Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley
The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team won their fifth straight game on Monday, February 7th. St Mary defeated Arlington 70-56 as St Mary held off a second half surge by Arlington.
After a 9-9 tie with 1:45 to play in the first quarter, St Mary went on a 10-3 run to end the quarter leading 19-12. St Mary exploded in the second quarter pushing their lead to as many as 21 points. They ended the first half leading 38-21.
St Mary got their lead back to 20 points, 44-24, with 6:00 to go in the third quarter. That’s when Arlington starting to make their run. Arlington finished the third quarter outscoring St Mary 15-7 to cut the lead to 51-39 going into the fourth quarter. Arlington got the lead down to single digits a couple of times in the fourth quarter, but St Mary had an answer each time.
St Mary shot 43% (26-60) overall, went just 1-14 from three-point area, but shot 68% (17-25) from the free-throw line. Arlington was 33% (18-55) from the field, 30% (10-33) on three pointers, and 63% (10-16) from the free-throw line.
Five points finished in double figures for St Mary. John Pica had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Dylan Mathis had a game-high 21 points along with six assists, four rebounds, and four steals. Nic Gaspar had 14 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. CJ Smith had 13 points, five rebounds, and two steals. Ty Brown added 10 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
St Mary (12-4) will travel to Howard on Thursday, February 10th.