Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

This night belonged to Ashaun Roach-Valandra.  Prior to tip-off against the Howard Tigers, Roach-Valandra was recognized as this year’s Sacred Hoops Kernit Grimshaw Athlete of Character award winner.  In front of a packed gym and family sitting front row, Roach-Valandra had night folks won’t soon forget.

The match-up between the St Mary Cardinals and Howard Tigers on Thursday, February 11th had plenty of hype.  Both teams are atop Region 4B and are two of the top teams in Class B boys basketball.  The game lived up to the hype.

The two teams ended the first quarter tied 12-12.  Howard gained a slight advantage in the second quarter and led 31-25 by halftime.  Both Roach-Valandra and Sam Aslesen of Howard were in double figures at that point in the game.

St Mary opened the second half on an 11-2 run for a 36-33 lead with 4:40 to play in the third quarter.  Howard responded with a quick 4-0 run to go back in front 37-36.  Then St Mary turned the game in their favor.  The Cardinals went on an 8-0 run for a 44-37 lead.  The lead grew to 50-41 by the end of the third quarter.  Howard tried to rally throughout the fourth quarter, but every time the Tigers got within three or four points, the Cardinals had an answer and eventually hung on for a 66-61 victory.

The Cardinals finished the game shooting 45% (25-56) from the field, 39% (7-18) from three-point area, and 50% (9-18) from the free-throw line, but the night was Roach-Valandra’s.

Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

Roach-Valandra finished with 39 points and seven rebounds.  Sam Palmer added nine points, five assists, four steals, and three rebounds.  Connor Libis had eight points, seven rebounds, and six assists.  John Pica finished with five points and four rebounds.  Aslesen finished with 31 points for Howard.

St Mary (14-3) will play Canistota at the DWU Classic in Mitchell on Saturday, February 13th.  Tip-off is 6:00 p.m. and the game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys won their eighth straight game after a 79-41 victory over the Arlington Cardinals in Arlington on Monday, February 8th.

Arlington held a six-point lead in the first two minutes of the game, but that lead was short lived.  St Mary ended the first quarter leading 23-13 and continued to add to the lead at the end of each quarter.  The lead grew to 39-24 by halftime.  St Mary put the game out of reach in the third quarter.  They outscored Arlington 26-11 for a 65-35 lead after three quarters of play.

St Mary shot 54% (30-56) from the field, 45% (9-20) from three-point area, and 91% (10-11) from the free-throw line.  St Mary out-rebounded Arlington 37-28 and forced 17 Arlington turnovers while only committing eight themselves.

Three players had double-figures for St Mary.  Connor Libis had 24 points, four steals, two rebounds, and two assists.  Sam Palmer finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and four steals.  Ty Brown had 11 points and two rebounds.  Max Herber added eight points and five rebounds, and Ashaun Roach-Valandra had six points and four rebounds.

St Mary (13-3) will have a big Region 4B match-up with the Howard Tigers at home on Thursday, February 11th.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

Photo taken and used with permission by Tammy Chamley

For the second game in a row the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys used a second quarter rally to spark a win.  The Cardinals went on a 15-0 run to start the second quarter against Lake Preston Divers to help them to a 79-56 win on Thursday, February 4th.

The game was fairly even for the other three quarters of the game.  St Mary had a slim two-point lead after the first quarter at 15-13.  The Cardinals, after their 15-0 run to start the second quarter, pushed the lead to 30-13.  The first half ended with St Mary leading 39-21.

The Cardinals were able to extend their lead to 25 points in the third quarter at 52-27.  The Divers went on a 10-0 run of their own and cut the lead to 52-37.  St Mary entered the fourth quarter leading 56-38.  The Cardinals maintained their lead and outscored Lake Preston 23-18 in the final quarter. 

St Mary shot 42% (29-69) from the field, 32% (10-31) from three-point area, and 65% (11-17) from the free-throw line.  Lake Preston was 32% (19-60) from the field, 6% (1-18) from three-point area, and 71% (17-24) from the free-throw line.  The Cardinals out-rebounded the Divers 39-33 and forced 18 turnovers.

Four players finished in double figures for the Cardinals.  Connor Libis had 25 points, five assists, four rebounds, and two steals.  Ashaun Roach-Valandra had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists.  John Pica had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Sam Palmer finished with 12 points, five steals, four blocks, three assists, and two rebounds.

