BV boys net 2 wins in season-opening weekend

By: 
Jill Meier, Journal editor
BV’s Thomas Scholten fights for a rebound in Friday’s season-opening 54-43 victory. Jill Meier/BV Journal

They Lynx boys – the defending AA state champs – picked up right where they left off last season: on the winning side of things. Brandon alley netted two quality wins against two West River foes, Rapid City Stevens and Spearfish, and came away with 54-43 and 78-48 respective victories.
“It was a good start, a good weekend,” is how Lynx head coach Brent Deckert summed up his team’s early-season success. “Stevens was a quality win. We’re really happy with that one. They’re a very athletic team and a team that’s going to get a lot better. They’re a little like us, they’re playing a lot of guys to figure out who can fit in where and until somebody proves us wrong, we’re going to keep doing that until we have enough guys step up and become more consistent performers.”
Spearfish, however, is currently a team that’s on the other end of the spectrum.
“They’re in a situation where they’re down right now and they’re probably a couple years away from being competitive in the AA level,” Deckert said.
 
BV vs RCS
Through the first half of Friday’s contest, the Lynx and Raiders largely matched wits, as neither team had more than a two- to four-point edge. In the last few minutes of the second quarter, BV went on a 10-2 run to take a 29-25 lead into the break. 
Then came the third quarter, where the Lynx out-scored Stevens 11-6. BV got help from a variety sources. Joe Kolbeck popped in a pair of two-pointers, Jaxon LaBrie drained one from the perimeter, and Gavin Terhark and Aydin Lloyd both dropped a bucket. In the meantime, the Lynx defense forced Stevens into multiple turnovers. By the end of the third, BV held their biggest lead of the game, 40-31.
There was little let up by the Lynx to start the fourth, which opened with Kolbeck picking off the ball and taking it to the hoop to widen the margin, 42-31. 
Stevens’ Mason Steele accounted for eight of his team’s 12 fourth-quarter points, but Steele’s production was answered by a pair of 3-pointers from Gavin Terhark and Kolbeck. BV closed out the 54-43 victory with buckets by Lloyd, Jackson Hilton and Terhark.
Deckert was pleased with the effort his team gave in their first game of the season.
“I’ve seen a lot of really bad first games of the year, like where everything works and nothing works, and this to me seemed like it was a game in the middle of January,” he said. “I thought both teams executed and defended really, really well.”
He also had high praise for 6-foot-9 senior Gavin Terhark, who finished the night with a team-high 17 points. Nine of Terhark’s points were from 3-point range.
“It feels like Gavin literally left off where he was at the state tournament,” Deckert said. “He’s a way more confident player, he’s a great system player, super kid who’s going to have an outstanding year.”
As for his 3-point shot, Deckert suspects that will come as no surprise to future foes.
“Right now, people have a good idea of how hard he’s been working at some of that stuff,” Deckert said.
The Lynx hauled in 17 rebounds, and were led by Payton Tietjen and Hilton, who both had five, and Terhakr, who had four.
The BV boys were in a sharing mode Friday, dishing off 16 assists. Leading the charge with five was Kolbeck. Hilton and Thomas Scholten both offered three. And as good as they were sharing the ball, they were equally effective in taking it away, too. BV registered 10 steals. Kolbeck and Hilton led the way with four and three, respectively. Tietjen had two to his credit.
BV turned the ball over seven times.
 
Rapid City Stevens                        16 25 31 43
Brandon Valley                               16 29 40 54
 
BV (2PFG, 3PFG, FT, TP): Jaxon LaBrie 0-2 2-5 0-0 6; Jaksen Deckert 1-3 0-0 1-2 3; Cole Sylliaasen 0-1 0-0 0-0 0; Thomas Scholten 2-3 1-2 2-2 7; Joe Kolbeck 3-4 1-3 0-0 9; Aydin Lloyd 3-3 0-1 0-0 6; Payton Tietjen 1-2 0-0 0-3 2; Jackson Hilton 1-1 0-6 2-2 4; Gavin Terhark 3-4 3-3 0-1 17. Totals: 14-23 7-20 5-10 54.
 
