Class A Championship Night Recaps
No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian 77 vs. No. 3 Sioux Valley 60
A night after seeing both their state title dreams fall apart, Sioux Valley and Sioux Falls Christian played for third place.
The Chargers started the first quarter on fire, scoring 21 points in the first quarter. Sioux Valley just could not get one to go down in the first quarter or the second quarter for that matter.
Both teams struggled in the second quarter as each team only made two or three field goals. At the half, Sioux Falls Christian led 31-17. Both teams put up a lot of shots in that first half. The Cossacks were 7-of-35 for 20 percent, while the Chargers shot 12-of-34 for 35 percent. Sioux Valley was only 1-0f-11 from deep compared to Sioux Falls Christian’s 5-of-21.
Lincoln Unruh collided early in the first half with Trevor Hanson on a screen and didn’t appear back on the court until 1:17 left in the game for the Chargers. In the last meeting between these two, he was the one that started the second half comeback at the Pentagon. Unruh knocked down 11 of 15 shots from the field, including 8 of 10 from three to cap off the Charger comeback. They didn’t seem to be hurting to bad from losing him as they led by as many as 17 in the first half and 23 in the second half.
Just like last night Sioux Valley mounted a comeback, but this time they weren’t able to get it under single digits losing 77-60.
Sioux Falls ended the season 24-1 and placed third at state. They were led by Will Garnaas with 16, Mitchell Goodbary contributed 15 points and 12 boards. Four of the five starters scored in double-digits for the Chargers.
Sioux Valley ended the season 21-4 and placed fourth at state. They were led by Trevor Hanson with 23 points, 10 boards, Max Nielson chipped in 13 as well.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
Sioux Falls Christian | 21 | 10 | 28 | 18 | 77 |
Sioux Valley | 8 | 9 | 19 | 24 | 60 |
Team Stats
Sioux Falls Christian: 30-64 FG (46%), 8-34 3P (23%), 9-16 FT (56%), 10 offensive boards, 28 defensive boards (38 total), 15 assists, 10 turnovers, 3 blocks, 9 steals.
Sioux Valley: 22-64 FG (34%), 9-25 3P (36%), 7-9 FT (77%), 15 offensive boards, 27 defensive boards (42 total), 17 assists, 16 turnovers, 1 block, 6 steals.
No. 2 Madison 72 vs. No. 5 Tea Area 59
This is what everybody has been waiting for. Class A State Championship. Madison vs. Tea Area. A rematch of last year’s title game.
Just like last night Tea Area got off to a hot start leading 16-7 after one thanks in part to a hot start from Noah Friedel. He had six after one quarter and 12 at the half. But the second half was a different story, Madison claimed their first lead at 21-20 thanks to a Jadon Janke three-pointer. The Bulldogs outscored the Titans 19-8 in the second quarter and took a 26-24 lead into halftime.
In the second half things never really got going for the Titans as they shot 26 percent (8-30) for deep and 38 percent from the field.
The big differences between last night and tonight for Tea was the supporting cast. Last night four starters scored in double digits, but outside of Noah Friedel’s 25 and Justin Hohn’s 18. Nobody else scored more than five points.
Madison had a sizable height advantage and they used it to their advantage outrebounding the Titans 40 to 24, They also outshot Tea from deep 46% to 26%.
Tea was down by four going into the final quarter but had a couple empty trips and Madison opened up a 57-50 lead with just under five minutes to play. They would increase the lead to 14 points with just under two to play and would end up winning 72-59.
For Tea, they finish 19-5 and placed second. Noah Friedel led the team with 25, Justin Hohn also had 18.
For Madison, they win the title for the first time since they repeated in 2013 & 2014. They finish the year 24-1. Jadon Janke had 23 and his brother Jaxon finished with 22. Three starters scored in double-digits for the Bulldogs.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
Tea Area | 16 | 8 | 18 | 17 | 59 |
Madison | 7 | 19 | 20 | 26 | 72 |
Team Stats
Madison: 24-47 FG (51%), 6-13 3P (46%), 18-30 FT (60%), 10 offensive boards, 30 defensive boards (40 total), 10 assists, 14 turnovers, 4 steals
Tea Area: 22-57 FG (38%), 8-30 3P (26%), 7-10 FT (70%), 6 offensive boards, 18 defensive boards (24 total), 12 assists, 12 turnovers, 7 blocks, 13 steals.