The Dell Rapids Quarriers fell to the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers for the second time in a week.  The Chargers won 50-38 on Tuesday, January 8th, in Sioux Falls.  The Quarriers jumped out to an early first quarter lead, but SF Christian battled back to take a 21-18 halftime lead.  The Chargers out-scored Dell Rapids 29-20 in the second half on their way to the win.

Dell Rapids shot 27% (11-41) from the field, 11% (1-9) from three-point area, and 60% (15-25) from the free throw line.  The Quarriers pulled down 29 rebounds in the game, but committed 19 turnovers.  SF Christian shot 55% (17-31) from the field, 40% (4-10) from three-point area, and 60% (12-20) from the free throw line.  Dell Rapids was led by Bryce Koch with 12 points, six rebound and five blocked shots.  Cole Langer finished the game with 11 points and 10 rebounds.  Ty Hoglund added seven points.  Matt Kolbeck and Jacob Morris each pulled down six rebounds.

“I was very pleased with our defensive intensity, especially at the start of the game. We jumped out to a 10-2 lead early in the game, but SF Christian was able to answer late in the second quarter to take a 21-18 halftime lead. While the Chargers shot the ball well in the third quarter, we had a number of good opportunities to respond with baskets, but we just weren’t able to convert in key stretches. To hold a team like SF Christian to 50 points takes quite a defensive effort; we need to be able to cut down on turnovers, shoot at a higher percentage offensively, and convert from the free throw line when we have the opportunities to be more successful. We did not shoot the ball very well from the free throw line or from the three-point line, and that makes it even more difficult to beat tough teams. We will continue to improve offensively; we need to keep working at making our offense more efficient and continue to develop the identity and chemistry of our Quarrier basketball team,” said head coach Jason Fersdahl.

The Quarriers fall to 5-4 on the year.  Dell Rapids will travel to Garretson to take on the Blue Dragons on Tuesday, January 15th.

The Canton C-Hawks boys basketball team trailed by 12 points at halftime, 23-35, but came back to win by outscoring the Dell Rapids Quarriers 46-21 in the second half to beat Dell Rapids 69-56 in the final consolation bracket game of the Big Sioux Conference Tournament at Dakota Valley on Saturday, January 5th.

The Quarriers shot 46% from the field, 12% from three-point area, and just 30% from the free throw line in the game.  Dell Rapids had a total of 31 rebounds and 16 assists.  Canton shot 45% from the field, 66% from three-point area, and 75% from the free throw line.  The C-Hawks had 21 rebounds as a team.  Bryce Koch led the Quarriers with 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots in the game.  Zane Schumaker, Zach White, and Matt Kolbeck all had 10 points apiece in the game.  Jacob Morris led the team with five assists in the game.  Canton was led by Cody Willett who had 35 points in the game and five rebounds.  Willett was 7-10 on three-point shots in the game.  Anders Peterson also added 13 points for Canton.

“We jumped out to a 12 point halftime lead only to see Canton get extremely hot from the outside in the second half. Canton’s Cody Willett scored 27 points in the second half including five 3 pointers from really deep to lead Canton’s comeback. We knew going into the game that Willett was capable of getting hot from the outside and we continued to pressure him on defense, but he kept shooting from deeper and deeper and hitting shots which made them tough to stop,” said Head Coach Jason Fersdahl.  “Offensively, we were not able to score as easily in the second half as we did in the first and in the fourth quarter we were very cold, going 4 for 16 (25%) from the field. We had good balance on offense with four players in double figures but we need to get better and running our offense and getting key baskets in crunch time. Our remaining schedule is very difficult so we need to work to get better in all phases of the game, which we will do.”

The Quarriers fall to 5-3 on the season and will travel to Sioux Falls to take on Sioux Falls Christian on Tuesday, January 8th.

The Dell Rapids Quarrier boys basketball team lost their opening round game of the Big Sioux Conference tournament to the Sioux Falls Christian Chargers 54-39 on Thursday, January 3rd, in Sioux Falls.  Dell Rapids trailed by just four points at halftime, 18-14, but the Chargers outscored the Quarriers by 11 in the second half for the victory.

Dell Rapids struggled a little bit on offense, shooting just 33% (16-43) from the field, 10% (1-10) from three-point area, and 46% (6-13) from the free throw line.  The Chargers also forced 17 turnovers while only committing six of their own.  Dell Rapids was led by Bryce Koch with eight points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots.  Matt Kolbeck added seven points and three assists.  Ty Hoglund and Zane Schumaker each had five points in the game.  The Chargers shot 46% (22-46) from the field, 50% (2-4) from three-point area, and 57% (8-14) from the free throw line.  SF Christian was led by Jordan Baker with a game-high 19 points, and Carson Long and Cody Van Holland each had 11 points.

