the first quarter. The Blue Dragons were able to cut into the Quarrier lead in the second quarter and trailed Dell Rapids 35-32 at halftime. Garretson again picked up a couple of points in the third quarter, and Dell Rapids held just a one-point lead, 54-53, after the third quarter. Dell Rapids was able to hold Garretson to just 10 points in the fourth quarter for the win.
Head coach Jason Fersdahl said, “Coming off of the tough, emotional loss against Cheyenne-Eagle Butte and then missing our Monday practice due to bad weather, I sensed our team was a little flat coming in to the Garretson game. We were able to start pretty quickly in the first quarter by moving the ball well and forcing a few turnovers, but I thought we lacked defensive intensity most of the game.”
Dell Rapids shot 24-55 (44%) from the field in the game. They were 7-20 (35%) from three-point area and 13-18 (72%) from the free-throw line. The Quarriers pulled down 47 rebounds as a team and dished out 17 assists. However, Dell Rapids only had six steals in the game and turned the ball over 19 times.
“We dominated the battle of the boards in this game and that was a huge key to coming out on top. Zach White was an absolute monster on the boards, finishing the night with 18 rebounds, with six of them coming on the offensive end. We had way too many turnovers in this game, with most of our turnovers coming in the half court set when we were too impatient on offense,” said Fersdahl.
White led the team with 15 points, 18 rebounds, and four assists in the game. Cody Nielsen had a team-high 17 points and six rebounds. Zane Schumaker finished with 12 points, Ben Hammer had 11 points, and Ty Hoglund added 10 points. Hoglund also had four assists.
Dell Rapids improves to 7-2 on the year. The Quarriers will host #1 Madison on Thursday, January 23rd. The game will be webcast on Big Sioux Media.
Fersdahl added, “Garretson was able to drive into the lane and break our defense down almost at will, and that is something we cannot let happen. We also need to do a much better job at defending the three point line and that comes through better communication on defense. We will need to refocus on the defensive end and eliminate some of our careless turnovers on offense to have success throughout the rest of the season.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | ||
| Garretson | 12 | 20 | 21 | 10 | 63 | |
| Dell Rapids | 21 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 68 |
JV Results
The Dell Rapids Quarriers JV team defeated the Garretson Blue Dragons 53-38. Cordell Wright had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Dell Rapids. This was his best game of the year. Sam White was high-point man once again with 14, while Brett Mogen finished with 10 points and a couple of three-point shots. Tanner Heim added five points and four steals in the game. Dell Rapids was 8-16 from the free-throw line in the game. Dell Rapids led at all quarter breaks and held off a surge in the third quarter by the Blue Dragons, who had pulled within eight points.