In a close battle all game long, the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals used a fourth quarter rally to defeat the Castlewood Warriors 56-50 on Tuesday, January 18th.

Neither team was able to get a large lead in the game.  St Mary held the advantage after the first quarter, 15-14.  The first half ended with the two teams tied 28-28.  The Warriors held a four-point lead late in the third quarter, but John Pica made a three-pointer at the end of the quarter to cut the lead to 43-42.  Pica then made another three-pointer to start the fourth quarter to give the Cardinals a slim two-point lead.  The Warriors tied the game 47-47 with 6:20 to play.  St Mary then went on a 5-2 run over the next three minutes for a 52-49 lead.  St Mary continued to lead 52-50 with 1:07 to go.  After Castlewood was unable to tie the game, the Cardinals made a layup and then two free-throws in the closing seconds for the win.

The Cardinals finished the game 48% (20-42) shooting, 6-10 from three-point area, and 53% (10-19) from the free-throw line.  The Warriors shot 40% (21-53) in the game, 24% (5-21) from three-point area, and 38% (3-8) from the free-throw line.

Nic Gaspar had the hot hand all game long finishing with 24 points and four rebounds.  Pica had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.  Dylan Mathis added 11 points and six rebounds.  CJ Smith had eight points, four rebounds, and two assists.

St Mary (7-3) will play Mt Vernon/Plankinton in the DVC Classic in Elkton at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 22nd.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys handed the Oldham-Ramona/Rutland Raiders their first loss of the season at Rutland on Saturday, January 15th.  The Cardinals led for all but a few seconds at the beginning of the game in a 75-48 victory.

The Raiders made first basket of the game, and that was their only lead.  The Cardinals went on an 8-0 run from there and never looked back.  St Mary built an 18-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.  That lead grew to 18 points at 36-18 by halftime.  The game continued to go the Cardinals way throughout the second half as well.  St Mary led 56-31 after three quarters of play and extended the lead to 65-31 early into the fourth quarter on the way to the win.

The Cardinals shot 43% (25-58) from the field, 20% (4-20) from three-point area, and 75% (21-28) from the free-throw line.  The Raiders finished 34% (20-59) from the field, 14% (4-28) from three-point area, and just 33% (4-12) from the free-throw line.

Four players finished in double figures for the Cardinals, and two of them had double-doubles.  John Pica had 21 points, 11 rebounds, two steals, and two assists.  Dylan Mathis had 10 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and two steals.  Ty Brown had 16 points and six rebound.  Nic Gaspar added 12 points and three rebounds.  Gabe Lindeman had eight and six rebounds, and CJ Smith also had eight points with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

St Mary (6-3) will travel to Castlewood on Tuesday,  January 18th.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys rally in the fourth quarter came up short as the Elkton-Lake Benton Elks defeated the Cardinals 45-39 on Monday, January 10th.

St Mary had a 6-3 lead in the first quarter, but the Elks held a 14-10 advantage after the quarter ended.  The game remained close throughout the second quarter.  The Elks still held a lead, 21-19, at halftime.  St Mary tied the game 23-23 in the first thirty seconds of the third quarter, but was held to just three points the rest of the quarter.  Elkton-Lake Benton led 33-26 heading into the fourth quarter.

That lead grew to 41-28 midway through the fourth quarter.  The Cardinals tried to make a furious comeback.  A steal by Dylan Mathis and three-pointer by Ty Brown with :36 left in the game cut the Elks lead to 43-39.  That was as close as the Cardinals would get as the Elks made two free throws to close out the game.

The Cardinals shot 28% (13-47) from the field, 20% (3-15) from three-point area, and 53% (10-19) from the free-throw line.  The Elks finished the game shooting 33% (18-54), 18% (2-11) from three-point area, and 58% (7-12) from the free-throw line.

CJ Smith led the team with nine points and five rebounds.  Nic Gaspar had eight points, seven rebounds, and two blocks.  John Pica had eight points, six rebounds, and two assists.  Ty Brown added seven points and two blocks.  Mathis finished with five points, 11 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team stopped the Estelline/Hendricks Redhawks from completing a fourth quarter comeback.  The Cardinals held their ground for a 53-47 win on Friday, January 7th.

After a close first quarter that ended with the Cardinals leading 9-8, St Mary was able to grow their lead in the second quarter.  The Cardinals took an eight-point lead into the locker room at halftime, 23-15.  St Mary continued to add to the lead in the third quarter as well.  The Cardinals had a double digit, 38-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  The Redhawks chipped away at the lead in the fourth quarter getting it down to four points, 47-43, with 1:29 to play.  Nic Gaspar and Dylan Mathis made back-to-back layups for the Cardinals to push the lead to 51-43 and put the game away.

