Hoop City Classic roundup for Dec. 28: Ethan boys' strong showing earns win over MCM

MITCHELL — Ethan had a strong showing at the Hoop City Classic with a 52-42 boys basketball win over McCook Central/Montrose Thursday afternoon at the Corn Palace.

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PHOTOS: Day 1 action of the Hoop City Classic

The Corn Palace will play host to all 30 games of the event over three days from Dec. 28-30.

Dec 28, 2023

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By  Adam Thury

After a hectic first half which saw the Rustlers go on a 19-2 first quarter run and the Fighting Cougars take a 19-5 second quarter run, Ethan seized control of the game in the second half.

The Rustlers went on an 18-9 in the third quarter to lead 42-30, withstood a late MCM push and salted the game at the line to remain undefeated.

Adam Thury / Mitchell Republic

Rylan Gerlach paced Ethan with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting and four rebounds, and Drake Gustafson had 11 points and seven rebounds. Braedon Nebelsick added eight points and eight rebounds, and Taite Klumb had eight points and nine rebounds.

Both teams dominated the defensive glass, allowing just four offensive rebounds apiece, but Ethan held the overall rebounding edge 37-24. The Rustlers shot 46.5 percent from the field, and held MCM to 27.5 percent shooting.

Mason Sabers led the Fighting Cougars with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting, and Owen Alley added 11 points and four rebounds.

Ethan (6-0) visits Scotland at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29, and MCM (1-4) takes on Centerville at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29 at the Parkston Classic.

Campbell County outscored Elk Point-Jefferson 28-9 in the fourth quarter to pull away at the Hoop City Classic on Thursday morning in a boys basketball game.

For the Camels, Lane Hladky had 19 points, with 10 points for Nate Williams. The Camels made 11 3-pointers as a team and shot 44.3% as a team.

EPJ was led by Evan Fornia, who was 10-for-15 on field goals for a game-high 23 points for the Huskies and Reed Sayler had 11 points.

Campbell County (4-3) will continue its classic slate against Waconia (Minn.) at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 29, then Rapid City Christian at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 30 in the Corn Palace. EPJ (1-4) will host Irene-Wakonda on Saturday, Dec. 30 in Elk Point.

Behind 51 combined points from Julius Thedford and Emerson Tenner, Cordova outpaced Wauwatosa West in the first battle of out-of-state heavyweights in the Hoop City Classic Thursday afternoon at the Corn Palace.

Thedford, a Missouri State commit, notched 27 points on 10 of 20 shooting, and Tenner, a Drake commit, scored 24 points on 8 of 15 shooting, and the Wolfpack began the first of its two games on Thursday on the right note.

Jacob Nielson / Mitchell Republic

After Wauwatosa West leapt to a 10-point lead after the first quarter, the Cordova offense settled in, outscoring the Trojans 24-11 in the second quarter. Leading 65-60 entering the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack leaned on key buckets from Tenner and Erin Hardick to pull away.

For Wauwatosa West, Jalen Brown had 23 points on 7 of 13 shooting, Jake Hansen had 19 points on 7 of 15 shooting, while Kai Rogers added 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Cordova (13-0) continues its Hoop City Classic slate against Hamlin at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29 and Totino-Grace at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 30 in the Corn Palace. Wauwatosa West (8-3) will play Totino-Grace at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29 in Mitchell.

Alec Squires’ double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds was enough for Sioux Valley to overpower Thunder Basin (Wyo.) 56-50 in the two teams’ Hoop City Classic contest Thursday afternoon.

The Cossacks used a 21-14 third quarter to help them take the lead from the Bolts and never look back, although the Bolts were able to tie the game 50-50 with around 90 seconds remaining for the game. Sioux Valley shot 53.7% from the field for the game compared to Thunder Basin shooting 34.7%.

Squires finished the game shooting 10-of-11 from the field and had four blocks. Maxwell Engebretson had 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting with three assists and three steals. Hudsyn Ruesink collected 11 points, three rebounds, and a pair of assists for the Cossacks.

For Thunder Basin, Gibby Williams was the Bolts’ leading scorer, finishing with 18 points on the strength of five 3-pointers. Josh Klaassen also picked up a double-double, scoring 17 points and collecting 10 boards, with five coming on the offensive end.

Sioux Valley (4-0) will visit Dell Rapids St. Mary at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30. Thunder Basin (3-5) will take on Mitchell at 9:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29 and Brandon Valley at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30 at the Corn Palace.

Boosted by Nick Hanson’s 28 points and 10 rebounds, Viborg-Hurley cruised to a 66-44 win over Corsica-Stickney Thursday evening. Despite only going 2-of-12 from the 3-point line, the Cougars as a team shot 54.7% from the field.

Hanson was 13-of-20 shooting while adding a pair of assists and a steal. Nolan Kolthoff and Brady Schroedermeier each finished the game with 10 points for the Cougars. Bryson Morrison had a team-high seven assists, finishing with eight points.

Carter Wright was the lone player for Corsica-Stickney to score double-digit points, finishing with 17 points, shooting 6-of-14 from the field. Tyson Wentland had seven points and a team-best eight rebounds for the Jaguars.

