The Britton-Hecla boys basketball team had a couple of tough outings to wrap up regular season play but have the opportunity to start fresh when the Region 1B tournament begins next week.
Coach Troy Knecht’s crew dropped a 77-35 decision to Groton on Friday and fell to Hamlin 90-31 last week Tuesday to fall to 4-16 on the year. Based on rankings through Monday’s games the seventh-ranked Braves will travel to number two Aberdeen Christian (14-5) on Tuesday in regional quarterfinal play.
Other regional matchups, pending any ranking changes with the completion of regular season games this week, will have Langford Area (019) playing at Wilmot (514) on Monday in the play-in game and top-ranked Leola-Frederick (18-1) will host the LA-Wilmot winner on Tuesday.
The fifth and sixth seeds are still up in the air with Hitchcock-Tulare (7-12) and Northwestern (5-14) tied for the fifth slot. Those two clubs play each other on Friday. Number three Waverly-South Shore (13-6) will host the sixth seed and number four Warner (9-11) will host the fifth seed on Tuesday.
Semifinal games will be played on Friday, March 1, with the two winners advancing to the SoDak 16 round on Tuesday, March 5, that will determine the Class B state tournament field to compete in Aberdeen March 14-16.
Groton Area 77 Britton-Hecla 35
Groton Area led 21-10 after one quarter and padded that margin the rest of the way.
Ty Fagerland led the Braves with 12 points and Daniel Person added 10.
BRITTON-HECLA: Ty Fagerland 5 2-2 12, Daniel Person 4 2-4 10, Graham Fosness 1 0-0 2, Jaxon Zuehlke 3 0-0 7, Isaiah Jackson 0 0-2 0, Mitchell Burger 1 0-2 2, Jordyn McGregor 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 4-10 35.
GROTON AREA : Jacob Zak 4 0-1 9, Lane Tietz 9 4-5 25, Ryder Johnson 4 2-3 10, Keegan Tracy 8 0-0 19, Logan Ringgenberg 1 2-2 4, Colby Dunker 0 12 1, Gage Sippel 2 0-1 4, Holden Sippel 0 1-2 1, J.D. Schwan 1 0-0 2, Logan Warrington 1 0-0 2. Totals 30 10-16 77.
BH (4-16) 10 22 33 35 GA (13-4) 21 40 66 77
3-point goals – Zuehlke; Tietz 3, Tracy 3, Zak. Total fouls – BBH 12, GA 11.
Hamlin 90 Britton-Hecla 31
Hamlin sunk 19 threepointers on the way to a big win over Britton-Hecla.
The Chargers led 31-11 after one period and boosted that margin to 59-29 at halftime to overwhelm the Braves. Daniel Person had nine points to lead B-H scorers.
BRITTON-HECLA: Ty Fagerland 3 0-0 6, Dawson Treeby 1 0-0 3, Daniel Person 2 5-8 9, Jaxon Zuehlke 2 0-0 4, Mitch Burger 1 0-0 2, Graham Fosness 1 0-0 2, Chaz Vietor 2 0-0 5. Totals 12 5-8 31.
HAMLIN: Easton Neuendorf 4 11 11, Jackson Wadsworth 3 0-0 8, Zac VanMeeteren 2 0-0 4, Tyson Stevenson 8 4-4 25, Evan Stormo 4 0-0 9, Dawson Noem 3 0-1 9, Turner Stevenson 1 0-0 2, Boden Stevenson 1 0-0 2, Jameson Nebel 2 0-0 4, Aiden Abraham 3 0-0 8, Carter Jutting 1 0-0 3. Totals 33 5-6 90.
BH(4-15) 11292431 Hamlin (16-3) 31 59 75 90
3-point goals – Treeby, Vietor; Neuendorf 2, Wadsworth 2, Tyson Stevenson 5, Stormo 4, Noem 3,Abraham 2, Jutting. Total fouls – Britton-Hecla 7; Hamlin 4.
