Fast start fuels Harrisburg victory over Golden Eagles

HARRISBURG – Aberdeen Central struggled to find a rhythm Friday night, eventually falling 66-33 to Harrisburg in an Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ basketball contest in Harrisburg.

The host Tigers opened up a sizeable 24-9 lead in the opening quarter, and the Golden Eagles were unable to mount a serious challenge.

“They jumped on us early and we never got into any consistent offensive rhythm,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “Their athleticism took us out of everything we wanted to do.”

Spencer Barr had 10 points to lead the Golden Eagles in the scoring column. Jett Carlson chipped in six points on a pair of three-pointers.

Harrisburg did most of its damage via the shooting efforts of Ethan Determan, who had five three-pointers on his way to a game-best 23 points. Braeden VanBockern added 13 points for the Tigers, who also outrebounded the Golden Eagles by a 38-20 margin.

Central will play two of its next three games at home, hosting Mitchell on Tuesday before heading to Huron on Friday.

Aberdeen Central 9 16 28 33

Harrisburg 24 38 52 66

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (3-8): Carter Dingman 1 1-2 3, Karson Carda 2 0-0 4, Jett Carlson 2 0-0 6, Parker Lemer 1 0-0 3, Spencer Barr 4 0-0 10, Grant Fritz 2 0-0 5, Charlie Phillips 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 1-2 33.

HARRISBURG (8-6): Ethan Determan 9 0-0 23, Ian Jordan 1 0-0 3, Parker Stansbury 0 2-2 2, Braxton Kusler 1 1-1 3, Braeden VanBockern 6 0-0 13, Maddox Plack 2 0-0 4, Maxwell Knutson 2 0-0 4, Jacoby Mehrman 3 1-2 7, Camden Phipps 2 3-4 7. Totals 26 6-8 66.