Viborg-Hurley (4-1) hosts Hanson at 7:45 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4, and Corsica-Stickney (1-3) will visit Canistota at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29.

Adam Thury / Mitchell Republic

Leading 36-32 nearing the end of the third quarter, White River outscored Bridgewater-Emery 22-10 the rest of the way to earn a double-digit victory Thursday night at the Corn Palace.

Pacing the Tigers was Nicolas Marshall, who tallied 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and shot 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Mackenzi Wike added 14 points, and Ray Crow had 13 points. As a team, White River shot 42.2% from the field.

The Tigers’ defense was successful in slowing the Huskies’ offense, holding B-E to 37.8% shooting and forcing 15 turnovers. The Huskies, who trailed 26-16 at halftime, battled to claw back into the game, but were unable to hit their stride offensively.

A trio of Bridgewater-Emery players tabbed double digits, with Ben Weber scoring 13 points, Macklen Weber scoring 12 points and Camdyn Stoterau going for 11. Ben Weber added eight rebounds.

Both sides will continue Hoop City Classic action, with White River (5-1) facing Lower Brule at 5:00 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29, and Bridgewater-Emery (2-3) playing Potter County at 5:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30.

Adam Thury / Mitchell Republic

A low-scoring affair between two area schools tilted in Howard’s direction in the ninth game of the Hoop City Classic Thursday night at the Corn Palace.

With the Tigers leading 33-30 with two minutes remaining, Taiden Hover buried a 3-pointer to take a two possession lead, and the bucket proved to be the game winner.

Offense was hard to come by for either side, with Howard shooting 31.4 percent from the field, and Gregory shooting 20.3 percent. Proving the difference, though, was the Tigers’ ability to hit outside shots — they were 6-of-20 from 3-point range — while the Gorillas were just 2-of-13 from distance. Howard was also 14-of-18 from the free throw line, opposed to an 0-of-4 effort from Gregory.

Kolt Koepsell finished as Howard’s leading scorer with 12 points on 2-of-6 shooting with seven made free throws and 13 rebounds. Logan Mentele added nine points on three made 3-pointers, and Colby Claussen had eight points.

Noah Bearshield led the Gorillas with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting, Daniel Mitchell had 10 rebounds and Cruz Klundt had six points and four assists.

Gregory (3-2) visits Andes Central/Dakota Christian at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan 2, and Howard (4-1) plays James Valley Christian at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30 at the Huron Holiday Classic.

Jacob Nielson / Mitchell Republic

Harrisburg's opportunity for an impressive win over a Tennessee power was whisked away by the sweet touch of Emerson Tenner in the tenth game of the Hoop City Classic Thursday night at the Corn Palace.

With the Tigers leading 55-54, Tenner split through traffic and hoisted up the game-winning floater with seven seconds to play. Jacoby Mehrman nearly won it for Harrisburg at the buzzer on the other end, but his mid-range jumper clanked off the rim as the horn sounded, and Cordova kept its undefeated record intact.

Mehrman led all scorers with 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with less than a minute to go. Camden Phipps added 12 points for Harrisburg, and Braeden VanBockern had seven points.

Leading the Wolfpack was Tenner, with 20 points, and Jaylon Tyler, with 19 points.

Cordova, which played Wauwatosa West earlier in the day, led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but Harrisburg crept back into the game, tying it at 44 near the end of the third quarter, and setting up the dramatic finish.

Harrisburg (4-1) will return to the Corn Palace to play Mitchell at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 2.

Ethan outscored Thunder Basin 33-4 in the middle quarters and raced to a convincing win at the Hoop City Classic in girls basketball action on Thursday morning.

The Rustlers had the hot hand throughout the game, shooting 54.5 percent from beyond the arc and burying 12 3-pointers.

Ava Lingemann paced Ethan with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting, Marissa Storm scored 17 points and Ella Pollreisz added seven points.

The Rustlers held Thunder Basin to 17.5 percent shooting and forced 13 turnovers. The Bolts were led by Reece McGrath and Brianna Ketchum, who had four points apiece.

Ethan (5-1) will host Avon at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 4. Thunder Basin (5-3) rounds out its three-game trip with a doubleheader Friday, Dec. 29, when it faces Aberdeen Central at 11 a.m and Mitchell at 3:30 p.m.

A 19-2 margin in the third quarter solidified Campbell County’s lead in the opening game of the Hoop City Classic on Thursday morning for a girls basketball victory at the Corn Palace.

For Campbell County, Lauren Kuhbacher had 11 points, with 10 from Onna Castellanos and nine from Cami Curtis. The Camels had 15 steals, led by five from Hadlee Tullis and Campbell County outscored the Cougars 43-12 over the middle two quarters of the contest.

Viborg-Hurley was led by Charley Nelson’s nine points, with six points from Tatum Lyons. The Cougars finished shooting 28.6% from the field, including 1-for-12 overall in the second half, and committed 22 turnovers.

Campbell County (5-3) will play Rapid City Christian at 8 a.m. Friday, Dec. 29, then Mitchell at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30 in the Corn Palace. Viborg-Hurley (3-3) will play Wessington Springs on Friday, Dec. 29 at the Parkston Classic.