RAPID CITY – Hamlin survived, not necessarily on its ability to put the game out of reach, but on its ability to give itself more opportunities.

The Chargers secured two key offensive rebounds in the waning seconds of the game to claim a 65-61 win over Groton in the opening round of the State A Boys’ Basketball Tournament Thursday afternoon.

“It was really two good basketball teams … going back and forth,” said Hamlin coach Todd Neuendorf. “It reminded me of the old (Boston) Celtic/(Los Angeles) Laker games where we’d hit a shot on one end and they’d hit a shot on the other end and nobody could put anybody away. It came down to little details on the end where we were fortunate enough to get a couple rebounds on some missed free throws. That’s how it shook down. That game could have gone either way.”

For a majority of the game, that’s precisely what happened. The two squads swapped baskets, leads, runs, and more baskets, neither one able to gain enough traction to pull ahead by more than a couple of possessions. Hamlin led after the first quarter, Groton edged ahead at halftime, the teams both scored 17 points in the third quarter and the game came down to those final details.

Up by one, Hamlin went to the free throw line with under 10 seconds to play, but missed both attempts. However, the Chargers corralled a long rebound and again were sent to the free throw line. Hamlin hit the first of two shots, missed the second and once more snared a long rebound. Boden Stevenson finally finished out the scoring with two free throws with one second left on the clock.

“Our kids played so hard,” said Groton coach Greg Kjellsen. “We just didn’t rebound on a couple free throws and that really hurt. They’re all going to find one little thing that we did wrong.”

On a pair of teams that rely heavily on balanced scoring, both Hamlin and Groton had a pair of standout performances on the offensive front. Groton got 23 points from Karson Zak and a dozen more from Gage Sippel, who also had six rebounds for the Tigers.

Hamlin got 27 points from Stevenson and 20 from Jackson Wadsworth, though Neuendorf noted the Chargers got key contributions from other players, as well.

“Aiden Abraham hit some big 3’s to answer (Groton),” Neuendorf said. “Jack Stormo hit some big 3’s for us. And Trig Heinrich, who was a ball boy for us as an eighth grader for us last year, was huge on the offensive boards on those rebounds. It took a total team effort for us because Groton’s really good. I’m proud of our guys.”

Kjellsen admitted he didn’t have any magic words to take the sting out of Thursday’s loss, but felt confident his team would rebound for today’s match-up with St. Thomas More in the consolation semifinals.

“They’re fun (games), but they’re tough,” Kjellsen said. “I feel for these kids. They’ve worked hard and they deserve better.”

Hamlin will face top-seeded Sioux Falls Christian in the semifinals tonight at 6 (CDT). The two teams are no strangers, having met in the championship game of the last two state tournaments, Hamlin winning the crown in 2024 and SFC taking it last year.

“We’re going to have to have some things go our way, we know that. … We know they’re good and we’re going to have to play extremely well,” Neuendorf said.

GROTON (18-5): Keegen Tracy 3 1-2 7, Karson Zak 10 2-5 23, Ryder Johnson 2 0-0 5, Becker Bosma 1 1-1 3, Gage Sippel 4 4-5 12, Ethan Kroll 1 0-0 2, Easton Weber 3 0-0 9. Totals 24-44 8-13 61.

HAMLIN (21-3): Boden Stevenson 9 5-11 27, Jack Stormo 3 0-0 8, Aiden Abraham 3 0-0 8, Jackson Wadsworth 5 8-13 20, Trig Heinrich 1 0-0 2. Totals 21-39 13-24 65.

Groton 9 26 43 61

Hamlin 11 24 41 65

3-pt field goals – Zak, Johnson, Weber 3; Stevenson 4, Stormo 2, Abraham 2, Wadsworth 2. Fouled out – Weber. Total fouls – Groton 19; Hamlin 10. Rebounds – Groton 24 (Sippel 6); Hamlin 25 (Heinrich 8). Assists – Groton 10 (Zak 3); Hamlin 14 (Stormo 5, Stevenson 4). Turnovers – Groton 4; Hamlin 7. Steals – Groton 3 (Zak, Johnson, Bosma); Hamlin 2 (Stevenson, Stormo). Blocks – Groton 4 (Tracy, Bosma, Sippel, Weber); Hamlin 3 (Stevenson, Wadsworth, Heinrich).