The goal for Aberdeen Christian this season began taking shape as soon as the State B Boys’ Basketball Tournament ended last year.

The Knights not only wanted to get back to the state tourney, they wanted to improve on their seventh-place finish.

“Our expectation was to finish better at the state tournament,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. “That’s what the kids told me all summer, that’s what they told me before basketball season started, and that’s what they wanted. That doesn’t take away from the excitement level of going to a state tournament, because it’s not given, and it’s not easy.”

Christian, which has qualified for six of the last seven state tournaments, returns the bulk of its team from last season, with one noticeable exception. The Knights lost Ellis Russell to graduation, a player who did a little bit of everything.

While the talent was there to replace Russell, it took a bit of time for the team to find its offensive identity. Dylan Hofer has been the team’s primary ballhandler this season, and while he is still among the team’s top scorers, he has become more of a facilitator throughout the year.

“I think we are honestly starting to put things completely together. It took us a while, not having Ellis on the floor who kind of ran the show last year. Dylan’s taken that over and we’ve really kind of pieced together his point guard role as the year’s gone along,” Rohrbach said. “It was prominent right to start the year, he was still kind of a guard that was looking to score, and now as the year’s kind of progressed, he’s really taken on that point guard role and rocked it, really.”

The other starters include seniors Jett Johnson and Grady Jett, along with juniors Brooks Jett and Luke Kaiser.

A big key for Christian this season has been the major contributions of freshmen reserves Loyall Smith-Wade and Charles Eichler, along with Raymond Rodriguez-Martinez.

While the tournament is taking place in Aberdeen, Christian has not played at Wachs Arena since last year’s state tournament and Rohrbach doesn’t see much of a home-court advantage for this team.

“I actually really don’t think there is an advantage, because I remember when we played De Smet in the championship a few years ago and it was not an advantage, because they had more fans than we did,” Rohrbach said. “These small towns just shut down, I swear. All the college kids come back and they all come watch. I think that’s what makes the B’s the best, truthfully. It doesn’t feel like anybody does have an advantage. When I’m coaching, it doesn’t feel like I’m in Aberdeen.”

Rohrbach said the tournament has a wide-open feel and that a number of teams could end up winning the state championship. He believes that defense will be a determining factor.

“I actually think it’s going to be a really low scoring state tournament,” Rohrbach said. “I think defense is going to be king, and that doesn’t say there aren’t some good offensive players, but defensive is typically king at the state tournament and if you can get hot at the right time, like Castlewood did vs. Viborg in the state championship game (last year), it’s just anybody’s ball game.”

The Knights, 20-3 on the season, plan on being right in the mix if all goes well.

“I think we’re starting to peak at the right time, which is nice,” Rohrbach said. “I fully believe that we can make a run at it too if we play our best.”

Rohrbach said for Christian to be able to make a major impact in the tournament it comes down to putting the ball in the basket.

“For us to make that run, obviously, it’s going to take, everybody would say the same thing, we’ve got to hit shots. You have to hit 3-pointers at this juncture of the season, because every team is probably going to mix in some zone, every team is going to mix in some man. It’s whether or not you can hit enough shots and understand the shots that you want every single possession,” Rohrbach said. “Once again, I think defense is king and a lot of that has a lot do with shot selection, turnovers, and then ultimately, can you get defensive rebounds?”

The Knights will square off against defending state champion Castlewood at 12:45 p.m. Thursday in the opening round. Rohrbach said the two teams feature a lot of similarities.

“At the end of the day, it’s really going to come down to who can make the fewest mistakes defensively and get the shots that they want,” Rohrbach said. “I think it should be a great first-round game.”