Five Up/Five Down
Heading into the New Year PHD goes into detail about five of the teams playing at a higher level right now as well as five that are struggling and need to get things back on track. Up Pierre TF Riggs.…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingHeading into the New Year PHD goes into detail about five of the teams playing at a higher level right now as well as five that are struggling and need to get things back on track.
Up
Pierre TF Riggs. They have played five games this season and are 4-1 even though three of those games went into overtime and one of them was a one score win over Yankton. After beating Watertown in double overtime last week and holding on against Yankton, Pierre is contender for the top spot even though they are the only team that Harrisburg has beaten (what’s that say about the parity in Class AA right now!). In the win over Yankton Erin Severyn scored 13, Brad Dean had 14, and Brevin Kaiser 14. Dean had 16 in the win in overtime against Watertown including 13 in the second half and extra sessions.
SF Christian. The Class A preseason number one has stepped up to the challenge more than anybody. They beat Lennox, West Central, Elk-Point Jefferson, and over the weekend took out Class AA power Washington by a score. They started 4-0 and next up is O’Gorman tomorrow. If they win that the sky is the limit. The Chargers received a huge performance from Lincoln Unruh in the four quarter scoring 14 plus Keegan Van Egdom had 14 and Chad Barkema did some of everything including the game winning block. They out-scored Washington 21-10 in the final quarter.
Stanley County. In case you didn’t know, Stanley County is undefeated after five games and looking for more. No the competition hasn’t been as tough as some others (combined 5-16 record) but none of the games have been close. Stanley County is winning by an average of 27 points a night. Against Kadoka the Buffalos scored the game’s first 12 points and Damon Hoftiezer led with 23 points.
Beresford. If Beresford can defeat West Sioux out of Iowa tomorrow they will match last year’s win total. With three wins in five games including a recent win over Irene-Wakonda (Nice chance for Beresford’s Logan Busch to play against Minnesota Heat spring/summer teammate Gabe King) things are looking up for the program. Losses to Dakota Valley and Madison were tough but this program is taking steps. They also beat Wagner. Busch had 27 points in the win over Irene-Wakonda.
Rosholt. The Class B team that needs to be talked about more often. They have only played three games (won all three) but have eight more games in the next 18 days and they are the favorite to win all of them. Rosholt is a team to start to start taking seriously.
Down
Brookings. Yes the schedule has been tough and the schedule has been minimal. They have played three games and those games were against Pierre, Watertown, and Huron. Not exactly sure why they only played three games in December and now have seven games in 15 days starting tomorrow at home against Harrisburg, but that is their slate in front of them. No wins yet, but many chances coming up quick.
West Central. The schedule that Noah Vettrus and crew put in front of them was daunting. They are 1-5 and the five teams that beat them have a combined record this year of 19-3. Best of the best material. And West Central has been close. After three ugly games to start the year they beat Wagner and then fell to Dakota Valley but three scores and to Belle Fourche by a basket. The tough part is things don’t get easier with Tea, Vermillion, and Madison as the next three games.
Elk Point Jefferson. The record is 3-4 so not horrible but the losses are getting ugly. Sisseton beat them by 14, SF Christian by 42, and Madison by 26. Second to last in a very difficult Region is not what they had in mind coming into the year but that is the current reality. Lennox and Beresford are within reach if they can pull things together soon.
Ethan. They had a nice schedule start the year with Hanson, JVC, Wynot from Nebraska, and Wosley-Wessington and the result is 1-3 with two double figure losses that were not competitive at times. They play Avon in the Corn Palace tomorrow and need a win. A year ago the Rustlers won 14 games so Coach Tim Hawkins has some work to do to turn things around.
Philip. A 1-5 start to the season that has included heart breaking losses to Wall and Kadoka and some ugly losses to Stanley County and Rapid City Christian. Last year this was a 17-5 team so the change to 1-5, even though a lot of talent graduated, has been tough on them.