BV vs Spearfish
Sporting a clear height advantage, the Lynx out-produced the Spartans in nearly every facet of their Saturday afternoon meeting in Brandon.
BV went into full offensive production from the tip-off and utilized their signature man-to-man defense to keep the Spartans at bay. In the opening frame, BV got on the board first on a layup by Jaxon LaBrie and doubled their score on a put back by Gavin Terhark. Aydin Lloyd came off the bench midway through the quarter and dropped in a 3-pointer to give the Lynx a 19-8 advantage. The Lynx closed out the quarter with a trio of 3-pointers – one from Joe Kolbeck and two from Jackson Hilton. At the end of the first, BV had already built a 20-point lead, 28-8.
The second quarter was much a repeat of the first for the Lynx on both sides of the ball. LaBrie opened the stanza with a 3-point bucket, that was answered by John Nickles. Gavin Terhak plunked in BV’s next four points, both coming on offensive rebounds. Hunter Marso came off the bench and effectively scored three points. Spearfish then went on an 8-0 run to narrow BV’s lead, 38-19. Jaksen Deckert planted one on a mid-range jumper to close out the first half and the 40-20 lead.
The Lynx padded their score by 10 points to start the third before Nickles finally answered with a 3-point bucket. BV’s suffocating defense continue to cause havoc for Spearfish, and by the quarters end, the Lynx held a 60-31 lead over their guests.
The Lynx utilized their bench in the fourth quarter and received production from Nate Lear, Jay Jurgens, Lloyd, and Deckert.
The Lynx doubled their rebounding effort from Friday night to Saturday, hauling in 31. BV was led on the boards by Terhark, who had seven, and Deckert, who had five. Each latching onto three were LaBrie, Payton Tietjen and Jurgens.
Once again, the Lynx shared the ball well and came away with 15 assists. Kolbeck had three to his credit, while Deckert, Thomas Scholten and Hilton all accounted for two each.
BV picked off 13 steals. Deckert and Kolbeck both got a hand on three, while Lear had two.
BV’s bigs teamed up for three blocks. Tietjen, Terhark and Jurgens each had one.The Lnx turned the ball over 10 times.
The Lynx were charged with 10 turnovers in the game.
The 2-0 Lynx are sure to be tested in their next three outings. On Tuesday, BV hosted Sioux Falls Lincoln, and Thursday night will travel to face Matt Mors and the Yankton Bucks. During their holiday break, the Lynx will take on DeLaSalle, Minn., at the Sanford Pentagon.
“We’re going to find out just how good we are these next three games,” Deckert said. “Lincoln has a very physical, very aggressive team that’s very, very good, so we’re going to have to be really good tomorrow night to be in the game. Obviously, we’re going to Yankton to play easily the best player in the state of South Dakota in Matt Mors, and then we’re going to take a break over Christmas and then we’re going to come back with a DeLaSalle, a team that is crazy good. It’s going to be a really, really good test for our guys.”
 
Spearfish 8 20 31 48
Brandon Valley 28 40 60 78
 
BV (2PFG, 3PFG, FT, TP): Jaxon LaBrie 2-4 2-2 0-0 10; Jaksen Deckert 4-5 1-3 0-0 11; Cole Sylliaasen 0-1 0-2 0-0 0; Nate Lear 1-2 0-4 0-0 2; Joe Kolbeck 1-1 2-2 0-0 8; Hunter Marso 1-1 0-0 1-1 3; Aydin Lloyd 3-5 1-2 2-2 11; Jace Christoffer 0-0 0-1 0-0 0; Payton Tietjen 1-2 0-0 0-0 2; Jackson Hilton 1-2 2-3 0-0 8; Gavin Terhark 7-7 0-1 0-0 14; Jay Jurgens 3-4 0-0 0-0 6; Wes DeWitt 0-0 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 24-34 22 9-22 3-5 78.

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