- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 392,201
- Reaction score
- 43
Mar. 22—RAPID CITY — More energy and more defense.
Brandon Valley brought that to the table on Friday night in the Class AA state boys basketball semifinals and overwhelmed Harrisburg 46-31 at the Summit Arena for a second-straight berth in the championship game.
It was a flip of what happened a month ago, when Harrisburg won 52-39 on the Lynx' home floor. Brandon Valley (20-3) will face No. 4-seeded Mitchell at 8:45 p.m. Central in the state championship game.
"We just didn't have very good energy the first time we played them," Brandon Valley coach Craig Nelson said. "We didn't have very good offensive flow either but those regular-season games are so different compared to what you see (in the state tournament), where teams don't shoot it as well and the games are a little more clunky. We just forced them into really tough shots and controlled the glass really well."
For the second game in a row, Landon Dulaney led the Lynx in scoring and threatened a triple-double. He had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Mayen finished with 10 points. Nelson called Dulaney, who is committed to play college football at South Dakota State, "the best competitor I've ever coached."
"We just need him to score a little more than he did last year but it's the same Landon Dulaney," Nelson said. "What makes him great is his consistency to play hard all the time to be one of the best players in the state at three different sports."
Out of halftime, BV dialed up a 7-0 run in short order for a 13-0 lead and then closed the period with a 6-0 run, capped by a Mach Mayen 3-pointer to go up 38-22, and Harrisburg was never able to meaningfully threaten for the lead from there.
Harrisburg never managed to get much of an offensive rhythm going in the game. In the all-important third quarter, the Tigers started 2-for-10 from the field and by the time Harrisburg hit another shot, they were down 16 points. Overall, Harrisburg was 1-for-10 on 3-pointers and 4-for-13 on free throws in the loss.
"The guys were buying into certain coverages and how we guard it and where we force the ball," Nelson said. "It's little intricate details that you probably don't notice when you're watching as a fan ... and they executed well."
Dulaney said the one-point loss to Mitchell from the 2024 championship has motivated every practice and gym session for the last year.
"It was our goal to get here from last year," he said. "You just have to give it your all and leave it on the court. ... Every shot, every free throw, it reminds you of last year, last year's championship."
The Lynx won a 42-36 game over Mitchell on Feb. 25 in Brandon, and a similar, low-scoring game is expected again on Saturday night.
"It will be defensive. It will be a defense- and a rebounding-type of game," Nelson said. "It will be taking care of the ball, getting back on defense, not letting teams get runs."
Continue reading...
Brandon Valley brought that to the table on Friday night in the Class AA state boys basketball semifinals and overwhelmed Harrisburg 46-31 at the Summit Arena for a second-straight berth in the championship game.
It was a flip of what happened a month ago, when Harrisburg won 52-39 on the Lynx' home floor. Brandon Valley (20-3) will face No. 4-seeded Mitchell at 8:45 p.m. Central in the state championship game.
"We just didn't have very good energy the first time we played them," Brandon Valley coach Craig Nelson said. "We didn't have very good offensive flow either but those regular-season games are so different compared to what you see (in the state tournament), where teams don't shoot it as well and the games are a little more clunky. We just forced them into really tough shots and controlled the glass really well."
For the second game in a row, Landon Dulaney led the Lynx in scoring and threatened a triple-double. He had 14 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Mayen finished with 10 points. Nelson called Dulaney, who is committed to play college football at South Dakota State, "the best competitor I've ever coached."
"We just need him to score a little more than he did last year but it's the same Landon Dulaney," Nelson said. "What makes him great is his consistency to play hard all the time to be one of the best players in the state at three different sports."
Out of halftime, BV dialed up a 7-0 run in short order for a 13-0 lead and then closed the period with a 6-0 run, capped by a Mach Mayen 3-pointer to go up 38-22, and Harrisburg was never able to meaningfully threaten for the lead from there.
Harrisburg never managed to get much of an offensive rhythm going in the game. In the all-important third quarter, the Tigers started 2-for-10 from the field and by the time Harrisburg hit another shot, they were down 16 points. Overall, Harrisburg was 1-for-10 on 3-pointers and 4-for-13 on free throws in the loss.
"The guys were buying into certain coverages and how we guard it and where we force the ball," Nelson said. "It's little intricate details that you probably don't notice when you're watching as a fan ... and they executed well."
Dulaney said the one-point loss to Mitchell from the 2024 championship has motivated every practice and gym session for the last year.
"It was our goal to get here from last year," he said. "You just have to give it your all and leave it on the court. ... Every shot, every free throw, it reminds you of last year, last year's championship."
The Lynx won a 42-36 game over Mitchell on Feb. 25 in Brandon, and a similar, low-scoring game is expected again on Saturday night.
"It will be defensive. It will be a defense- and a rebounding-type of game," Nelson said. "It will be taking care of the ball, getting back on defense, not letting teams get runs."
Continue reading...
