Bridgewater-Emery defeated Dell Rapids St Mary for the second time in five days, however, this time it ended the Cardinal season.  The #7 seed Huskies beat the #2 seed Cardinals 61-47 in the second round of the Region 4B tournament on Tuesday, March 1st at Dell Rapids St Mary High School.

In a hot, packed gym, the Cardinals got out to a fast start.  St Mary led 12-2 with 2:15 to play in the opening quarter.  The Cardinals finished the first quarter with a 14-7 lead.  Things then got quiet for the St Mary offense in the middle two quarters.  The Huskies held St Mary to just four points in the second quarter, which allowed them to build a 24-18 halftime lead.

The third quarter was a defensive battle.  The two teams combined for just 17 total points.  Bridgewater-Emery still held a 32-27 lead going into the fourth quarter.  The Huskies took advantage of 23 trips to the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, converting on 19 of them.  The difference at the free-throw line proved to be the biggest factor in the game as the Huskies took the win.

The Cardinals shot 33% (17-52) overall, 22% (5-23) from three-point area, and 8-9 from the free-throw line.  Bridgewater-Emery was 40% (18-45) from the field, 33% (4-12) from three-point area, and 81% (21-26) from the free-throw line.  The 13 more made free throws was the biggest stat difference in the game.

Dylan Mathis finished with 19 points and nine rebounds.  Nic Gaspar had 13 points and four rebounds.  John Pica added seven points, four rebounds, and two assists.  Ty Brown had four points, two rebounds, and five assists.  CJ Smith also had four points along with five rebounds.

St Mary’s season ends with an overall record of 15-6.

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.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team ended a two-game skid with a win over the Elkton-Lake Benton Elks on Monday, February 17th at home.  The Cardinals earned a hard-fought 72-60.

The game was close through three quarters before the Cardinals pulled away late in the game.  St Mary started with a 7-2 lead with 5:20 to play in the first quarter.  The Elks closed out the quarter on a 17-9 run for a 19-16 lead by the end of the quarter.  Elkton-Lake Benton kept that three point lead heading into halftime at 35-32.

The Cardinals were able to regain the lead in the third quarter as they outscored the Elks 19-14 to lead 51-49 heading into the fourth quarter.  St Mary was then able to pull away by holding the Elks to just nine fourth-quarter points.

St Mary shot the ball well all night shooting 56% (28-50) from the field, 38% (5-13) from three-point area, and 61% (11-18) from the free-throw line.  Connor Libis finished with 37 points and three steals.  Max Herber had 15 points and four rebounds.  Sam Palmer added five points and seven rebounds.  Connor Kangas also had five points.  Weston Geraets had four points, seven rebounds, and four assists.  Cole Welbig had a team-high seven assists.

The Cardinals (13-4) will travel to Howard on Thursday, February 20th for a boys and girls double-header.  Both games can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team took a six-game winning streak into a rematch with the Arlington Cardinals on Thursday, February 13th.  Arlington avenged a loss to St Mary earlier in the season with a 69-59 win ending the winning streak for St Mary.

The game went back and forth through the first three quarters.  St Mary struck first hitting the first two three-point shots of the game for an early lead.  They remained in front holding a 14-9 lead before Arlington ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to lead 17-14 after the first quarter.  Arlington continued the run by scoring the first two points of the second quarter to extend their lead to 21-14.  St Mary then clamped down on defense and held Arlington to just eight more second quarter points while the offense put up 19 to take a 33-29 lead at halftime.

Arlington tied the game early in the third quarter at 33-33 and then again at 35-35.  With the game tied at 37-37, Arlington went on a 10-3 run the remainder of the third quarter to lead 47-40 heading into the fourth quarter.  St Mary got within five points at 53-48 and 56-51, but could not get any closer as Arlington had an answer each time St Mary got close.

St Mary shot 40% (22-55) from the field in the game, 24% (5-21) from three-point area, and 56% (10-18) from the free-throw line.  They pulled down a total of 30 rebounds and had a total of seven steals.

Connor Libis had a game-high 32 points with three rebounds and two assists.  Max Herber had 10 points and six rebounds.  Sam Palmer finished with eight points and two blocked shots.  West Geraets tallied four points, nine rebounds, and four assists, while Colin Winberg had four points and eight rebounds.

St Mary (12-3) will play Hanson at the DWU/Culver’s Classic in Mitchell on Saturday, February 15th at 4:30 p.m.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

A quick start led the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team to a 71-40 win over the Estelline/Hendrick Redhawks on Monday, January 6th in Estelline.

The Cardinals led from start to finish as they got out to a nearly 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter.  St Mary led 26-8 after the first quarter, and then grew that lead to 45-20 at halftime.  The lead grew to over 30 points in the second half as the Cardinals cruised to their sixth victory of the season.

Three players finished with double figures in the game.  Connor Libis had 20 points.  Max Herber finished with 15 points, and Colin Winberg had 12 points.  Sam Palmer added nine points.  Weston Geraets had a team-high eight rebounds.

St Mary (6-1) will host the De Smet Bulldogs in a battle of top teams in Class B boys basketball in a girls and boys double-header on Friday, January 10th.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.