WEBSTER – Aberdeen Christian accomplished another goal Friday night and now finds itself in familiar territory.

The Knights are heading back to the SoDak 16 for the fourth straight season following an 85-49 Region 1B boys’ basketball win at the Webster Armory.

“This is one of the goals that we set out for at the start of the year, first practice,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. “We said we wanted to win the conference, get through our region, and here we are at the SoDak 16, one game away from state. It’s exciting and a testament to the hard work these kids have put in.”

The Knights will face fellow Lake Region Conference member Ipswich on Tuesday for the right to advance to the state tournament.

Christian set the tone early against Hitchcock-Tulare, racing out to a 12-4 lead, thanks in part to 3-point baskets from Jackson Isakson and Malek Wieker.

Rohrbach was pleased that his team came out with energy early in the game.

“I was really happy with how we came out locked in and focused,” Rohrbach said. “I thought we had energy from everybody from the get-go, and that’s what you need in postseason games.”

Christian pushed its lead to 18-6 before the Patriots answered with a pair of 3-point buckets by Riley Fliehe. Wieker ended the quarter with a pair of 3-point baskets to give himself 11 points in the quarter, while giving his team a 24-12 lead after one period.

The Knights continued to pull away, scoring the first 13 points of the second quarter to take a commanding 37-12 advantage. Christian then closed the half on a 12-2 surge for a 30-point lead at the break.

Hitchcock-Tulare coach John Nowell said his team knew what it was up against and commended the Knights for how they performed.

“That’s a real good team,” Nowell said. “They’ve been playing together for a lot of years. They’ve played in some big stages. They knew what to do, and they came out shooting. There’s not much that a team like us, who struggles sometimes to score, is gonna do to try to combat that. They’re just well coached and good players.”

Wieker, who finished with a game-high 28 points, including six 3-pointers, and 12 rebounds, was proud of how the team played together.

“We’ve got five guys that can score the ball, so I’m not really worried if my shot’s not going, because I know the other four guys will step up,” Wieker said.

Rohrbach was pleased with Wieker’s performance.

“He’s just a dead-eye, knockdown shooter. He sees a couple go in and he might hit six or seven,” Rohrbach said. “I really thought that we did a good job of just finding him in rhythm and that’s kind of why he also got started.”

Ethan Russell scored 17 points, while Joey Johnson added 10. Konnar Furman contributed eight, and  Isakson and Kaden Clark each added six.

Hitchcock-Tulare was led by Jackson Maynard with 11 points, while Carter Binger and Erik Salmen each had eight. Fliehe added seven.

The Patriots ended their season at 11-11. Nowell said the season was a success.

“We were wanting to be playing in March, and we are, and that’s what we did,” Nowell said. “We ran into probably the best team in the state, and it is what it is. It’s the first time we’ve been at .500 or above in a lot of years, so we’re building and we’re hopefully building in the right direction.”

Nowell also talked about what this year’s seniors have meant to the Patriots program.

“These seniors have been something special,” Nowell said. “T.J. (Salmen) started for three years, Carter missed two with knee injuries, but he’s always a fighter. The other five guys really have stepped up. They started the beginning of the year for us and came off the bench to end the season, and they never quit and just kept fighting.”

Aberdeen Christian will take a 20-2 record into Tuesday’s SoDak 16 contest.

Rohrbach noted that the team still has adjustments to make.

“I think we can continue to get better on defense and rebounding, especially on some of the longer boards,” Rohrbach said. “We’re always gonna be hounding on getting a butt into somebody on long rebounds. But honestly, I really thought that everybody was dialed in tonight and I was happy with everybody’s focus.”

HITCHCOCK-TULARE (11-11): Brendan Nowell 1 0-0 2, Carter Binger 3 2-4 8, Erik Salmen 3 2-2 8, T.J. Salmen 1 0-1 2, Jackson Maynard 4 0-0 11, Landon Puffer 2 0-1 4, Mason Bottum 1 0-0 2, Riley Fliehe 2 1-2 7, Cole Schroeder 0 1-2 1, Jacob Michlitsch 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 6-12 49.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (20-2): Andrew Brennan 1 2-2 5, Jackson Isakson 2 0-0 6, Ethan Russell 8 0-3 17, Malek Wieker 11 0-0 28, Kaden Clark 3 0-1 6, Abe Holscher 1 0-0 2, Josh Schaunaman 1 0-0 3, Konnar Furman 3 2-2 8, Joey Johnson 4 1-2 10. Totals 34 5-10 85.

Hitchcock-Tulare 12 19 36 49

Aberdeen Christian 24 49 67 85

3-point field goals – Maynard 3, Fliehe 2; Brennan, Isakson 2, Russell, Wieker 6, Schaunaman, Johnson. Total fouls – Hitchcock-Tulare 6, Aberdeen Christian 17. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian (Wieker 12). Turnovers – Aberdeen Christian 8. Assists – Aberdeen Christian 20 (Brennan 5). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 4 (Russell 2).