PHD Playoff Central: Tuesday
PHD Playoff Central (SD). When it comes to the most games being played this is the biggest night of the year for playoffs in South Dakota. In all 44 games will be played and the seasons for 36 teams will be over. It’s March 1 meaning it’s officially March Madness in South Dakota.
The Big Stage. It’s a huge night of playoff action across the state with all of the Class AA teams in semi-final action and the top games have to be Aberdeen Central against Pierre in 3AAA and Watertown versus Roosevelt in 1AA. All the winners play in District title games on Friday while the losers of tonight’s games will fight for their lives in the Regional Qualifier.
Last night first round action of region play too play in half of Class A and tonight the other half gets going. There will be a lot of eyes on Region 4A play with Lennox and Beresford competing in the 4/5 game (Logan Busch and Jacob Hinker going at it) and Tea Area facing Elk-Point Jefferson in the 3/6 contest. Parkston High School hosts a playoff double header of West Central/Bon Homme and Parkston/Wagner.
Class B has semi-finals in 14 of the 16 (13 and 14 are the districts that don’t play their semi-finals until Thursday). With so many games being played tonight half of Class B will be done for the season. The James Valley Christian versus Sanborn Central/Woonsocket game will have many eyes on it. They are both top ten level teams and JVC won the first meeting 71-65.
Name to Watch. Nate Davis. Often this spot goes to an ex-factor but tonight it’s about the guard that may have the best combination of skill and physical athletic ability of any in state. Watertown was at one point number one and now they are hoping to get to the district title game. With double-double machine Tristan Teichmeier Roosevelt has a real chance to win this as they won the previous meeting 52-44. It’s up to Davis to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Upset City. There were a few 5s beating 4s last night although many of those contests were expected to be close. Northwestern got only their second win of the season last night and they beat Leola/Frederick who they lost to by seven a couple months back.
Hat Tip to the Career. Majok Kur. In our two seasons of covering basketball in South Dakota we have seen and heard a lot about Majok. Whenever people talk about Majok they quickly speak to his kindness, character, and personality. We think he could have a great future on the court with his massive numbers but the biggest thing Majok has going is his personality.