South Dakota Playoff Central – Feb 27
The lower seeds of Class B take center stage this evening plus western Class A schools also get the playoffs started this evening. We put things together in Playoff Central!
South Dakota Playoff Central. The Class AA playoffs hit full stride tomorrow but Harrisburg earned a huge win for themselves on Saturday beating Yankton 58-54. Harrisburg used the balance of three players in double figures to counter the 28 points from fantastic 8th grade talent Matthew Mors. Chase Altenburg scored 15, Brady Van Holland had 14, and Justis Clayton scored 12.
As far as Class A goes, Regions 1-6 start play tomorrow night while Regions 7 and 8 play this evening. There are three games each in Region 7 and Region 8 tonight.
The Class B teams will run the gauntlet the next two nights. They must first survive the pigtail game tonight and then play on the road at the higher seed tomorrow night. There are 19 games total this evening with lower seeded teams battling it out for survival. And for the right to play the top seeds tomorrow (a few of the western districts get a couple days rest before a Thursday playoff contest).
Game of the Night. Red Cloud vs Winner. Red Cloud is 11-8, Winner is 11-9. The teams have not played one another yet this year but Winner comes into the game winners of three in a row. Red Cloud was 10-3 and things were going great before losing five straight against a difficult schedule stretch.
Names to Watch. Drew DeMers. The 5-foot-11 guard is scoring 17.5 points per game for Winner along with dishing out nearly five assists a game. He’s been a playmaker all year and needs to be a big play maker this evening.
Double-double gathering machine Scott Raftner leads his Philip High School squad into a 3/6 game with Edgermont. Bet on Scott to get his regular 18 points and 12 boards and then have a seat to rest up for Rapid City Christian on Thursday.
Sophomore scorer Aiden Bizardie and his 18.3 points and four assists a game takes his playmaking ability for Todd County into a game with St. Francis Indiana this evening. More on that below.
Upset City!. St. Francis Indiana is the favorite this evening as a three seed but Todd County will not be afraid of the Warriors at all. The last time they played the game went into double overtime. St. Francis has won six in a row coming in and has beat some really good teams so they are playing well. That said, Todd County comes in with confidence that they can compete.