Head Coach Jason Fersdahl said that the team had a strong defensive effort in the first half but was unable to convert on the offensive end.  Fersdahl said, “We need to play with more confidence on offense and that will continue to develop as our players get used to playing with one another and they adjust to some of the different things we are tying to do offensively. The bottom line is that we need to play with more emotion and confidence and that is lacking right now; we will work to improve this everyday in practice to improve our overall play as a team.”

Dell Rapids falls to 4-2 on the year will play Beresford in the second round of the Big Sioux Conference tournament at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, January 4th, at SF Christian High School.  The final round of the tournament will be held in Beresford on Saturday, January 5th.

The Dell Rapids Quarrier boys JV team defeated the Elk Point/Jefferson JV by a score of 57-43. Leading the way for the Quarriers was Ty Hoglund with 20 points and Zane Schumaker with 11. Zach Schroeder also chipped in nine points for the Quarriers. Dell Rapids led at all quarter breaks.

In the first round of the Dell Rapids Invitational JV tournament over Christmas break, Dell Rapids defeated Madison 59-32. Leading the scorers for the Quarriers were Hoglund, Schumaker, and Cody Nielsen with 10, 10, and nine points respectively. Tanner Solberg had two three-pointers for the Quarriers.

In the second game of the Dells Invitational, Schumaker led all scorers with 12 points. Dell Rapids defeated Lennox 52-32. Also scoring for the Quarriers were Hoglund, Nielsen, and Riley Schmidt with 11, nine, and 10 points. Dell Rapids was 5-9 from the free throw line.

In the championship game of the tournament, Dell Rapids played SF Roosevelt and led 31-26. The Quarriers couldn’t hang on to a victory as the Roughriders rolled the second half and won 42-61. Ben Hammer had his best game of the season with 11 points and Schroeder was a great spark with eight points. Also scoring for the Quarriers were Hoglund with seven points, and Schmidt and Schumaker with five points each. The Quarriers were 4-9 from the free throw line in the game.

The freshmen boys basketball team played on the Friday before Christmas break and had a great game with the EPJ freshmen. Dell Rapids was defeated on a buzzer-beater to lose 28-30. Brett Mogen and Henry LaCoursiere were the sparks of the freshmen squad with eight points each. Mogen had hit a field goal with six seconds left in regulation to tie the game. However, the Huskies answered with their own magic to hit a shot as time expired.

In a game that saw the Flandreau Flyers make more three-point shots than two-point shots, the Dell Rapids Quarriers held off the Flyers at the Entringer Classic in Brookings 60-57 for their fourth win of the season.  Dell Rapids jumped out to a 17-8 lead after the first quarter, but the Flyers started to heat up beyond the three-point line to cut the Quarrier lead down to 29-26 at halftime.  The Flyers took the lead on a last second shot at the end of the third quarter, 39-38.  But Dell Rapids was able to hold off the Flyers in the final quarter for the win.

The Quarriers shot 62% (24-39) from the field, 46% (6-13) from three-point area, and 75% (6-8) from the free throw line.  Flandreau shot 37% (17-46) from the field, 40% (11-27) from three-point area, and 100% (12-12) from the free throw line.  Cole Langer led the Quarriers with 22 points and seven assists.  Langer was named the game’s MVP.  Bryce Koch had 12 points, nine rebounds, and five blocked shots.  Spencer Kerzman added eight points.  Flandreau was led by Geno Bursheim with 16 points and Mitchell Foster with 15 points.

Head Coach Jason Fersdahl said, “The classic was a great atmosphere and drew a large crowd; it is always fun to be a part of it year after year.  We were able to use our size advantage to get the ball inside to get high percentage shots throughout the game. We shot 18-26 from inside the 3 point arc and ended shooting 62% total for the game. I was happy to see us start off the game strong once again, as we jumped out to a 17-8 lead after one quarter. Flandreau started to get hot from the outside, like we knew they were capable of, in the second quarter and they were able to hit some tough, contested shots throughout the rest of the game. As a team we showed a good deal of mental toughness in the fourth quarter by working to get great shots inside and convert free throw opportunities down the stretch. Flandreau is a tough team to match up with given their quickness and shooting ability and they will win a lot of games thoughout the season, so this was a great win for the Quarriers.”

