Mobridge-Pollock scored 11 straight points during a fourth-quarter surge that carried the Tigers to a 69-58 non-conference boys’ basketball victory over Aberdeen Roncalli Tuesday night at Roncalli Gym.
The Tigers led much of the game until the Cavaliers clawed their way into contention late in the third quarter and into the lead in the fourth. That advantage grew to six points at 60-54 midway through the final stanza.
That’s when back-to-back 3-pointers from Mobridge-Pollock’s Jackson Eisemann sparked a run that sealed each team’s fate – victory for the Tigers and a gut-wrenching loss for the host Cavaliers.
“The guys played hard to the end. We were down close to 10 early and battled back to take a (six)-point lead,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “It seemed a couple times we were trying to get that knock-out punch and build the lead and all of a sudden, those shots didn’t fall. … But you can’t fault the effort, start to finish.”
Eisemann, a junior, hit the first of those 3-pointers from the wing, then slid down to the corner for one on the next possession. All told, he had seven points and an assist during Mobridge-Pollock’s 11-0 run.
“After you hit one, we all just feed off of it all the time,” Eisemann said. “Shane (Henderson) had a big 2-pointer at the end, a big layup. Then I had a 3-pointer, and another one in the corner. Had a nice pass to Kellan (Pfitzer) and he made that layup. … We just kept feeding off of each other.”
Mobridge-Pollock then made just enough free throws down the stretch to fend off the Cavaliers.
Tiger coach Thomas Knudson said his team instinctively knew where to get the ball during that late run.
“The kids understand from situations in practice when a guy makes a shot, we all know to get him another one,” Knudson said. “We didn’t necessarily scheme anything or tell anyone this or that, they just know to make extra passes and we keep things as simple as we can.”
The win capped a physical back-and-forth affair that saw teams shoot a combined 56 free throws in the game. The Tigers made 19 such trips to the line in the fourth quarter alone.
“We didn’t talk about the score at all,” Knudson said. “We were talking about quit fouling in the third quarter, because we got too many fouls and put ourselves in a bad situation. Luckily since I yelled at them so much in the third quarter, we had very few fouls in the fourth quarter, so it was the other way around.”
Eisemann, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, said claiming a road win was big for his team despite the physical nature of the game.
“It’s always a rivalry between us and Roncalli,” he said. “It’s always hard to win here. We just kept playing hard and didn’t let it get to our heads.”
Roncalli was led by Maddox Miller’s 24 points. Miller was instrumental in the late-stages spurt that put the Cavaliers in the lead. Aiden Fisher finished with 13 points and Keegan Stewart had 11.
“Our guys are resilient,” Gallagher said. “They’ve been through some tough games before. They were able to keep their composure and battle.”
Roncalli is home to face Dell Rapids Saturday as part of the Cavalier Classic. Mobridge-Pollock will also play Saturday, opening its home slate against Herreid-Selby Area.
“We’re excited to get back home and see what kind of effort we can have on Saturday night,” Knudson said.
MOBRIDGE-POLLOCK (2-0): Kale Knudson 4 2-2 11, Jackson Eismann 3 8-13 16, Simon Fried 2 0-1 4, Shane Henderson 4 5-13 14, Kellan Pfitzer 3 3-4 11, Unique White Twin 4 0-0 10, Easton Eismann 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 18-33 69.
ABERDEEN RONCALLI (1-1): Maddox Miller 7 7-12 24, Caden Shelton 1 0-0 2, Keegan Stewart 4 0-0 11, Aiden Fisher 4 5-7 13, Parker Grieben 1 2-4 4, Landon Zikmund 1 0-0 2, Bryson Olson 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 14-23 58.
Mobridge-Pollock 16 31 45 69
Aberdeen Roncalli 15 28 44 58
3-point field goals – Knudson, J. Eismann (2), Henderson, Pfitzer (2), White Twin (2), E. Eismann; Miller (3), Stewart (3). Fouled out – Shelton, Stewart. Fouls – Mobridge-Pollock 22; Aberdeen Roncalli 25.
