South Dakota Playoff Central – Class B Upsets Highlight Tuesday
It’s been a week of Class A and Class B playoff basketball games and while most went according to seeds, some did not. It’s the Madness of March!
The Big Stage. Region 4B. The big stage was and still is Region 4 in Class B. This is a region with three teams ranked in the Class B top ten, and now it’s a region with one ranked team in Class B. Tuesday night Hanson knocked off Chester Area 54-37. Six-foot-4 sophomore Noah Price was the playmaker totaling 17 points and five assists while senior Reggie Slaba gave his team six scores and five assists. Hanson was the lone high seed team to win in 4b.
Upset City! Dell Rapids-St Mary is no longer in the playoffs. Howard is no longer in the playoffs. No ranked team in the state lost a game on Tuesday, save the two teams in the lower half of Region 4B. Moving on are Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (13-9) and Colman-Egan (10-11), winners on Tuesday night. Six-foot-4 senior forward Noah Dickson put together an MVP type performance controlling Howard with his double-double of 32 points and 13 rebounds. SCW won the second half 30-18 knocking out the 7th ranked team in the state.
How does a team with a losing record knock off a ranked team favorited to win the game? Grab 43 of the available 62 rebounds in a game. That’s how the score became 67-49. Six-foot-5 senior Dalton Voelker grabbed 21 of those 62 rebounds plus he scored another 21 points controlling the paint, and the game.
Right on Schedule. It was a very balanced team effort when Tea Area knocked off Elk Point Jefferson on Tuesday evening. Sophomore Cael Lundin once again proved that he is a young, do everything standout as he created constant shots for his teammates with nine assists plus he scored four times himself in the win. Junior Garrett Kolbeck had 12 points and seven boards plus 6-foot-6 junior big Caden Ellingson went for a dozen as well.
Tip of the Hat to the Career. Kayden Verley the bucket getter. Canton lost to Vermillion on Tuesday ending the career of one of the state’s top scorers. Verley will play football at South Dakota but as a high school basketball player Verley produced 30 point games like it was the norm the past couple seasons. Enjoy football at USD, South Dakota has enjoyed you on the court!