The Quarriers are now 4-1 on the year.  They will take on Sioux Falls Christian in the first round of the Big Sioux Conference Tournament in Sioux Falls on Thursday, January 3rd.

Highlights

The Dell Rapids Quarriers got back in the winning column by beating the Elk Point-Jefferson Huskies 58-44 on Friday, December 21st, in Dell Rapids.  The Quarriers led the entire game as they jumped out to an 11-4 lead after the first quarter.  Dell Rapids extended the lead to 10 by halftime at 25-15.  Dell Rapids led 40-28 after the third quarter as well.

Bryce Kock led the team with 16 points in the game.  Cole Langer and Matt Kolbeck each had 10 points apiece, while Spencer Kerzman added eight points.  Langer had 11 rebounds for Dell Rapids and Koch had nine.  Langer also had six assists.  Koch had five more blocks in the game.  Elk Point-Jefferson was led by Blake Donnelly who had 15 points, and Brock Zeller had 10 points.

The Quarriers also had the advantage in many team statistical categories.  The Quarriers out-rebounded the Huskies 38-28.  Dell Rapids also had 18 assists as a team.  The Quarriers were 14-20 from the free throw line, 4-15 from 3-point range and shot 20-40 from the field in the game.

Head Coach Jason Fersdahl said, “The team played great defense against a tall, strong EPJ team, limiting them to 4 first quarter points and holding their returning all-state player, Brock Zeller, to 11 points. Matt Kolbeck played outstanding defense the entire game on Zeller and the team did a great job of playing help side defense against him. We outrebounded the Huskies 38-28 for the game and we were able to get to the free throw line more consistently. Offensively we had great balance with four players with 8 or more points and we did a better job of getting the ball inside to our post players. Defensively, we must continue to get better at fighting through screens and communicating on screens. It was important to go into the Christmas break on a winning note; we have a string of very tough games coming up and we will work to keep getting better on both ends of the floor.”

The Quarriers improve to 3-1 on the year and 2-1 in the Big Sioux Conference.  Dell Rapids will play Flandreau at the Entringer Classic in Brookings on Saturday, December 29th, in their next game.  The game will be webcast on Big Sioux Media.

The Tea Area Titans used a big fourth quarter run to defeat the Dell Rapids Quarriers 57-36 Friday, December 14th, in Tea.  The game was close for the first three quarters.  The Titans had an 11-10 lead after the first quarter and a 23-21 lead at halftime.  The game was tied at 29-29 with 1:00 left in the third quarter before Tea ended the quarter with a 6-1 run to take a 35-30 lead into the fourth quarter.  Tea opened up with a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 12, and cruised from there on their way to the win.

Dell Rapids was led by Bryce Koch with 13 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots on the night.  Zach White added eight points for the Quarriers.  Connor Shaull had 12 points for Tea, and Riley Knutson

Bryce Koch with the slam dunk!

had 11 points.  The Quarriers had a tough night offensively as a team, shooting just 30% (14-64) from the field, and just 12% (2-17) from 3-point area.  The Titans also held quite an advantage from the free throw line.  Dell Rapids was 4-10, while Tea was 20-25 from the charity stripe.  The Quarriers also commited 18 turnovers in the game, while Tea committed just 10.

Head Coach Jason Fersdahl said, “We ran into a tough, experienced Tea Area team that played excellent defense the entire night.  We knew going in that Tea would play great defense, but they were really able to take us out of what we wanted to do with their speed, strength, and athleticism.  We struggled the whole night putting the ball in the basket and we gave Tea some easy scoring opportunities in the 4th quarter with turnovers which lead to transition opportunities.  Our keys going into the game were to outrebound them (which we did) and stop them in transition, which we struggled with all night.”

Dell Rapids falls to 2-1 on the season, and 1-1 in the Big Sioux Conference.  The Quarriers will host Elk Point-Jefferson on Tuesday, December 21st.

Highlights:

The Dell Rapids Quarrier boy’s basketball team defeated the Beresford Watchdogs on Tuesday, December 11th, 87-36.  The Quarriers held a 47-16 lead at halftime.  Leading scorers on the night for the Quarriers were Zach White with 14 points, Jacob Morris with 12 points, Cole Langer and Ty Hoglund with 10 points apiece, Spencer Kerzman with nine points, Bryce Koch and Matt Kolbeck with eight points apiece, and Zane Schumaker with seven points.  Morris was perfect from 3-point range, hitting on all four of his attempts.  Dell Rapids was impressive from the field shooting 56% from 3-point range as a team and 55% from the field.  The Quarriers also had 28 assists as a team, led by Kolbek, Schumaker, and Riley Schmidt with four assists each.

