STURGIS, SD – The St. Thomas More boys led by just seven points at the half, 29-22, but used a stiff man-to-man defense to hold the Sturgis Scoopers to just six points in the second half on their way to a 58-28 win on Tuesday night.
It looked like the Cavaliers would run away with the game early as they sprinted out to a 12-3 lead early in the first quarter, but the Scoopers fought back to close the gap. STM led by seven at the halftime break.
“In the first half I thought we did a really good job of playing within ourselves, not trying to do too much,” said Scooper head coach Derris Buus. “We played a fundamentally sound half and made the best out of our possessions.”
The Cavaliers came out after the intermission and clamped down on the Scoopers defensively, forcing turnovers and only allowing five shot attempts by Sturgis in the third. The Scoopers were outscored 14-0 in the third quarter.
“If there’s a guy in the passing lane, you probably shouldn’t throw the ball there,” said Buus about the turnovers in the second half. “We have to learn to trust each other, we have to play basketball. We run certain plays but you still have to be able to create and react to what is going on.”
St. Thomas More brought their reserves in and held the Scoopers to just six fourth quarter points. The Cavs put up 15 in the fourth to defeat the Scoops, 58-28.
“Our kids are trying, they’re working hard, but I didn’t like the way we finished this game,” Buus said. “I was really pleased with our effort in the first half, we were engaged, but we seemed to lose that in the second half. We need to get that back to get on the horse for Thursday (at Douglas).”
Dysen Peterson led Sturgis (2-12) with nine points and seven rebounds. Cade Kandolin and Ian Clewley both scored 17 for STM (13-1).
The Scooper boys and girls are in action next on Thursday at Box Elder as they battle the Douglas Patriots. The girls tip-off is scheduled for 6:30pm.
