Dell Rapids beats Winner in opening round of Class A tourney

SIOUX FALLS – Shut down Kyle Mathis and advance.

That was the plan Dell Rapids coach Mark Shriver had for Thursday’s game against Winner in the first round of the Class A state tournament.

The Quarriers (20-4) executed it perfectly, holding Mathis to a team-high five points in Winner’s 74-30 loss.

“They did a good job on Mathis and he wasn’t a factor,” said Winner coach Jim Drake, whose team is making its third straight state tournament appearance and will play Tri-Valley at 1 p.m. today in the consolation bracket. “But it didn’t matter that they did a good job guarding him. Scoring 30 points is bad, but giving up 74 is a lot worse.”

Dell Rapids, the tournament’s fourth seed, finished with five players in double-scoring figures, while Calhoon and Isaiah Old Lodge matched Mathis’ five points for Winner, which was the tournament’s fifth seed and was 12-of-57 from the field for 21 percent. Old Lodge also added 12 rebounds, six of which were offensive.

“We came out scared,” Calhoon said. “I think a lot of guys got down and didn’t fight back. We got scared of them and tucked our tails and ran.”

Dell Rapids held the lead throughout the entire game. The closest Winner got was at 10-7 when Mathis scored from inside. From there, the Quarriers outscored the Warriors by 20 before halftime for a 40-17 lead. The Warriors shot 23 percent from the field in the first half and didn’t have a player with more than one field goal.

Dell Rapids scored the first 11 points early in the second half and built its lead to 34 at the end of the third quarter. And after scoring five second-quarter points, Winner managed three in the fourth quarter.

The Quarriers finished with an 18-2 edge on points off turnovers. They shot 56 percent from the field and scored 36 points from inside the paint. They advance to play top-seeded St. Thomas More at 7 p.m. today for a state championship game berth.

“We expected a tougher game from Winner,” Shriver said. “But all the tape we saw on them said we had to shut down Mathis. We wanted to take him away and make someone else step up. Our defense did a good job with that.”

Dell Rapids was led by Weston Hansen’s 16 points. Michael Schmidt had 15 points, Channing Barber had 12, Cole Langer had 11 points and seven assists and Bryce Koch had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Before the state tournament, all four of Winner’s losses were within single digits. Today, the Warriors (19-5) will play Tri-Valley, which pushed top-seeded and No. 1-ranked St. Thomas More to double overtime in the first round.

“We’ll see the character of our team,” Drake said. “Hopefully we can learn from (Thursday), show some pride and have some character in the tournament.”

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