The Cardinals (12-3) will travel to Arlington on Monday, February 8th for their next game.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals used a 16-0 run in the second quarter to fuel a 64-51 win over the Garretson Blue Dragons in Garretson on Monday, February 1st.  The win extended the current winning streak to six games for the Cardinals.

The Cardinals and Blue Dragons played even for three quarters of the game.  The opening quarter was back-and-forth and ended in a 13-13 tie.  Garretson had a one point lead at 16-15 with seven minutes to go in the second quarter, but St Mary then went on a 16-0 run and ended the first half leading 31-18.

That run in the second quarter proved to be the difference in the game.  Garretson cut the lead to single digits in the third quarter as St Mary led 50-41 heading into the fourth quarter.  The Cardinals were able to keep the lead and extend it back to double digits in the fourth quarter.

St Mary shot 39% (22-57) from the field, 23% (6-26) from three-point area, and 74% (14-19) from the free-throw line.  The Cardinals out-rebounded the Blue Dragons 43-28.

Ashaun Roach-Valandra finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and four steals.  Connor Libis had 13 points and five rebounds.  Max Herber added 13 points and nine rebounds.  Sam Palmer also had double figures with 12 points, six rebounds, four blocks, and three assists.

The Cardinal (11-3) will host Lake Preston on Thursday, February 4th.  The varsity game will tip-off about 6:00 p.m. and can be seen on Big Sioux Media.

It wasn’t easy for the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals, but they found a way to win with timely shots over the Deubrook Area Dolphins on Tuesday, January 26th.

Much of the game was played within just a few points of each other as the two teams traded shot for shot.  The Cardinals were able to get a one point lead by the end of the first quarter, 14-13.  St Mary added to that lead, but by only two points, and led 35-32 at halftime.

The Cardinals seemed to be getting on a roll offensively in the first half of the third quarter.  They went on an 11-3 run to lead 46-35 with 4:15 to play in the quarter.  The Dolphins responded with an 11-5 run the rest of the quarter to cut the lead to 51-46.  Deubrook climbed their way to a single-possession deficit at 57-54 with 3:00 to play.  The lead was just four points for St Mary, 62-58, with 1:00 on the clock, and the Cardinals were able to make a couple of free throws and get a game-sealing steal and layup to win 66-58.

St Mary was 40% (19-47) from the field, 45% (9-20) from three-point area, and 68% (19-28) from the free-throw line.  The Dolphins were 47% (24-51) from the field, just 19% (3-16) from three-point area, and 50% (7-14) from the free-throw line.  Deubrook held the rebounding advantage at 31-22.

Connor Libis finished with 35 poitns, four rebounds, three steals, and two assists.  John Pica had nine points and five rebounds.  Sam Palmer also had nine points along with three rebounds and two blocks.  Max Herber added seven points and five rebounds, while Ashaun Roach-Valandra had six points and four rebounds.

The Cardinals (10-3) will be in Garretson on Monday, February 1st.

The Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinal boys basketball team defended their Dakota Valley Conference tournament title and won for the second straight year after a 54-49 win over the Elkton-Lake Benton Elks in Elkton on Saturday, January 23rd.  This will be the final Dakota Valley Conference tournament.

The Cardinals grabbed an early lead in the first quarter and were able to hang on throughout the game.  St Mary scored the first seven points of the game and held a 17-9 lead after the first quarter.  The lead grew to 21-9 with 6:45 to play in the first half, but the Elks finished the quarter with a 14-6 advantage to cut the lead to 27-23 at halftime.

The Elks were able to tie the game at 33-33 with 4:08 to play, and then took a two point lead into the fourth quarter, 39-37.  St Mary went on an 8-3 run in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter for a 45-42 lead.  The game remained close throughout the rest of the game.  With 1:45 to play, the Cardinals held a 51-49 lead before scoring the final three points to secure the win.

Connor Libis had 24 points, three rebounds, and three assists.  Ashaun Roach-Valandra had 11 points and seven rebounds.  Max Herber added seven points along with 11 rebounds.

St Mary (9-3) will play Deubrook Area in White on Tuesday, January 26th.  The game can be seen on Big Sioux Media.