Harrisburg shoots past Golden Eagles

Jacque Niles
jniles@aberdeennews.com

Harrisburg doubled up Aberdeen Central just about every way they could Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers boys basketball team came into Golden Eagles Arena receiving votes in the latest prep media poll and walked out with a 70-48 win over Central.

Harrisburg had 10 3-pointers to Central’s five, nearly twice as many total made field goals and half as many turnovers — all adding up to a recipe for a long night for the host Golden Eagles.

Central, like it did Friday night against top-rated Sioux Falls Lincoln, stayed close early, but ended up settling for a perimeter game, where Harrisburg had the upper hand. The Tigers, led by Nick Hoyt’s five 3-pointers, worked themselves into open shots and took advantage. Central never quite got the uncontested looks on the other end despite taking 21 total long-range shots.

“We weren’t able to get the ball in (the post) when we should,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “They were physical and we didn’t handle that very well. We didn’t pass it in when he was available and then we settled for a long three when we didn’t need to. That hurt us.”

The Golden Eagles, also for the second straight day, struggled to maintain possession of the ball at key moments, turning the ball over 16 total times in the game.

“We had seven at half and that’s not a horrible number for us this year, but we can’t do nine in the second half,” Norberg said. “We have to try and get it under 10. We can’t overcome those mistakes right now when we’re not scoring. But defensively is the issue. We can’t give up 70 points two games in a row and expect to win.”

Central did have a couple bright spots, particularly off the bench. Alex Harms, who missed Friday night’s contest, came in for a team-best 12 points, hitting 7 of 8 free throws.

Junior Dawson Pfister also came off the bench in the second half, hitting a pair of big 3-pointers that helped stop a big Harrisburg run.

“He worked really hard when we needed to throw him in there (Friday) night,” Norberg said. “He played well. We were struggling, so we put him in there in the third quarter. Probably should have played him earlier, but both he and Alex had nice games.”

Hoyt finished with 21 points to lead Harrisburg, while Brayden Phipps came off the bench for 10.

Andrew Bergan tallied 11 points for the Golden Eagles while Reece Burckhard had eight points and four blocked shots.

Central will host Pierre Tuesday.

Harrisburg 70 Aberdeen Central 48

ESD at Golden Eagles Arena

Harrisburg 18 9 26 17 — 70

Aberdeen Central 10 9 17 12 — 48

HARRISBURG: Blair Slaughter 4 1-2 9, Nick Hoyt 7 2-2 21, Cale Murphy 1 0-0 3, Adam Erickson 2 0-0 6, Isaac Brower 3 0-0 6, Payton Marquardt 0 2-2 2, Nick Feldman 1 0-0 3, Sam Christensen 1 0-0 3, Andrew Walter 1 0-0 2, Payton Metzger 1 0-0 2, Conner Geddes 1 1-2 3, Brayden Phipps 4 2-3 10. Totals 26-56 8-11 70.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL: Seth Martens 1 1-2 3, Andrew Bergan 3 3-4 11, Reece Burckhard 4 0-0 8, Trey Harms 1 1-1 3, Dawson Pfister 2 0-0 6, Luke Jacobs 1 0-0 2, Alex Harms 2 7-8 12, Ben LaPointe 0 3-4 3. Totals 14-46 15-19 48.

3-pt FG — HAR 10-21 (Hoyt 5, Murphy, Erickson 2, Feldman, Christiansen); AC 5-21 (Bergan 2, Pfister 2, Harms). Fouls — HAR 16; AC 14. Fouled out — None. Rebounds — HAR 29 (Brower 5); AC 35 (Martens 6, Harms 6). Assists — HAR 4; AC 6 (Jordan Schnaidt 3). Turnovers — HAR 7; AC 16. Blocks — HAR 2 (Slaughter 2); AC 5 (Burckhard 4). Steals — HAR 8 (Hoyt 2, Metzger 2); AC 3.

Aberdeen Central’s Ben LaPointe, center, goes after a rebound between Harrisburg’s Sam Christensen, left and Brayden Phipps, right, during the first half of Saturday’s game at the Golden Eagles Arena. In the foreground for the Tigers is Blair Slaughter (1). American News photo by John Davis taken 2/16/2019
Aberdeen Central’s Colton Hansen, center, moves to the basket as Harrisburg’s Blair Slaughter, left, defends during the first half of Saturday’s game at Golden Eagles Arena. Looking on are the Tigers’ Brayden Phipps (33), Conner Geddes (23) and the Golden Eagles’ Alex Harms (24). American News photo by John Davis