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Castlewood takes third place with win over White River

Castlewood’s Lane Tvedt, right, tries to drive to the basket around White River’s Mackenzie Wike, left, during Saturday’s third place game at the South Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 3/16/2024

Castlewood used aggression and relaxation as key ingredients to fuel a win on Saturday night.

The Warriors pulled away from White River for a 74-54 victory to claim a third-place finish at the Class B Boys’ Basketball State Tournament at Wachs Arena.

Castlewood coach Paul Raasch said the game plan was to enter the contest with a relaxed attitude and play its style of game.

“We wanted to come out loose and play free and easy,” Raasch said. “We ran a couple of sets to get things going, get a couple of our guys going early in the game, and once we got that momentum, we just kind of rode it.”

The Warriors struck early and often after playing tense during the first two nights of the tournament. Senior guard Lane Tvedt said the team needed to change its approach to Saturday’s game in order to perform well.

“We just wanted to come out and play relaxed,” Tvedt said. “The first two nights we came out pretty tense playing in the night session. Today we just kind of changed our approach. Sometimes you got to look at it as just a basketball game.”

That relaxed approach paid off as Castlewood converted it into aggression playing its style of game on both ends of the floor. Offensively, the Warriors were able to build a lead thanks to several shots by Tvedt, as well as baskets in the paint by 6-foot-9 junior center Bryon Laue, that included a pair of dunks that energizing the Castlewood faithful.

On defense, Laue played rim protector as he blocked a total of eight shots, including six in the first half, as the team also looked to slow down White River senior guard Nic Marshall.

“We just stuck to our game plan. We knew Marshall, he’s a great player. He knows how to get to the rack, get his shots, and you just have to live with that. Our goal was just to limit his touches,” Tvedt said. “We came out offensively and attacked the rim, Laue got rolling, he had some big dunks down the stretch, and at the end of the day, Laue played great defense. He protected the rim very well, which allowed us to pressure them outside.”

Laue described the mindset he has when opposing players are driving towards him to get to the basket.

“Just try to read and react and kind of see what they do, kind of wait for them to go up, and then just jump at it,” Laue said. “They couldn’t really shoot that game, so we just went into a zone and if they drove, I was there to deflect the shot.”

Raasch said Laue is a valuable asset for the Warriors on both ends of the floor.

“He dominates both ends and puts pressure on the other team,” Raasch said. “Even shots he doesn’t block, he alters a little bit and makes it real difficult to score around the rim.”

Castlewood also used a box-and-one on Marshall to limit his opportunities to not only score, but to get the ball in his hands, which put pressure on the Tigers offense.

“They went to that box-and-one, so we didn’t really know what to do,” Marshall said. “So, we kind of just tried to swing it around, get open shots, hit some threes, but we didn’t hit no shots. It was hard to get back in the game when we can’t hit nothing, so it was tough.”

Castlewood led 25-19 lead after the opening period and took control in the second quarter outscoring the Tigers 18-7 to grab a 43-26 halftime advantage.

“I thought Tvedt got going, hit a couple threes, gave them the lead. We couldn’t hit an open three; got some good looks, just couldn’t hit,” White River coach Eldon Marshall said. “Credit them, they’re a very good basketball team. We just couldn’t make some shots tonight.”

Castlewood stretched its lead to as many as 21 points in the third quarter. While White River did everything it could to mount a comeback, Nic Marshall felt the team was drained from still dealing with the emotions of Friday’s semifinal loss to Howard.

White River’s Nicolas Marshall, center, moves the ball up the floor as Castlewood’s Jamison Keszler, far left, Brody Bass, back left and Bowen Ryan, far right, get back on defense during Saturday’s third place game at the South Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 3/16/2024

“I think it’s because we got tired,” Marshall said. “We were all drained, we were all hurting from yesterday, emotionally drained, I think. But they’re a great team, credit to them, and they deserved it.”

Marshall finished with a game-high 31 points, while also adding four steals and three assists. He said the feeling of wearing a White River jersey for many years has meant everything to him.

“This has been my life for 18 years,” Marshall said. “I bleed purple and yellow. I love this place, I love the people, I love the community. I’m a Tiger.”

Jordan Uhlir added 12 points to the White River total.

The Tigers finished the season with a 22-4 record and will lose five seniors that have meant a great deal to Coach Marshall.

“Just a great bunch of kids, and as a coach that’s what you want,” Coach Marshall said. “They’re a great team up and down, top to bottom, and just a great bunch to be around every day. I’ve been blessed to coach them.”

Tvedt finished with 17 points and five assists in his final game as a Warrior, and noted it has meant a lot to wear a Castlewood jersey.

“It’s been fun,” Tvedt said. “Had a lot of great teammates, won a lot of games.”

Castlewood’s Bryon Laue (33) follows through on a dunk as White River’s Nicolas Marshall (1) and Evastine Wright (10) look on during Saturday night’s third place game at the South Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 3/16/2024

Laue led the Warriors with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Jamison Keszler had 18 points and seven assists. Luke Baumberger contributed nine points.

Castlewood (22-4) will also lose five seniors that Raasch said played a big part in the success his team had this season.

“We had a great year and those guys were the main reason for it,’ Raasch said. “They just came to work every day and wanted to win.”

Raach added that Saturday’s win gives his team momentum heading into the offseason as it prepares for next season.

“It’s a good building block for us. Our guys that are coming back got a little itch to scratch, yet,” Raasch said. “I think we’re going to get to work, probably take a week off, and we get back to work and get back here and give it another shot.”

While Laue was glad to finish this year’s state tournament with a win, he said the experience will give the Warriors extra motivation for next season.

“We’re going to take it with a chip on our shoulder,” Laue said, “and we all want to come back next year and be playing in (the state championship) game.”

CASTLEWOOD (22-4): Lane Tvedt 6 2-2 17, Quincy Thu 0-2 3, Luke Baumberger 3 1-4 9, Jamison Keszler 7 3-4 18, Bryon Laue 9 2-2 20, Bowen Ryan 1 0-0 3, Brody Bass 2 0-0 4. Totals 29 8-14 74.

WHITE RIVER (22-4): Nic Marshall 12 7-12 31, Mackenzie Wike 2 0-0 4, Ray Crow 2 2-2 7, Jordan Uhlir 4 4-6 12. Totals 20 13-20 54.

Castlewood 25 43 56 74

White River 19 26 42 54

3-point field goals – Tvedt (3), Baumberger (2), Thu, Keszler, Ryan; Crow. Total fouls – Castlewood 15; White River 10. Rebounds – Castlewood 43 (Laue 12); White River 21 (Wright 7). Turnovers – Castlewood 22; White River 10. Assists – Castlewood 15 (Keszler 7); White River 6 (Marshall 3). Blocked shots – Castlewood 10 (Laue 8); White River 6 (Wright 3). Steals – Castlewood 2 (Tvedt 2); White River 11 (Marshall 4).

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