South Dakota State Tournament: Class B Preview
Warner (23-0) vs De Smet (17-6). Warner, the lone unbeaten team in the state, is led by 6-foot-10 bug Michael Rogers and fellow seniors Ethan Westby and Derek Jark who combine with junior backcourt members Ryder Fuhrman, Tyler Rozell, and…
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Continue ReadingWarner (23-0) vs De Smet (17-6).
Warner, the lone unbeaten team in the state, is led by 6-foot-10 bug Michael Rogers and fellow seniors Ethan Westby and Derek Jark who combine with junior backcourt members Ryder Fuhrman, Tyler Rozell, and Micah Hoellein to balance out the Monarch line-up. The group is as potent as they come in this state and haven’t played what would be called a “close game” since mid January against Tea. They have won their three playoff games by a combined 87 points.
De Smet has the worse record of any of the state tournament teams therefore they received the eight seed meaning they have to deal with Warner first. The Bulldogs lost five straight games in the middle of the year after starting 8-1. De Smet has since won nine in a row and is coming in on a hot streak. The Bulldogs crushed Debrook and Castlewood followed by an impressive six point win over Wolsey-Wessington. Senior coring guard Broderick Poppinga teams with senior Matt Larson to make an excellent backcourt but they will need a lot more out of their frontcourt to beat Warner. Six-foot-4 Jayden Janssen is their best option vs Rogers.
Prediction: Warner 58 De Smet 45
Potter County (20-3) vs White River (19-4).
The Battlers lost three of their first six games of the year and it was against ranked teams (Warner, Langford, Wolsey-Wessington) they fell but the frustrating part was they lost by a combined 46 points. Since then Potter County hasn’t lost again winning 17 straight including wins over four ranked teams. They doubled up Highmore-Harrold 74-35 in the region final. Junior Tanner Storer, freshman Dawson Simon, and senior Tim Heien are all key pieces but 6-foot-9 Rease Logan is a senior in the middle and the guy that the state wants to see take on Michael Rogers again.
For that to happen Potter County has to get by White River who danced through districts and the regions winning by 48, 21, and 17 points respectively. Nick Young is one of the harder working and intelligent bigs in the state. The senior will work around Logan or battle him from behind plus make Logan work on the other end. The biggest asset White River has is the scoring of Justice Morrison who can put up big numbers quickly. Gunner Piper, Lucas Iron Heart, and Dru Espinzona are others to watch.
Prediction: White River 51 Potter County 48
Harding County (22-1) vs Irene-Wakonda (19-4).
Rancher senior guard Clayton Koch, junior center Mason Teigen, senior PG guard Riley Jensen, and senior Garrett Boylan lead a group that has lost once and has beaten Hettinger-Scranton, LLM, Faith, and a few others but outside of around Christmas time hasn’t played anybody like Gabe King and Irene-Wakonda. Harding County had trouble with 10-10 Timber Lake in the Regional before winning by six.
Northern State bound Gabe King has put up 21 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals a game while his brother Trey King and sophomore Tate Gale combined for 30 a contest supporting their veteran leader. The Eagles have won 19 games but the best teams they’ve beat this year are from Nebraska and they’ve lost games to all the top instate opponents they’ve played. Beating Menno and Alcester-Hudson is a nice accomplishment heading into state but they need a win over Harding Country to truly put them on the map as contenders.
Prediction: Irene-Wakonda 58 Harding County 50
Chester Area (20-3) vs Corsica-Stickney (21-3).
The teams played in January and Chester won 60-44 as their defense limited the Jags inside and out. Chester Area is the bigger team and won the rebounding battle 37-29. Six-foot-7 Levi DeVries and junior classmate Austin Eppard controlled the paint while junior Devin Eppard handled things in the backcourt . Junior Jesse Kreutzfeldt and senior Jacob Schoeberl round out a balanced line-up that has won 14 straight games. The Flyers have an impressive list of victories including De Smet, Elkton-Lake Benton, Sioux Valley, Canistota, and others.
The Jags are a young team and the last time they played Chester Area they weren’t able to consistently execute offensively. This is a junior/sophomore dominated club that also includes a solid senior in Eli Van Roekel. Junior forward Kyle Menning, junior forward Clayton Menning, and junior guard Hunter Johnson have won ten in a row beating Bridgewater-Emery, Hanson, as well as Colome in the final.
Prediction: Chester Area 62 Corsica-Stickney 53