STURGIS, SD – The Sturgis Scooper basketball teams hosted the Douglas Patriots at West Gym on Tuesday night with the season winding down. The Scooper girls are out of contention for a SoDak 16 playoff spot but put together four good quarters of basketball and got their fifth win of the season over the Douglas Patriots, 56-33.
The Patriots were without their junior point guard Keana Walton, who scored 18 against Sturgis on Feb. 3 at Whitehead Auditorium in Box Elder.
The teams traded buckets throughout the first and ended the quarter tied at 10 apiece.
The Scooper defense cranked up the intensity and held the Patriots to just four points in the second quarter, all free throws, and led Douglas at halftime, 26-14.
Sturgis outscored Douglas 30-19 in the second half and cruised to a 56-33 victory.
Kaylee Whatley led Sturgis (5-15) with 15 points and nine rebounds. Reece Ludwick was eight for 12 from the charity stripe and added 12 points and five boards for the Scoopers. Savannah Gray had 10 points for Douglas (3-15).
The Scooper boys kept their post season hopes alive with a 52-34 victory over Douglas in the nightcap. Both teams struggled to score points in the first half as Sturgis led 12-10 after one and 19-14 at the half. The Scooper defense focused on bottling up the Patriots two top scorers, Dylan Schelske and Connor Sauvage, who combined for only five first half points.
“We got off to a slow start,” said Scooper head coach Derris Buus. “We knew it was going to be a tough battle. The boys really guarded well tonight, they really made (Connor) Sauvage and (Dylan) Schelske work for everything they got.”
Scooper point guard Gavin Lightenberg was back after missing time due to an ankle injury against Hot Springs and his presence gave Sturgis another offensive and defensive weapon.
“It helps us because (with him) there are so many other things we can do,” said Buus. “Gavin does a nice job handling things for us at the point and defensively he does a nice job as well.”
Dysen Peterson, who hit the winning three pointer against Red Cloud, had a quiet first half but heated up early in the third with two three’s and eight points in the quarter to give the Scoopers a 33-21 lead headed into the fourth. Douglas was forced to overplay defensively in the fourth quarter and put the Scoopers on the free throw line 17 times, with Sturgis making 13 charity tosses to put the Patriots away by a final score of 52-34.
Peterson had 10 points for Sturgis (6-13), with Jake Vliem and Gavin Lightenberg chipping in nine apiece. Sawyer Brose led Douglas (4-14) with 11 points with Sauvage adding seven.
The victory puts the Scooper boys one step closer to a berth in the SoDak 16 playoffs. The win moves Sturgis into the #16 spot, just ahead of Rapid City Central. The Cobblers have two remaining home games against Sioux Falls Lincoln and Sioux Falls Washington this weekend. The Scooper boys and girls wrap up their regular seasons on Saturday afternoon as they host the Yankton Bucks and Gazelles at West Gym. Girls tip off is scheduled for 1pm.