The Cardinals finished the game shooting 40% (19-47) from the field, 25% (4-16) from three-point area, and 46% (11-23) from the free-throw line.  Estelline/Hendricks shot 34% (17-50) in the game, 20% (4-20) on three pointers, and 9-10 from the free-throw line.

Mathis had 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and two assists.  John Pica finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, and two steals.  Ty Brown also had nine points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals.  Gaspar added eight points, five rebounds, and three steals.  CJ Smith had seven points, two rebounds, and two assists.

St Mary (5-2) will host Elkton/Lake Benton on Monday, January 10th.

The game wasn’t pretty, but the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys survived a rough night for a 33-25 win over the Garretson Blue Dragons on Tuesday, January 4th.  Both teams shot just 22% and each committed 19 turnovers.

The Blue Dragons had the slim advantage in the first half.  They had a two-point lead, 9-7, after the first quarter.  The lead was cut to just a single point, 14-13, at halftime.  St Mary used an 11-3 scoring advantage in the third quarter to have a 24-17 lead heading into the fourth.  The Cardinals were able to hold the lead for the 33-25 win.

St Mary was 11-51 shooting in the game, 16% (3-19) from three-point area, and 57% (8-14) from the free-throw line.  Garretson finished 10-46 from the field, went 1-22 on three-pointers, and was 4-10 from the free-throw line.  St Mary had a 39-33 advantage on rebounds as well.

Dylan Mathis had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds along with seven steals.  Ty Brown had six points, two rebounds, a steal, and an assist.  Nic Gaspar finished with four points, seven rebounds, and two assists.  Gabe Lindeman also had four points and two steals.  John Pica added three points and eight rebounds.  Noah Reiff had three points and five rebounds.  CJ Smith finished with six rebounds and three steals.

The Cardinals (4-2) will travel to Estelline to face the Estelline/Hendricks Redhawks on Friday, January 7th.

A late fourth-quarter run by the Deuel Cardinals gave them a victory over the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals at the boys Entringer Classic in Brookings on Friday, December 31st.  Deuel took the win 68-56.

The two teams went back and forth the first quarter.  The two teams ended the quarter tied 16-16.  The second quarter played just like the first with the two teams trading leads.  St Mary held a two-point 29-27 lead at halftime.

St Mary held a 39-33 lead with about a minute to play in the third quarter, but Deuel ended the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 40-39 lead into the fourth quarter.  The two teams traded baskets again early in the fourth quarter.  St Mary took a 50-48 lead with 5:00 to play on a three-pointer by Dylan Mathis.  Deuel then went on a 9-0 run for a 57-50 lead with 3:00 to go.  They continued the big run outscoring St Mary 11-6 the rest of the game.

St Mary finished the game shooting 44% (19-43), 31% (4-13) from three-point area, and 54% (14-26) from the free-throw line.  Deuel out-rebounded St Mary 31-29 and forced 17 St Mary turnovers.

John Pica led St Mary with 17 points and eight rebounds.  CJ Smith had nine points and two assists.  Mathis also had nine points with one rebound and one assist.  Ty Brown added nine points and two rebounds.  Nic Gaspar had eight points, five rebounds, and two assists.

St Mary (3-2) will host Garretson on Tuesday, January 4th.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals survived a tough battle against the Chester Flyers at home on Tuesday, December 28th.  The Cardinals took the win 53-46 to improve to 3-1 on the season.

The first quarter featured a couple of spurts.  The Cardinals opened the game on a 7-0 run only to see the Flyers respond with an 14-1 run.  The Flyers ended the first quarter leading 16-14.  The Cardinals held Chester to just four points in the second quarter allowing them to have a 26-20 halftime lead.

After the Flyers got the first basket of the third quarter, St Mary went on another big run the rest of the quarter.  The Cardinals outscored Chester 15-6 for a 41-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.  The Flyers made a push to start the fourth quarter.  Chester closed the gap to 43-36, but back-to-back baskets by Ty Brown and John Pica extended the lead back to 47-36 with 3:15 to play in the game.  Chester, however, made one last comeback effort.  The Flyers got within four points, 48-44, but Brown and Pica put the game out of reach with two made free-throws each.

Pica finished with a game-high 18 points.  Brown added 10 points.  Dylan Mathis had nine points, and CJ Smith had eight points in the game.

