Titan boys defeat SF Washington; prep for SoDak 16 match-up
The Tea Area High School boys’ basketball team closed out their regular season with a hard-fought 54-49 victory over Sioux Falls Washington on Tuesday, February 25. With the win, the Titans head into the SoDak 16 on Saturday, March 8, in Spearfish, to begin their postseason journey.
“This was a superb way for us to close out the regular season. We had a great performance on the defensive end and we had some guys step up to make some big shots offensively. We did a good job of executing down the stretch so that the final result was never out of our grasp,” said Titan head coach Drew Weber. “We’ve had a great season, going 9-5 against the South Dakota Class AA teams, a record that not many people predicted before the season. Now we have the opportunity to prove that we belong with the top teams in the class and make the State Tournament.”
Against Sioux Falls Washington, Tea Area’s offense was led by Grifin Wiebenga, who contributed ten points while grabbing five rebounds, dishing out one assist, and securing three steals. Jaxson Merrigan also added nine points, pulling down eight rebounds and collecting one assist and three steals.
Marshall Smythe scored sixth points while leading the team on the boards with ten rebounds, along with four assists and three steals. Gavin Shawd provided six points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Rounding out the scoring were Mitch Grant with seven points, seven rebounds, and two assists, and Kayden Williamson who added two points and one steal. Rylan Norris also chipped in with two points.
The Titans’ defense proved pivotal in the win, holding Sioux Falls Washington to just seven points in the third quarter. Their aggressive play led to ten team steals and limited their opponents’ opportunities in the paint.
With the regular season behind them, the Tea Area boys will turn their focus to the SoDak 16 match-up on Saturday, March 8, in Spearfish. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 2 p.m. MT. The winner will advance to the State AA Tournament to be held March 20-22 in Rapid City.
Complete SoDak 16 match-ups for Class AA boys basketball are as follows (all games will be played Saturday, March 8):
No. 16 Yankton (5-15) at No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln (19-1)
No. 9 Tea Area (10-10) at No. 8 Spearfish (13-7)
No. 13 Rapid City Central (8-12) at No. 4 Mitchell (17-3)
No. 12 Sturgis (9-11) at No. 5 Huron (14-6), 6 p.m.
No. 15 Pierre (6-14) at No. 2 Brandon Valley (17-3)
No. 10 Sioux Falls Jefferson (9-10) at No. 7 Sioux Falls Washington (12-8)
No. 14 Rapid City Stevens (7-13) at No. 3 Harrisburg (17-3)
No. 11 Sioux Falls Roosevelt (9-11) at No. 6 Sioux Falls O’Gorman (12-8)