Tea South Dakota — A Western Christian three at the buzzer failed to drop and Tea Area survived to win a 54-52 boys contest on their home floor.
The Titans led at all the breaks but were never in full control of the contest. Tea Area was up 19-12 at the end of the first quarter. A Dawson Feenstra basket as time expired in the first half cut the lead to 29-26. A Jacob Vis three-pointer to start the second half pulled the Wolfpack even at 29-29 and the game went back and forth the rest of the way. A the end of three quarter Tea Area was up 45-41 and the teams traded baskets into the fourth quarter as well with the final 54-52 in favor of the Titans.
Noah Freidel scored a game high 25. Freidel is one of two division 1 sign-ees on the Titans roster. He was the only Titan in double figures. Western was led by Jacob Vis with a 20 point night. Carter Broek hit for 16 with Dawson Feenstra adding 11 points for the Wolfpack.
Coach Derek Keizer had these comments: ” Really proud of our guys tonight. Having a shot to win it at the buzzer on the #1 team in South Dakota, on their home floor is everything we could’ve asked for.
With the win Tea Area, the top ranked team in South Dakota’s Class 1A, moves to 16-1 on the season. The Wolfpack close out the regular season at 12-7. Up next for Western will be the tournament opener on Thursday the 14th. They will open at home with a 7:00 pm Class 2A District 16 semifinal contest. The Wolfpack draw the winner of Saturday nights game between Hinton and Rock Valley. That is a site change and time change from the original brackets.
