HURON, SD – The Sturgis Scooper boys basketball battled back from a 12 point fourth quarter deficit but couldn’t get any closer than six points, as the Huron Tigers held on to beat Sturgis, 68-58 in a SoDak 16 playoff matchup at Huron Arena Saturday night.
The Scoopers came in as the #12 seed to take on the fifth seeded Tigers, who beat Sturgis earlier in the season, 60-54.
The first quarter was evenly matched with Huron taking a 13-11 lead, using their size advantage to control the paint. Tiger guard Trace Wenz dropped in 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half to give the home team a 35-25 advantage at intermission.
Both teams traded buckets throughout the third quarter and the Scoopers cut into the Huron lead and trailed 46-38 headed into the fourth.
The Tigers extended their lead to 50-38 early in the fourth before Sturgis got within six points, 60-54 with just over a minute left on baskets by Ty Petrocco and Carter Williams. The Scoopers were forced to foul, and the Tigers put the game away, making 12 of 18 free throws in the final quarter, securing the 68-58 victory.
Huron (15-6) was led by Davis Chase with 20 points. Blake Ellwein and Wenz chipped in 13 apiece. The Tigers shot 39% from the field (18 of 46), and 70% from the stripe (28 of 40). Huron committed 11 turnovers and grabbed 27 rebounds.
Sturgis finished their season with nine wins and 12 losses. The Scoopers shot 50% from the field (21 of 42), 72% from the free throw line (13 of 18), made 13 turnovers and snared 22 boards. Ryan Heinert scored 17 points for Sturgis. Teigen Wormstadt and Williams added eight points each.
”The word that comes to mind when I look back on this season and on this group is thankful,” said Scooper head coach Dan Skinner. “I am super proud of this group and what they accomplished in their basketball careers. They are a fantastic group of kids that will go on and continue to be successful in whatever it is they decide to pursue. They’re resilient, they’re tough, and they have a lot of heart. They cared about each other and loved playing the game with each other and that made it a lot of fun to coach and to be around.”
The Scooper team graduates 10 seniors: Ty Petrocco, Ty Ferguson, Teigen Wormstadt, Ryan Heinert, Noah Schaefers, Davin Ostby, Carter Williams, Dalyn Dschaak, Dylan Vetter and Max Vliem.
“This senior class will always hold a special place in my heart,” added Skinner. “My first ever year of coaching I had them playing on the C team and then when I took over (as head coach) they were the guys ready to play varsity. It’s been a fun ride and I can’t thank those seniors enough for everything they’ve done for our program, school, and community.”
Huron advances to the Class AA state tournament March 20-22 in Rapid City and take on Mitchell in the first round.
