Chamberlain loses to Clark/Willow Lake 50-42

SIOUX FALLS — Chamberlain basketball team led at half but eventually fell to Clark/Willow Lake 50-42 on Friday at the Class A state tournament at Sioux Falls Arena.

Clark/Willow Lake got a boost in the second half from its leading scorer, Skyler Flatten.

Flatten averages 23.8 points per game and was held to just three in the first half.

The junior caught fire in the second half, shooting 7-of-11 from the field in the final 16 minutes, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point line to finish with a game-high 27 points.

“Skyler Flatten was awesome in the second half,” Chamberlain head coach Allan Bertram said. “In the second half, he put on a show and outscored our entire team. I don’t think it was anything with our defense. He just stepped up and made shots.”

Flatten said that once he hit his first 3-pointer in the second half, he felt he had the confidence to keep shooting.

Clark/Willow Lake head coach Jerome Nesheim was impressed with the performance of his star player and the will of his team after a tough 52-50 loss to Dakota Valley on Thursday night.

“These consolation games are tough,” he said. “They’re about who wants it more, and today we showed that we wanted it a little more.”

Chamberlain had the edge at half with a 21-19 lead, but the Cyclones were able to grab the lead late in the third quarter and never looked back.

“We didn’t make as good of adjustments as we should have,” Bertram said.

The Cyclones led 37-35 at the start of the fourth quarter, but a 10-1 run to start the final frame put the Cubs out of reach.

“Fatigue, I think, started to set in,” Bertram said. “Not to make excuses, but we’re not very deep and we knew that coming in.”

The Cyclones would lead by as many as 12 in the game. The Cubs shot 16-of-44 from the field for 36 per-cent and 8-of-12 from the line in the game. Gage Basting led the team with 11 points and nine rebounds.

Chamberlain won the battle of the boards, finishing with 25 rebounds while Clark/Willow Lake had 24. The Cubs turned the ball over 12 times.

Clark/Willow Lake shot 17-of-31 from the floor for 55 percent and 11-of-19 from the free-throw line for 46 percent. Sam Lindgren was the only Cyclones player besides Flatten to record double-digit points, finishing with 10.

The Cyclones (17-7) turned the ball over 13 times and takes on Tri-Valley for fifth place at 1:45 p.m. to-day. Chamberlain (20-5) takes on Winner for seventh place at noon today at Sioux Falls Arena.

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