Lyman set the tone for the day at the State Boys’ Basketball Tournament Thursday by knocking off top-seeded Viborg-Hurley in the first game of the day

The eighth-seeded Raiders picked up a 49-44 win at Wachs Arena to start a day that saw three lower seeded teams claim victories.

Lyman fought off a furious rally from the Cougars down the stretch to preserve the win.

“Viborg-Hurley is a great team, great coach, great athletes,” said Lyman coach Cooper Garnos. “(The run) was going to come and we survived it.”

The first quarter of the matchup was close throughout with multiple lead changes. Viborg-Hurley owned an 11-9 lead after the opening quarter.

Lyman started the second quarter with a bang as MJ Diehm threw a lob to Dawsen Volmer who slammed it home to tie the score.

The teams traded leads in the second quarter as Jake Austin nailed a 3-pointer for Viborg-Hurley before Josiah Vaad of Lyman answered with his own 3-pointer.

The Cougars took a 22-20 lead into the break after Austin drove the length of the floor and scored a layup right before time expired.

Lyman started out the second half on a 7-1 run to take a 27-23 lead. The Raiders were able to maintain that margin thanks to the play of Volmer and Diehm in the third period, leading 37-32 heading into the fourth quarter.

Opening the fourth quarter, Vaad and Diehm each scored two points as Lyman opened its biggest lead of the game at nine points.

That’s when Viborg-Hurley scored eight unanswered points, started by an Austin 3-pointer.

Vaad and Diehm responded again, putting the Lyman advantage at six points at 46-40.

“We kept our composure. We have a resilient group,” Garnos said. “We’ve been in some of those situations earlier, so maybe that experience helped … You just have to find a way to slow the run and get something on the other end.”

Two players for the Raiders played all 32 minutes, with Diehm and Volmer not taking a break throughout the game.

“They’re fantastic young men,” Garnos said. “Those guys work year-round on their basketball game. They are guys that are committed, dedicated and we need them on the floor every second of the game, especially in games like what we had here today.”

It was just the fourth loss of the season for the Cougars, who finished runner-up at last year’s state tournament.

Viborg-Hurley coach Shane Warwick praised his team’s toughness following the setback.

“It’s just been a great group to coach,” said Warwick said. “The toughest piece is not quitting and that’s going to serve them well the rest of their lives. It’s been a really fun group to coach.”

Austin topped scored 15 points for the Cougars, who will face Aberdeen Christian in a consolation game at 11 this morning.

“We just need to keep our heads high,” Austin said. “Obviously, this is not what we wanted this season, kind of tough, but let’s just go get two more wins.”

Brady Schroedermeier contributed 12 points to the Viborg-Hurley total.

Diehm finished with 15 points to lead Lyman, while Volmer and Vaad each added 10.

The Raiders will meet defending state champion Castlewood in tonight’s semifinals at 5.

Diehm talked about what he will remember from Thursday’s upset victory.

“My teammates, the faith we had in each other, knowing that the eighth seed and the one seed doesn’t matter,” Diehm said. “At the end of the day, it’s five-on-five and we’re all going to come out and put all our hearts in it.”

LYMAN (18-6): Conway Collins 1 0-0 3, MJ Diehm 4 7-8 15, Cole Kieffer 2 5-6 9, Dawsen Volmer 4 1-2 10, Chance Seaboy 1 0-0 2, Josiah Vaad 4 0-0 10. Totals 16-39 13-16 49.

VIBORG-HURLEY (20-4): Braydyn Morrison 2 0-0 6, Jake Austin 5 2-3 15, Nolan Kolthoff 1 5-6 7, Walker Warwick 1 1-2 3, Brady Schroedermeier 4 4-9 12. Totals 13-42 12-20 44.

Lyman 9 20 37 49

Viborg-Hurley 11 22 32 44

3-point field goals – Collins, Volmer, Vaad 2; Morrison 2, Austin 3. Total fouls – Lyman 18; Viborg-Hurley 15. Rebounds – Lyman 29 (Volmer 8); Viborg-Hurley 29 (Schroedermeier 9). Turnovers – Lyman 13; Viborg-Hurley 12. Assists – ); Lyman 10 (Diehm 4); Viborg-Hurley 11 (Brenner 3). Blocked shots – Lyman 4 (Kieffer 2); Viborg-Hurley 2 (Kolthoff 2). Steals – Lyman 6 (Diehm 3); Viborg-Hurley 6 (Austin 2, Schroedermeier 2).