Aberdeen Central hung with Harrisburg for a half Friday night, before the Tigers pulled away at Golden Eagles Arena.

Harrisburg used a 15-2 surge to open the third quarter on the way to a 65-48 Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ basketball victory.

The game was back and forth throughout the first half, with both teams trading baskets and momentum. Harrisburg carried a 33–28 lead into halftime after an evenly played opening two quarters. Aberdeen Central stayed within striking distance by controlling the tempo and finding offensive rhythm early.

However, Harrisburg came out firing in the third quarter with its privotal run that shifted the momentum quickly. The Tigers outscored Central 21–13 in the third quarter, creating separation that Central struggled to overcome the rest of the way.

Luke Swanson led the Eagles with 26 points, providing consistent scoring throughout the game. Bryson Burgard and Jack Bertsch each added seven points in the effort.

After the game, Swanson emphasized the importance of confidence and execution moving forward.

“Just come out with confidence like I did last week,” Swanson said. “We’re a defensive team, but some guys have got to score.”

He also pointed to areas that hurt the Eagles in the second half when Harrisburg pulled away.

“We have to be better in the second half. We didn’t rebound well enough and we turned it over a couple times,” Swanson said. “We need to improve our defense, rebounding, and offensively, not turn the ball over.”

Central coach Colton McClemans felt his team did several positive things early in the game, particularly on offense.

“Offensively, we did some really good things in the first half,” Clemans said. “We had to play a different type of game and slow the tempo down.”

The Eagles were able to play at their pace in the opening 16 minutes.

“The first half we played our style of game in terms of dictating what we wanted to do,” McClemans said, “and try to get a few more stops to get a bigger lead.”

However, McClemans noted that halftime adjustments may have disrupted his team’s flow.

“We made some adjustments at halftime, and I think that had me make the kids think too much,” he said. “When the kids start thinking too much, then we tend to struggle. We just need to keep it simple for them and make sure we understand what we’re doing at all times.”

While the offense has provided some bright spots, defensive consistency remains a focus for the Golden Eagles as they move forward.

“It’s got to start on the defensive end for us,” McClemans said. “If you can hold teams to 50–55 points, you’re going to have a shot, and offensively you don’t feel like every shot is a big shot when you’re down seven or eight points.”

Central, 1-12 on the season, is back in action today at Sioux Falls Jefferson.

HARRISBURG (9-3): Bennett Jensen 1 0-0 3, Crayton Jibben 5 0-0 12, Stellen Larson 6 1-3 15, David Doe 9 1-2 20, Myles Nour 2 0-0 5, Connor Clark 4 0-0 8, Hudson Hillman 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 2-5 65.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (1-12): Liam Rife 1 0-0 3, Luke Swanson 7 11-14 26, Bryson Burgard 3 0-0 7, Jack Bertsch 3 1-2 7, Brenner Waldrop 0 2-2 2, Quinn Rayman 1 0-0 3. Totals 15 14-18 48.

Harrisburg 19 33 54 65

Aberdeen Central 17 28 41 48

3-point field goals – Jensen, Jibben 2, Larson 2, Doe, Nour; Rife, Swanson, Burgard, Rayman. Total fouls – Harrisburg 17; Aberdeen Central 16. Rebounds – Harrisburg 26 (Clark 9, Larson 8); Aberdeen Central 26 (Swanson 5, Bertsch 5). Turnovers – Harrisburg 10; Aberdeen 18. Assists – Harrisburg 13 (Jensen 5); Aberdeen Central 6 (Board 2). Steals – Harrisburg 7 (Larson 2, Jensen 2); Aberdeen Central 3 (Swanson, Larson, Hauck).