BRITTON – Britton-Hecla leveraged a six-point advantage in the final quarter into a first-round victory Tuesday night, defeating Aberdeen Roncalli 59-54 in the opening round of the Region 1A boys’ basketball tournament.
The contest was a near-mirror of the first time the two teams met earlier this season, a game in which the Cavaliers prevailed by a 59-53 count.
But with tournament advancement on the line, it was the Braves who had the final say on Tuesday.
“(It’s) never easy to send the seniors out after their last game,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “We had our chances, just things didn’t go our way in the end.”
The Cavaliers appeared to have a bit of the upper hand early on in Tuesday’s contest, leading 13-9 after the opening stanza. Britton-Hecla, however, pushed the issue in the second and third quarters, and turned that offensive pressure into bevvy of trips to the free throw line.
“In the end, they were aggressive in getting to the basket and were rewarded with trips to the foul line,” Gallagher said. “We stayed a little too much on the perimeter and while a lot of our shots looked good, they just didn’t fall tonight.”
Jesse Hernandez finished with 22 points to lead all scorers. Bryson Olson joined him in double figures with 10, and Creighton Fisher added eight.
The Cavaliers finished the season with a 7-14 record.
“Proud of the way our guys fought,” Gallagher said. “They battled throughout the game and this whole season.”
Britton-Hecla was led by Jaxon Zuehlke’s 21 points. Chaz Vietor notched 15 and Will Richter added 14 for the Braves.
Tuesday’s win propels Britton-Hecla into the tournament semis, where they will face second-seeded Webster on Friday. The winner of that contest will advance to the SoDak 16.
ABERDEEN RONCALLI (7-14): Jesse Hernandez 10 0-0 22, Austin Fisher 2 0-0 6, Quinten Shelton 1 0-0 2, Creighton Fisher 3 0-0 8, Bryson Olson 4 2-4 10, Sam Larson 1 0-0 2, Mason Berndt 2 0-2 4. Totals 25 2-6 54.
BRITTON-HECLA (13-8): Mitch Burger 2 0-2 4, Will Richter 6 0-0 14, Lofton Heer 0 2-2 2, Chaz Vietor 4 5-7 15, Jaxon Zuehlke 9 3-5 21, Nathan Folkman 1 1-2 3. Totals 22 11-18 59.
Aberdeen Roncalli 13 28 45 54
Britton-Hecla 9 26 44 59
3-pt field goals – Hernandez 2, A. Fisher 2, C. Fisher 2; Richter 2, Vietor 2. Totals fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 20; Britton-Hecla 11.
