A trio of Aberdeen Central seniors came up big to help power the Golden Eagles to a 70-52 victory over Huron at Golden Eagles Arena Friday night.

Alec Voegele, AJ Hase and Sam Rohlfs combined for 54 points in the Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ basketball win.

The Eagles got out to a hot start with a dominant first quarter leading 23-7 with an active defense and solid shooting. But, the Tigers made a defensive adjustment to start the second quarter and got back into the game.

Huron switched to a zone defense to help neutralize Central’s speed and athleticism, and the moved slowed down the Eagles offense. After the strong first quarter, Central was only able to muster 23 points the next two quarters.

However, later in the third period, Voegele, Hase and Rohlfs took over.

Voegele was relentless in the paint and was able to find holes in the Huron’s zone defense. He finished with 21 points on the night, including two three-pointers, also grabbed eight rebounds in the contest.

Rohlfs contributed 19 points including two fast-break dunks, and also hauled down a team-high 11 rebounds. Hase scored 14 points, and led the team with four three-pointers.

Voegele took the advice from Central coach Brent Norberg at halftime to be aggressive against the Huron defense.

“Coach just told us to keep playing hard and just keep attacking,” Voegele said. “That zone slowed us down, but we also slowed down to attack the defense efficiently, and get looks when they were there.”

Voegele takes his leadership role seriously and enjoys setting an example for his teammates.

“I definitely say I’m a leader for this team. I like setting an example for our guys, especially being a senior,” Voegele said. “It sets the tone of playing hard and keeping the mindset of one game at a time. We need to get these next few games to help improve our seeding and get us a home playoff game.”

As Huron continued to inch closer as the game wore on, Norberg credited his senior trio for stepping up and rallying the team.

“I think you noticed it with the three most experienced guys we have on the team with AJ, Sam, and Alec,” Norberg said. “They continue making plays and that’s what you hope your ‘dudes’ do.”

Norberg will get his players ready for their next game as they travel to Watertown Tuesday night. The Eagles are currently 10-6 on the season.

“We have to continue to get better defensively, take care of the ball and improve on the boards,” Norberg said. “That’s been the recipe all year.”

HURON (5-11): Caden McNeil 3 0-0 6, Max Kranzler 6 4-4 18, Jayden Beck 4 0-0 9, Reilyn Zavesky 1 0-0 2, Brandon Decker 3 0-0 7, Blake Ellwein 2 0-0 6, Dawsyn Rogers 0 4-8 4. Totals 19 8-12 52.
ABERDEEN CENTRAL (10-6): Alec Voegele 8 3-4 21, Jackson Dorsett 2 0-0 4, Sam Rohlfs 7 5-6 19, AJ Hase 5 0-0 14, Brady Rohrbach 0 2-2 2, Carter Dingman 2 0-0 6, Karson Carda 1 0-0 2, Jameson Palmer 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 10-12 70.
Huron 7 20 39 52

Aberdeen Central 23 34 46 70

3-point field goals – Kranzler 2, Ellwein 2, Beck, Decker; Voegele 2, Hase 4, Dingman 2. Total Fouls – Huron 14; Aberdeen Central 12. Rebounds – Huron 29 (Decker 9); Aberdeen Central 30 (Rohlfs 11). Turnovers – Huron 18; Aberdeen Central 6.