LNI boys: Crusaders pull away in second half to win

By Padraic Duffy, Journal staff | Friday, December 21, 2007

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RAPID CITY — The Red Cloud Crusaders got four consecutive 3-point baskets to begin the second half of their game with the Custer Wildcats on Thursday at the Lakota Nation Invitational basketball tournament en route to a 52-35 quarterfinal victory.

“Any time you play a team coached by Larry (Luitjens), you know that you’re going to be playing a well-coached team,” Red Cloud head coach Matt Rama said. “We knew coming in that they were going to play great defense and make us work for everything we got, and they did.”

The game was played more at Custer’s pace for much of the night, but the Crusaders managed to find some open shots to start the second half

and extend a 26-18 halftime lead to 43-30 at the end of the third quarter.

“We tried to do a little pressing and some trapping and that got us some easy baskets,” Rama said. “We actually stopped moving so much on offense and relied a little more on dribble penetration and that kind of opened things up for us.”

The Wildcats starting five actually did a pretty good job of playing their district foes closely but in the end it was the Crusaders superior depth that did Custer in.

“It’s nice to be able to look down the bench and see that many guys that you can put in,” Rama said. “And that’s without one of our guards (Bryer Cottier) that played a lot last year and is out right now. I’m sure that they all want to play more and that’s a little tough for me, but as long as they keep coming in and playing hard that’s good.”

Christian McGhee led the Crusaders with 17 points. Isaac Parsons paced the Wildcats with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Red Cloud, 3-0 on the year, will now play Standing Rock in a semifinal tonight at 7 p.m. The winner of that game will meet the winner of (Todd County-Little Wound winner) and (White River-Pine Ridge winner) on Saturday in the championship game.

MAKOSICA BRACKET

Standing Rock, N.D., 65, Takini 39

RAPID CITY — Standing Rock’s balanced effort proved to be Takini’s undoing as the North Dakota ball club knocked off the Skyhawks 65-39 in a Makosica bracket quarterfinal Thursday.

Kyle Claymore scored 12 points, Benji Iron Shield had 11 and Kent Grey Cloud 10 to lead Standing Rock, which had nine players score.

Claymore and Iron Shield hit two 3-pointers each. Claymore finished with a team-high seven rebounds.

Gideon Hayes tossed in 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Takini.

Todd County 63, Little Wound 45

RAPID CITY — Jordan His Law scored 28 points and hauled down 15 rebounds to lead Todd County past Little Wound 63-45 in a Makosica quarterfinal game Thursday.

Mark Dubray scored 15 points and Alex Prue had 10 for the winning Falcons.

The first and third quarters proved key in Todd County’s efforts. The Falcons jumped out to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter, only to see the Mustangs pull back within 27-20 at the half.

Todd County then outscored Little Wound 20-9 in the third quarter to take control of the game.

Brice Hornbeck scored 18 points and had nine rebounds, both team-high totals Casey Montileaux followed with 11 points.

White River 87, Pine Ridge 52

RAPID CITY — White River advanced into the semifinals of the LNI tournament with a 87-52 win over Pine Ridge on Thursday night as Louie Krogman set the all-time boy’s state scoring record.

Krogman scored 28 points to stand alone with 2,831 career points.  White River will take on Todd County at 8 p.m. at the civic center in the second semifinal game. 

Pine Ridge will play Little Wound at 2 p.m. at South Dakota Mines.

The Tigers came out on a mission and held a 57-32 lead at the intermission.

Frankie Waln added 15 points and R.J. Estes had 13 for the winners.

Roman Leftwich led the Thorpes with 16 points.

PAHA SAPA BRACKET

Cheyenne-Eagle Butte 49, Lower Brule 38

RAPID CITY — Chase Pay Pay scored a game-high 15 points as Cheyenne-Eagle Butte defeated Lower Brule in the first round of the Paha Sapa bracket at the LNI on Thursday.

Cheyenne-Eagle Butte held a 24-21 lead at the half, but really opened up the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Sioux 13-8 to take a 37-29 lead.

Charlie Marshall added 14 points for the victors.

Lower Brule was hampered by 22 turnovers, while C-EB made 13.

Wil Edwards led Lower Brule with a double-double, 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Hill City 58, Crazy Horse 34

RAPID CITY — Hill City got a second day win at the LNI on Wednesday in the Paha Sapa bracket with a 58-34 victory over Crazy Horse, as Hudson Koel tossed in a game-high 25 points for the Rangers.

Hill City broke out to a 22-7 lead after the first quarter and then the Rangers managed to keep the Mustangs at bay the rest of the way.

Ace Amiotte led Crazy Horse with 12 points with Tyson Red Elk chipped in with nine markers.

Nash Koel grabbed 10 rebounds while Hudson Koel added nine for the Rangers.

Amiotte snared nine caroms as Crazy Horse held a 34-31 advantage in that department.

Crow Creek 41, Heart of the Earth 36

RAPID CITY — Larry Gayton scored a game-high 21 points as Crow Creek edged Heart of the Earth 41-36 in the Paha Sapa bracket of the boys LNI competition on Thursday.

Crow Creek led 14-6 after the first quarter, but the Minnesotans held the Chieftains to only two points in the second to cut the lead to 16-11. Heart of the Earth led 29-25 after three quarters.

Lucas Comes Flying was the only other Chieftain in double figure scoring with 11 points.

Demetrius Martin tied the game-high scoring with 21 points for Heart of the Earth. Martin also grabbed 13 rebounds.

Flandreau Indian 87, St. Francis 72

RAPID CITY — Six players scored in double figures as Flandreau Indian defeated St. Francis 87-72 in high school boys basketball action in the Paha Sapa bracket at the LNI.

Sterling Drapeau paced the victors with 21 points. Teammates Ryan Wallette and Clark Dale each netted 12. Kyle Nipwater scored 11, while Fred Packed and Tony St. John each added 10.

Flandreau Indian shot 54.5 percent from the field, while St. Francis hit 37 percent.

Austin Prue scored a game-high 27 points for St. Francis. Richard Spotted Tail and Tim Little Shield each scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds.