The Lake Preston Divers out scored the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals 18-9 in the third quarter on their way to a 68-60 win on Friday, January 13th, at Dell Rapids St Mary High School.
The Cardinals held a seven point lead at the end of the first quarter at 21-14. The Divers cut into the deficit in the second quarter and pulled within two points at 33-31 by halftime. After the third quarter run by the Drivers, Lake Preston led 49-42 heading into the final quarter. The two teams combined for 37 total points in the final quarter with the Divers hanging on for the win.
St Mary finished the game shooting 23-61 (38%) from the field, 9-23 (39%) from three-point area, and 5-10 (50%) from the free-throw line. The Cardinals had a total of 29 rebounds and 13 assists.
St Mary had two players finish in double figures. Connor Libis had 23 points, and Luke Brown finished with 11 points. Zach Geraets added eight points, and Garret Frost ended with seven points in the game. Brown led the team in rebounds with seven. Geraets pulled down four rebounds. Libis also had six assists. Austin Welbig and Frost both had three assists.
The Cardinals (5-5) will be the #5 seed in the Dakota Valley Conference Tournament. Their first game will be against #4 Oldham-Ramona/Rutland at 6:00 p.m. in Colman. Their second game will be Friday, January 20th, in Colman, and the tournament finishes in Colman on Saturday, January 21st.