Elkton-Lake Benton vs. Dell Rapids St. Mary Takeaways
One day removed from Friday’s snowstorm that postponed the Dakota Valley Conference Tournament as well as several others games across the state, the Elkton-Lake Benton Elks defeated the Dell Rapids St. Mary Cardinals, 76-69 to advance to the championship game.…
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Continue ReadingOne day removed from Friday’s snowstorm that postponed the Dakota Valley Conference Tournament as well as several others games across the state, the Elkton-Lake Benton Elks defeated the Dell Rapids St. Mary Cardinals, 76-69 to advance to the championship game.
The first quarter saw several runs from both squads. St. Mary started the game with an 11-2 run only to be matched by a 7-0 run by the Elks to make it 11-9. The Cardinals then ended the quarter on an 11-3 run to put the Cardinals up 22-12 at the end of one.
St. Mary then took charge early in the second quarter pushing the lead to 15 points, 33-18, before yet another run (19-6) was matched by the Elks to put the game at 39-37 Cardinals at the half.
After back and forth buckets in the third the Elks led 56-51 at the end of three. Connor Libis struggled for much of the game and his struggles continued in the second half as he fouled out with 6:41 remaining in the fourth with only eight points. The Cardinals fought back from losing their best player and a nine-point deficit to bring it to 71-69 with just over a minute to go but the Elks put the game away at the free throw line for the win.
TURNING POINT: The turning point for the Elks was their hot shooting performance. They kept on matching every big run St. Mary had throughout the game. Libis fouled out after picking up a foul and then a technical to exit the game at the 6:41 mark.
KEY PLAY: The Elks fittingly put the game away on the free throw line after knocking them down all game compared to the Cardinals struggling from the line.
KEY STAT: Libis struggled from the field throughout the game. He finished with eight points compared to his 28 average on the season.
TEAM LEADERS:
Elkton-Lake Benton was led by Matthew Nibbe with 16 points and Aiden Erickson with 15 points.
Dell Rapids St. Mary was led by Max Herber with 26 points and 10 rebounds and Weston Geraets with 14 points.
BOTTOM LINE:
The Elks showed they never gave up no matter what the score was or the fact they started the game cold. The Cardinals should come away thinking their best player fouled out with 6:41 left in the game with only eight points. They still came back and had the deficit down to 71-69 before forced to foul at the end of the game.
UP NEXT:
Dell Rapids St. Mary faces Colman-Egan on Monday, Jan. 21 beginning at 6:00 in Arlington for third place.
Elkton-Lake Benton plays Arlington at 7:30 right after the third-place game finishes for the championship.