Mobridge-Pollock contained the Aberdeen Christian offense in the first half Tuesday night, but could not slow down the Knights in the second half.

After scoring 20 points in the opening half, third-rated Christian scored nearly that amount in the early stages of the third quarter to help fuel a 58-48 non-conference boys’ basketball win at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.

“Our first-quarter offense was really stagnant and really slow. We didn’t get much going,” said Knights coach Matt Rohrbach. “In the second quarter we actually had some pretty good offensive possessions, but we couldn’t make shots, couldn’t make layups.”

That all changed in a big way to start the second half.

Malek Wieker nailed three three-point field goals, Ethan Russell converted a conventional three-point play, and soon the Knights had turned a four-point deficit into a nine-point advantage.

“We were playing selfish in the first half,” Russell said. “The second half we really played as a team and got the looks that we want to get.”

Four different players scored during that spurt, which gave Christian a lead it never lost.

“We have a lot of guys that can score,” Russell said, “and can score a lot of different ways.”

Still, the Tigers were not about to back down. Mobridge-Pollock hung around and trailed by just five points with five minutes remaining, but could not reduce the margin any closer than that.

“One hundred percent of the credit goes to Mobridge. They played a good game,” Rohrbach said. “They’re a good team. I think they’re going to win a lot of games this year.”

In the end, it was that 19-6 run to start the second half that the Tigers were unable to fully overcome.

“That’s the run that we wanted to go on at times and we didn’t put one together,” said Mobridge-Pollock coach Thomas Knudson. “They’re a good basketball team. This is the first time playing them on our schedule. We’re happy picking this game up and it should be a good rivalry throughout the years.”

Russell led the Knights with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Wieker added 14 points, Jackson Isakson had 12, and Andrew Brennan and Kaden Clark each finished with eight.

Jackson Eisemann led all scorers with 22 points for the Tigers. Shane Henderson contributed nine, and Kobe Good Shield added eight.

Mobridge-Pollock will be back in Aberdeen to face Lakota Tech during the Sacred Hoops Classic at Presentation College on Friday, Dec. 30.

The Tigers will return with some confidence gained from a hard-fought battle against one of the elite teams in Class B this season.

“They’re optimistic. They know they can play with a lot of good teams in this area,” Knudson said of his players. “We’ll keep improving and we’ll keep chipping away.”

Christian, 3-0 on the season, faces fourth-rated Lower Brule in the Hoops City Classic at the Corn Palace in Mitchell on Wednesday, Dec. 28. Rohrbach knows the Sioux will be ready to go after a setback in the Lakota Nation Invitational last week.

“They’re going to be a little bit more maybe amped up to get a W,” Rohrbach said, “so we have to be ready to go for that one.”

MOBRIDGE-POLLOCK (1-1): Jackson Eisemann 9 2-3 22, Michael Wald 2 0-0 5, Shane Henderson 4 1-2 9, Kobe Good Shield 3 1-2 8, Holdlen Eisemann 1 2-8 4. Totals 19-50 6-15 48.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (3-0): Andrew Brennan 4 0-0 8, Jackson Isakson 5 2-6 12, Ethan Russell 7 1-1 16, Malek Wieker 7 1-4 14, Kaden Clark 4 0-0 8. Totals 25 4-11 58.

Mobridge-Pollock 14 24 37 48

Aberdeen Christian 10 20 42 58

3-point field goals – J. Eisemann 2, Wald, Good Shield; Russell, Wieker 3. Total fouls – Mobridge-Pollock 9; Aberdeen Christian 12. Rebounds – Mobridge-Pollock 31 (Wald 8); Aberdeen Christian 32 (Russell 10). Turnovers – Mobridge-Pollock 8; Aberdeen Christian 7. Assists – Mobridge-Pollock 5; Aberdeen Christian 12 (Wieker 4). Blocked Shots – Mobridge-Pollock 3 (Henderson 3); Aberdeen Christian 2 (Russell 2). Steals – Mobridge-Pollock 5 (H. Eisemann 3); Aberdeen Christian 10.