RAPID CITY – Hamlin gave defending State A champion Sioux Falls Christian a few too many free opportunities and it took advantage. Christian hauled in 15 offensive rebounds and out-gunned Hamlin at the free throw line to claim a 58-47 win in the semifinals of the State A Boys’ Basketball Tournament Friday night at the Summit Arena.

The contest was a rematch of the last two state championship games, and Hamlin knew it couldn’t afford many mistakes.

Both teams played fairly even through the early going, until Christian created a breath of space just ahead of halftime.

Hamlin trimmed that lead to a single possession in the late stages of the third quarter and again in the early portion of the fourth, but Christian held on down the stretch to keep Hamlin at bay.

“We gave up 15 offensive rebounds, and they shot 20 free throws and we shot (seven),” said Hamlin coach Todd Neuendorf. “Those two things combined … you can’t sustain that. That’s the difference in the ball game.”

Neuendorf said he was happy with the way his team, which returned only one starter from last year’s squad, competed against one of the premier teams in the Class A field.

“Both teams shot the ball and played well defensively,” he said.

In fact, Hamlin was better, percentage-wise, from both 3-point range and at the free-throw line. But it came down to the number of opportunities to score, and Christian held the upper hand there.

Jackson Wadsworth finished with 15 points to lead the way for Hamlin. Aiden Abraham added 11. Both players hit a trio of 3-pointers each.

Christian got a huge 28-point effort from Brant Wassenaar, who went 12-for-19 from the floor. Canyon Prins came off the bench for 14 points and nine rebounds. Seven of those boards came on the offensive end of the court.

Hamlin will face Clark-Willow Lake in today’s third place contest. The two teams are no strangers to each other, having met in Northeast Conference play in mid-February, a game the Cyclones won 58-50.

“We felt like we gave one away in Clark when we were there at the end of the year,” Neuendorf said, “so we’re going to get an opportunity to play them again. Both teams are really good.”

HAMLIN (21-4): Boden Stevenson 3 1-1 7, Jack Stormo 3 0-0 8, Aiden Abraham 4 0-0 11, Jackson Wadsworth 4 4-6 15, Trig Heinrich 3 0-0 6. Totals 17-44 5-7 47.

SIOUX FALLS CHRISTIAN (22-1): Cooper Goodbary 1 4-6 7, Cooper Strande 1 0-0 2, Ryan Dieleman 0 1-2 1, Carson Nickles 1 1-2 3, Brant Wassenaar 12 4-7 28, Canyon Prins 6 2-3 14, Mitchell Hofer 1 0-0 3. Totals 22-52 12-20 58.

Hamlin 10 22 37 47

Sioux Falls Christian 13 19 32 58

3-pt field goals – Stormo 2, Abraham 3, Wadsworth 3; Goodbary, Hofer. Total fouls – Hamlin 15; Sioux Falls Christian 12. Rebounds – Hamlin 24 (Stevenson 8); Sioux Falls Christian 36 (Prins 9). Assists – Hamlin 14 (Wadsworth 6, Stevenson 5); Sioux Falls Christian 5 (Strande 2). Turnovers – Hamlin 12; Sioux Falls Christian 9. Steals – Hamlin 4 (Wadsworth 3); Sioux Falls Christian 8 (Wassenaar 2, Prins 2, Hofer 2). Blocks – Hamlin 3 (Stevenson, Wadsworth, Heinrich); Sioux Falls Christian 2 (Goodbary, Strande).