Koch led the team in rebounds with nine in the game.  Langer had eight rebounds for Dell Rapids, as the Quarriers out-rebounded Beresford 40-36 in the game.  Dell Rapids also forced 14 turnovers.  Langer had five steals in the game, and Schumaker added four.

The win moves Dell Rapids to 2-0 on the season, and 1-0 in the Big Sioux Conference.

Head Coach Jason Fersdahl said, “Defeating Beresford was key to get off to a good start in conference play.  I was pleased with the defensive intensity our players brought against Beresford.  Beresford came out and hit some shots early to force a tie at 11, but our players responded by playing even harder on defense and we held Beresford scoreless for about a six minute stretch in the first and second quarter.  We were much better at converting turnovers into points and we were able to knock down some shots from the outside.  We shot the ball well from the perimeter and that really helped open some things up inside.  Once again, we had major contributions from players off the bench and our scoring was very balanced with eight players scoring seven or more points.  The team did a great job of sharing the basketball as we ended the night with 28 assists as a team!”

The Quarriers will travel to Tea to take on the Titans on Friday, December 14th.  Both the girls and boys games will be webcasted on Big Sioux Media starting at 6:15 p.m.

Freshman Results:
The Freshman team had another great game as they defeated Beresford 35-18.  For the second game in a row, the freshman team had eight of nine players in the scoring column.  Sam White led the team with 10 points and Cordell Wright added eight points.  The freshman improve to 2-0 on the year and will play Tea also on Friday, December 14th.

The Dell Rapids Quarriers boys basketball team opened up their season with a win over West Central on Friday, December 7th, 60-37.  Dell Rapids led for most of the game as they held a 16-12 lead after the first quarter and a 31-20 lead at halftime.  The Quarriers shot 45% from the field and 86% from the foul line.  Dell Rapids also out-rebounded the Trojans 39-33 in the game.  Cole Langer paced the Quarriers with 15 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals.  Zach White, Bryce Koch, and Matt Kolbeck each had eight points apiece.  Jacob Morris and Ty Hoglund each had seven points.  Koch also had 10 rebounds and five blocked shots in the game.

West Central was led by Mitchell Brockhaus and Cody Bussel with eight points apiece.  Dylan Haggerty had 11 rebounds and Brockhaus had 9 rebounds in the game.

Head Coach Jason Fersdahl said, “It was great to start the season on a winning note by defeating an always strong and physical West Central Trojan team. Our players were perhaps a little over-excited as we started the game committing too many fouls, but as we got into the flow of the game I thought we played with great defensive intensity throughout the rest of the game. We were able to pressure their guards and we really made it difficult for West Central to score inside by getting good help on defense. We were able to neutralize their big post player (Brockhaus) and make him work for every attempt he got. We were able to force 19 turnovers in the game by utilizing our athletic ability and quick hands on defense. Where we need to improve is turning these opportunities into transition baskets at the other end. Offensively, we were able to get some high percentage shots inside and some good open looks from the perimeter. We will work to continue to improve our shooting from the perimeter as this will be a big key for us going forward in the season. I thought our seniors did a great job of leading us in our first game and we got some major contributions from players off our bench.”

The Quarriers will travel to Beresford to take on the Watchdogs on Tuesday, December 12th.

JV Results:
The Dell Rapids defeated the West Central Trojans 48-19.  Leading all scorers was Ty Hoglund with 21 points, followed by Ben Hammer and Riley Schmidt with seven and six points respectively.  The Quarriers held West Central scoreless in the first quarter as they jumped out to a 13 point lead in the first half.  Hitting 3-pointers were Zane Schumaker, Kahler Berven, and Tanner Solberg.  Dell Rapids shot 5-11 from the line.  Riley Schmidt had five assists and Ben Hammer had six rebounds and six blocked shots in the contest.

Freshman Results:
In the first game of the season, the Quarriers freshman team had an impressive  38-22 win against West Central.  This was a total team effort in which eight of the nine players scored. They were even more dominant on the defensive side, where they only allowed five points in the second half.  Justin Riswold and Ryan Geraets did a great job stopping the opponents’ best players.  We had very balanced scoring with Brett Mogen, Justin Riswold and Cordell Wright scoring eight points and Sam White six. These nine young men played great team basketball and we will look for more of that style of ball when we play Beresford on Tuesday,  Tea area on Friday, and at Wakonda’s tourney on Saturday.