BRANDON – Aberdeen Central hung tight in the opening quarter, but let Brandon Valley slip away in the second as the Lynx scored a 76-53 boys’ basketball victory Saturday afternoon.
Central stayed within one possession by the end of the first quarter, but fell victim to a spate of turnovers just before half.
“I thought we got off to a really good start offensively and defensively,” said Central coach Colton McClemans. “We had another 2-minute stretch in the second quarter where we turned it over six possessions in a row for layups and gave Brandon a good lead at the end of the half.”
Brandon stretched its lead to double digits by half, then took advantage of a cold shooting stretch from Central in the third quarter to put the game nearly out of reach.
“Third quarter we missed some shots that were falling in the first half that would have allowed us to crawl back into it,” McClemans said. “Brandon capitalized and knocked down some tough shots in the third that extended the lead.”
McClemans noted the Golden Eagles were able to match the physicality of the Lynx for the most part.
Central was led by Turner Bergan’s 19 points. Luke Swanson added 16, and Liam Rife finished with 13 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting night.
Brandon Valley put four players in double figures, led by Brayden Knutson’s 14 points.
“Overall, I thought our kids gained some confidence today and realized they are a very capable basketball team,” McClemans said. “We just need to find a way to put a full 32 minutes together.”
Central remains on the road to face Pierre Tuesday before returning to Golden Eagles Arena Thursday to face Sioux Falls Washington.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL (1-9): Luke Swanson 4 7-9 15, Bryson Burgard 1 0-0 3, Turner Bergan 7 2-2 19, Jack Bertsch 1 0-0 2, Liam Rife 5 0-0 13, Carter Board 1 0-0 2. Totals 19-35 9-15 53.
BRANDON VALLEY (5-5): Brayden Knutson 5 0-0 14, Tristan Durlary 1 0-0 2, Jackson Burns 3 1-1 9, Ayuel Deng 4 0-0 10 Briggs Knutson 4 1-2 11, Dylan Williams 4 2-3 10, Austin Dowd 4 0-0 8, Lincoln McIerney 2 0-0 6, Ryan Jahrans 1 0-1 2, Caelen Christian 2 0-1 4. Totals 30 5-9 76.
Aberdeen Central 15 28 39 53
Brandon Valley 18 38 57 76
3-pt field goals – Burgard, Bergan 3, Rife 3; Brayden Knutson 4, Burns, Deng 2, Briggs Knutson 2, McInerney 2. Total fouls – Aberdeen Central 16; Brandon Valley 17. Rebounds – Aberdeen Central 15 (Bertsch 7); Brandon Valley 26 (Deng 5, Dowd 5). Turnovers – Aberdeen Central 16; Brandon Valley 8.
