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Roosevelt surges past Central for boys’ victory

Aberdeen Central’s Luke Swanson, center, drives to the basket past Sioux Falls Roosevelt’s Joseph Vortherms, left, during Tuesday night’s game at the Golden Eagles Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 2/24/2026

It was a blitz not often seen in boys’ high school basketball.

Third-rated Sioux Falls Roosevelt exploded for 30 points in slightly more than five minutes to fuel a 78-53 non-conference victory over Aberdeen Central at Golden Eagles Arena Tuesday night.

The surge included 10 points in exactly one minute of action to start the second quarter as the Rough Riders turned a three-point deficit midway through the opening period into a commanding 36-15 advantage.

“It was a game of a lot of runs. I think early on the first half we had some self-inflicted things we kind of set ourselves up for a little bit,” said Central coach Colton McClemans. “Today it really snowballed really fast for us.”

The Golden Eagles led 9-6 before Roosevelt started hitting shots from all angles and cranking up its defense.

“When you play a team like Roosevelt, who is a very good basketball team … they take advantage of every mistake that you make and they make you pay for it,” McClemans said. “That was a huge part.”

The Rough Riders eventually built their lead to 68-29 late in the third quarter, before Central scored 17 unanswered points to close the gap to 68-46.

“I’m pretty proud of our kids the end of the third quarter, into the fourth quarter, going on that 17-0 run and not quitting and continuing to compete,” McClemans said.

It’s a tough task to slow down Roosevelt, but Central held the Riders scoreless for nearly seven minutes in that stretch.

Bryson Burgard, right, tries to shoot over Sioux Falls Roosevelt’s Carson Hoines, center, during Tuesday night’s game at the Golden Eagles Arena. Looking on are Central’s Jack Bertsch, far left and Roosevelt’s Akol Thyab, behind Hoines. Photo by John Davis taken 2/24/2026

“I think our defensive mindset is just get one stop at a time,” said Central’s Bryson Burgard.

And sometimes that means taking a chance or two.

“You just have to gamble a lot of the times,” Burgard said, “just gotta be unpredictable on defense.”

While the Golden Eagles gave up an average of nearly 20 points per quarter against Roosevelt, defense remains a priority.

“We just gotta stay in the game,” said Central’s Luke Swanson. “A lot of the times we get down and we just gotta keep our head and get some stops on defense, because we gotta be a defensive team with the people we have.”

Of course, that task is more of a challenge against one of the state’s elite teams than it is against others.

“They share the basketball about as well as anyone in the state,” McClemans said, “and they’re all capable of knocking down shots.”

Bryson Skogsberg scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures for Roosevelt, 15-4 on the season.

Swanson also had 18 points to lead Central, including two points on a shot he attempted from behind the backboard.

“I thought about that, too. After I made it I was like, I was lucky,” Swanson said. “Just trying to draw a foul and I just happened to make it.”

Swanson was surprised that the ball went in.

“I wasn’t envisioning me doing that,” he said, “but it happened anyway.”

Central, 2-17, concludes its season with a game at top-rated and unbeaten Sioux Falls Lincoln on Friday night.

Aberdeen Central’s Kalen Larson, center, drives the baseline past Sioux Falls Roosevelt’s Deondre Painter, back right, during Tuesday night’s game at the Golden Eagles Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 2/24/2026

“Just play one game at a time, just gotta focus on the next game,” Burgard said. “Don’t really care who we’re playing, just play as hard as we can.”

While the Golden Eagles will be big underdogs in their final game of the year, McClemans pointed out there are still things to play for.

“I think the big thing is you have to emphasize things you want in your program. I think our kids understand that they need to show up every night, and compete at a high level. They continue to do that,” McClemans said. “I think that is a big key to that and then the other part is you want to play for your seniors that have given you four years of dedication and working hard and doing things that you ask them to. You take those two things and that should be enough to get you out there and go out and compete, and try to get a W.”

SIOUX FALLS ROOSEVELT (15-4): Justin Bilal 7 0-0 15, Capital Schmaus 4 1-2 10, Akol Thyab 7 1-1 15, Carson Hoines 3 0-0 8, Bryson Skogsberg 6 1-2 18, Joseph Vortherms 3 0-0 9, Deondre Painter 1 0-0 3. Totals 31-59 3-5 78.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (2-17): Luke Swanson 5 8-9 18, Bryson Burgard 4 0-0 9, Jack Bertsch 1 0-0 2, Gavin Hauck 2 2-2 7, Austin Ryan 2 4-4 8, Brenner Waldropp 2 0-2 4, Carter Board 1 0-0 2, Ben Weishaar 1 0-0 2. Totals 18-43 14-17 53.

Sioux Falls Roosevelt 26 52 68 78

Aberdeen Central 15 25 34 53

3-point field goals – Bilal, Schmaus, Hoines 2, Skogsberg 5, Vortherms 3, Painter; Burgard, Hauck, Board. Total fouls – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 13; Aberdeen Central 9. Rebounds – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 30 (Thyab 6, Hoines 6, Skogsberg 6); Aberdeen Central 26 (Hauck 5, Swanson 4). Turnovers – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 13; Aberdeen Central 20. Assists – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 19 (Bilal 4, Schmaus 4, Painter 4); Aberdeen Central 7 (Swanson 3). Blocked shots – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 2; Aberdeen Central 1. Steals – Sioux Falls Roosevelt 15 (Skogsberg 5, Schmaus 4); Aberdeen Central 5.

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