The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals will have a winning record for the first time since the 2007-2008 season thanks to a 65-60 win over the Baltic Bulldogs on Friday, February 16th at Baltic High School. The win also ended a short two-game losing streak.
St Mary offense was on fire to start the game. The Cardinals scored 21 first-quarter points on their way to a 21-10 lead. The lead grew to 13 points by halftime at 36-23. St Mary’s offense continued to roll through the first three minutes of the third quarter when their lead grew to 20 points at 49-29 with 5:00 to go in the quarter. Baltic then made a run of their own. The Bulldogs went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to eight points at 49-41. St Mary ended the third quarter with a 53-44 lead. The Cardinals got their lead back to double digits at 60-48. Baltic again made a run, this time a 10-2 run, to pull within four points with :30 to play. The Bulldogs again had it down to four points at 64-40 with :07.5 points, but a late free throw sealed the victory for the Cardinals.
Three players finished in double figures. Luke Brown had 19 points and two blocked shots. Connor Libis also had 19 points along with five rebounds and two steals. Max Herber finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Sam Muston led Baltic with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jon Wilhelmsen added 18 points for the Bulldogs.
St Mary finishes the regular season with an 11-9 record. The Cardinals will begin Region 4B tournament play on Monday, February 26th.