FREDERICK – Aberdeen Christian had the momentum heading into the fourth quarter before Leola-Frederick took over Thursday night.
The Titans outscored Christian 28-11 in the final period to erase a seven-point deficit en route to a 66-56 Lake Region Conference boys’ basketball win.
“It was a typical conference game where you had two schools who were really going at it,” Christian coach Aaron Moeller said. “The game was actually extremely entertaining to watch; it was an exciting game. It was pretty much back-and-forth all night long.”
Down 45-38 entering the fourth quarter, the Titans clawed their way back into the contest, cutting the deficit down to four before the momentum completely shifted to the home team.
Leola-Frederick proceeded to finish the game on a 21-7 run, allowing just two Christian baskets from the field. Brayden Sumption led the Titans’ scoring barrage with 11 points in the final quarter, while Noah Kippley added nine points to complete the comeback.
“Obviously, I’ve got to credit Leola-Frederick. They made plays at the end of the game and we didn’t,” Moeller said. “We just couldn’t close it out, so credit to them. They made some changes defensively, and we didn’t make the plays that we needed to down the stretch.”
The Knights began the game similarly to how they began Tuesday night’s game against Warner, putting themselves behind with an early deficit. Leola-Frederick scored the first eight points of the contest, with Kippley scoring all eight. However, just like Tuesday, Christian climbed back into the contest, trailing by one at the end of the opening quarter.
“I think when you’ve got young guys, there’s a lot of nerves at the beginning of the game, and I think as the season goes along, some of that will take care of itself,” Moeller said. “But youth certainly is showing up at the beginning of our games, so we’ve got to do better getting out of the gates.”
Christian took the lead early in the second quarter on a Becker Bosma 3-pointer and held the lead for much of the remainder of the half, as well as leading for much of the third quarter.
However, the final quarter belonged to the Titans, who rallied for the win. Moeller credited the Titans for making shots when they needed them the most.
“I know it sounds simplistic, but it’s just made and missed shots,” Moeller said. “They hit some big shots. We actually had some great wide-open looks and just didn’t capitalize.”
Kippley led Leola-Frederick with 27 points, while Sumption had 21 points and led with four 3-pointers. For Aberdeen Christian, Joey Johnson led with 19 points, while Bosma had 16.
The Titans (3-0) travel to Waubay-Summit on Saturday, while the Knights (0-2) will play Sisseton in the Cavalier Classic on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at Roncalli Gym.
Moeller said the team will look to rebound and pick up its first win in Saturday’s contest.
“I told the guys it’s about getting better every game, and I felt like we did play better. I felt like we improved from Warner to tonight,” Moeller said. “We’ve got to kind of shake off this loss and get ready for Sisseton, because if we don’t come mentally prepared, Sisseton will give us trouble, and so we’ve got to be ready for that.”
ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (0-2): Ellis Russell 1 2-2 4, Becker Bosma 6 2-2 16, Konnor Furman 3 1-2 7, Joey Johnson 7 3-6 19, Luke Kaiser 3 1-2 8, Jett Johnson 0 2-2 2. Totals 20 11-16 56.
LEOLA-FREDERICK (3-0): Brayden Sumption 7 3-4 21, Gavin Nickelson 4 0-0 8, Noah Kippley 11 3-5 27, Milo Sumption 2 0-0 4, Connor Spitzer 1 1-2 4, Westyn Thorpe 1 0-0 2, Ethan Petrich 0 0-6 0. Totals 26 7-17 66.
Aberdeen Christian 12 29 45 56
Leola-Frederick 13 27 38 66
3-point field goals – Bosma (2), Joey Johnson (2), Luke Kaiser; B. Sumption (4), Kippley (2), Spitzer. Total fouls – Aberdeen Christian 16; Leola-Frederick 19.
