The effort and determination were there for Aberdeen Central, however so was one of the elite teams in the state.
The Golden Eagles battled, but eventually fell 67-48 to unbeaten second-rated Sioux Falls Lincoln in non-conference boys’ basketball Friday night at Golden Eagles Arena.
“I’m really proud of their effort, but that’s a really good basketball team we played. I thought we played better every time we got on the floor,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “It’s just, unfortunately, we played the best team in the state tonight.”
The Golden Eagles knew they faced a tall task literally and physically against the Patriots who possessed a size advantage at most positions.
“We knew that they were going to be a tough team. And just play strong, be physical, and we knew that they had bigger guys, but just be physical with them,” said Central sophomore Luke Swanson. “We fought our hardest and gave it all we had.”
What hindered Central’s cause was a tough shooting night that saw the Golden Eagles connect on 32.7 percent of shots from the field and 23.8 percent from three-point range.
“The kids competed. We didn’t shoot very well early, and they’re really good. Anytime you make one mistake, it magnified for a three and this kind of wore us down,” said Norberg. “They didn’t blitz us ever, where it was a giant run. They just slowly but surely pulled away, and our kids kept competing.”
Swanson was a prime example of that. After going scoreless in the opening quarter and scoring four points in the second period, Swanson scored 10 points in the second half and also provided a team-high three assists.
“When I get an open lane, I either look to dish or to go for a layup,” said Swanson. “When I get a breakaway, it’s either one of the two, so that’s what I just look for.”
The Golden Eagles have changed rotations since the beginning of the season, allowing them to rotate more fresh players onto the court and give guys breaks.
“That’s what we’re doing right now. There’s a lot of reasons you do it. Main reason we did it is it makes our subbing easier, where before the way we did it, we just had a hard time rotating,” said Norberg. “So, it’s really not a demotion for anybody, it just works better.”
Having a solid rotation is key, especially when facing one of the best teams in the state, which runs a full-court press all four quarters and can wear players out.
“No, I’m not built for it,” said Swanson laughing. “We need breaks, we get breaks. A couple of guys are out for illness and injuries, but just gotta fight through it. We know we’re going to get tired, but that’s what basketball is. You just gotta be strong.”
The new rotation allows Swanson the opportunity to make an impact right away, but to him, it’s the same mentality he’s had all season.
“Same as off the bench,” Swanson said. “I mean, I just come in same mentality, just go score.”
Despite the double-digit loss, the 1-5 Golden Eagles improved throughout the game and continued to get better.
“What are our guys doing? Are we competing? Are we doing the right things? What do we need to fix? What do we need to get better at? And I thought we did that throughout the game,” said Norberg. “Some things we didn’t do well earlier, we did better. I thought we were more physical going to the basket. We were more aggressive in the second half.”
Central plays at Watertown on Tuesday.
SIOUX FALLS LINCOLN (6-0): Edison Noll 0 1-2 1, Sam Ericsson 5 0-0 12, Sam DeGroot 6 6-8 21, Brody Schafer 3 0-0 9, Luke Krempges 4 0-0 8, Isaiah Teer 1 0-0 3, Justin Bilal 2 2-2 6, Owen Duffy 1 0-0 3, Deondre Painter 2 0-0 4. Totals 24-47 9-12 67.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL (1-5): Brendan Phillips 5 4-6 15, Luke Swanson 5 3-4 14, Jacob Weishaar 2 1-2 6, Jack Bertsch 2 1-2 5, Turner Bergan 0 2-2 2, Christian Palmer 2 0-0 6. Totals 16-49 11-16 48.
Sioux Falls Lincoln 17 35 49 67
Aberdeen Central 7 24 32 48
3-point field goals – Ericsson 2, DeGroot 3, Schafer 3, Teer, Duffy; Phillips, Swanson, Weishaar, Palmer 2. Total Fouls – Sioux Falls Lincoln 16; Aberdeen Central 14. Rebounds – Sioux Falls Lincoln 30 (DeGroot 7, Krempges 7); Aberdeen Central 29 (Colby Dauwen 6). Turnovers – Sioux Falls Lincoln 7; Aberdeen Central 12. Assists – Sioux Falls Lincoln 15 (Schafer 6); Aberdeen Central 5 (Swanson 3). Steals – Sioux Falls Lincoln 7 (Ericsson 3); Aberdeen Central 4 (Phillips 3). Blocks – Sioux Falls Lincoln 1 (Bilal 1).
