Andrew Holtan | The Brookings Register
The Brookings basketball teams honored 10 seniors on Tuesday night in a doubleheader against Yankton.
It was the final home game for each team and neither team was able to come out on top. The girls lost 56-24 and the boys fell 64-28.
Girls
Yankton 56, Brookings 24
The Gazelles opened the game with an 11-2 start and cruised the rest of the way. They led 15-5 at the end of the first quarter and took a 28-7 lead into the locker room. The lead grew to 43-17 at the end of the third and then Yankton outscored Brookings 13-7 in the final quarter.
“The difference comes down to, they were better at every single aspect of the game,” said Brookings head coach Mitch McLagan. “They were tougher than us too. So, when you get beat in every phase of the game and then the team’s just tougher than you, that’s what the score’s going to end up looking like.
“The disappointing part for me is our kids have not played that way. I felt like most of the games we’ve played this year that we were the tougher team on the floor, and that was not the case tonight.”
The Bobcats did have a nice moment at the beginning of the game. Seniors Macy Even and Clara Delbridge were able to start the game despite being both out with injuries. Each team took a foul after the jump ball, which allowed the two to embrace their teammates and coaches as they walked off the floor.
Delbridge and Even joined Sloan McLagan and Zoe Miller as the seniors for the Bobcats. McLagan had five points in her final game in Brookings and Miller did not score.
Mitch McLagan said all four meant a lot to the program in different ways.
“What Macy’s done here,” McLagan said. “She’s in the conversation of setting records without this injury. Clara’s toughness and leadership we’re going to miss. Sloan’s leadership has been coming on and she’s coming on to be one of the better players for us on the floor.
“And then Zoe, credit to that kid, it wasn’t always easy for her, and she just kept showing up to practice every single day and working hard. That’s a lot of the hardest times to do it, and Zoe just kept bringing it every single day. So proud of those kids, definitely going to be missed.”
Yankton was led by Jordyn Kudera who had 17 points. Eden Wolfgram had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. September Rauch had nine points.
Brookings is now 2-16 on the year. The Bobcats will play two games out west to close out the season this weekend. Brookings will play at Douglas on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Central time. The season finale will be at Spearfish on Saturday at 3 p.m.
McLagan said his team has not given up yet and he wants them to prove that in the final weekend of the season.
“Those four seniors are a big part of the reason why we continue to show up every single day. Last week we had our best practice of the year. For a team with two wins, not every team is going to do that. These kids keep working. Until tonight, effort has never been an issue with us.
“… We have two games left. Sometimes it’s nice when things aren’t going well just to get away. Going out west is going to be really good for us as a team, as kids. It’s going to be important for us. I can assure you these kids won’t quit. We’re going to go out there with the mindset of winning two games, and it’s going to come down to effort.”
Boys
Yankton 64, Brookings 28
Similar to the girls game, Yankton got off to a fast start as it scored the first 14 points of the game and were in control the rest of the way. Brookings head coach Joe Frederiksen said his team did not have the right energy out of the gate.
“I just think they just got everything that they wanted to on the offensive side of the floor. I don’t think we were bringing the defensive effort as we wanted and they got some really open looks and when they started knocking them down then they just kept knocking them down and we didn’t respond very well to that so I think defensively it was our let down right away,” Frederiksen said.
Yankton extended the lead to 19-8 by the end of the first. The Bucks then outscored the Bobcats 19-8 in the second and had a 37-15 lead at halftime. That lead grew to 51-25 by the end of the third and then the Bucks had a 13-3 advantage in the fourth to make the final margin 36.
Brookings honored seniors Bergan Tetzlaff, Jase Bauer, Drew Johnson, Gavin Anderson, Gavin Smith and Jones Huntimer on Tuesday night.
Tetzlaff led the way with 14 points and nine rebounds. Johnson had three points and Smith had two points. The other three were held scoreless.
It has been a tough senior season for those six as the Bobcats have won one game so far. Frederiksen said he’s proud of the way they have handled themselves in their final year in a Bobcat uniform.
“Everyone brings something every day to practice, everything to a game, all the little things, all that fight,” Frederiksen said. “That’s what you want as the seniors. At times when things get difficult, they’re stepping up and trying to lead and so I’m so proud of them.
“We said it all year long that it’s not easy to be on a one-win team that just can’t quite get over that hump. But yet every day, each one of those guys keep coming back and bringing us together, and we keep fighting. So super proud of them.”
Yankton was led by Jackson Kudera who had 23 points. Abe O’Brien had 11 points and Beck Ryken had 10 points.
The Bobcats (1-17) will head West for the final weekend of the season. They’ll play at Douglas on Friday at 9 p.m. Central time and then will take on Spearfish on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. to close out the season.
Frederiksen said he wants to see his team fight till the end of the season and get some momentum that they can take into next season.
“How much fight do we have left? And so we’re going to come to practice tomorrow, and we’re going to fight hard, and we’re going to get on that bus, and we’re going to go fight for two more wins.”
“… We’re coming together as a team. I think we’re playing a little bit better as a whole team. You know, there’s still a lot of things to work on and keep getting better at. But overall, I think the program hopefully is going in the right direction.”
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