The Cardinals (3-1) will play Deuel at the Entringer Classic in Brookings at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, December 31st.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team hosted the #1 De Smet Bulldogs in their first home game of the season on Monday, December 20th.  The Cardinals hung with the Bulldogs most of the game, but De Smet was able to pull away late with a 60-42 win.

Both teams got after each other the entire game in a good, hard-fought battle.  The first quarter was back-and-forth with the Cardinals holding a 14-13 lead at the end of it.  St Mary continued to lead by two points, 19-17, with 4:45 to play in the half.  De Smet, however, outscored the Cardinals 15-6 the rest of the way for a 32-25 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 39-28 with 5:10 to play in the third quarter.  St Mary cut the lead down to 39-33 with 4:00 left in the quarter, but that was as close as they could get in the second half.  De Smet went on a 7-2 run to end the third to lead 46-35 going into the fourth quarter.  The Bulldogs outscored St Mary 14-7 in the final quarter.

The Cardinals shot 31% (16-51) overall, just 19% (3-16) from three-point area, and 47% (7-15) from the free-throw line.  De Smet was 47% (22-47) shooting in the game, 29% (5-17) on three-pointers, and 69% (11-16) on free throws.  The Bulldogs also had a slight 31-28 rebounding advantage.

Dylan Mathis led the Cardinals in scoring with 16 points and also had six rebounds, two steals, and two assists.  John Pica and Nic Gaspar both had nine points and seven rebounds each.  CJ Smith finished with four points, three rebounds, and two assists.  Kalen Garry had 24 points, and Damon Wilkinson had 18 points for the Bulldogs.

St Mary (2-1) will host Chester on Tuesday, December 28th for their next game.

After having to grind out a win to open the season, the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals cruised to victory in the second game of the season on Friday, December 17th.  St Mary scored 22 unanswered points in the second quarter and seven more to start the second quarter for a 29-0 run on their way to a 64-28 win over the Colman-Egan Hawks.

Colman-Egan didn’t get their first basket of the night until the 4:10 mark of the second quarter.  The Cardinals led 38-7 at halftime.  The lead grew to 55-13 by the end of the third quarter.

St Mary shot 43% (25-58) from the field, 47% (7-15) from three-point area, and 54% (7-13) from the free-throw line.  The Hawks shot 29% (12-42) in the game, 0-9 on three-pointers, and 4-7 on free-throws.  The Cardinals forced 19 Colman-Egan turnovers, 12 of those on steals.  St Mary also out-rebounded Colman-Egan 44-19.

Four players finished in double figures.  Ty Brown had 14 points and four rebounds.  Nic Gaspar had 10 points, six rebounds, and four steals.  CJ Smith had 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists.  Dylan Mathis also had 10 points along with four rebounds, three steals, and three assists.  Aiden Geraets finished with seven points, and Gabe Lindeman had six points and six rebounds.

St Mary (2-0) will play De Smet on Monday, December 20th.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team had to grind out a win on Tuesday, December 14th.  After scoring 15 points in the opening quarter, St Mary went home with a 41-34 win over the Mitchell Christian Golden Eagles.

The Cardinals got out to an early 9-2 lead with 5:30 to go in the opening quarter.  The lead grew to 15-4 with 3:00 left in the quarter, and the Cardinals led 15-7 at the quarter break.  The Golden Eagles cut the lead to 15-12 with 5:00 left in the half.  St Mary outscored Mitchell Christian 8-2 the rest of the quarter for a 23-14 halftime lead.

The Golden Eagles again got within four points early in the third quarter.  St Mary led 23-19 with 5:15 to play in the third quarter and held Mitchell Christian to just one point the rest of the quarter.  The Cardinals led 27-20 heading into the final quarter.  St Mary then scored eight quick points for a 35-20 advantage with 6:30 left in the game.  The Golden Eagles tried to get a comeback going, but the Cardinals held them for a 41-34 victory.

St Mary shot 32% (15-47) from the field, but just 15% (3-20) from three-point area.  They were 8-12 from the free-throw line.  Mitchell Christian finished the game shooting 30% (11-37) from the field and 32% (6-19) from three-point area, but only 50% (6-12) from the free-throw line.

Three players finished in double figures for St Mary.  Dylan Mathis had 12 points four rebounds, three steals, and three assists.  CJ Smith also had 12 points along with one rebound and one steal.  John Pica had 10 points and five rebounds.  Nic Gaspar had four points and four steals.  Gabe Lindeman had three points and six rebounds.  Ty Brown finished with four rebounds and four assists.

The Cardinals (1-0) will be at Colman-Egan on Friday, December 17th for their next game.