SIOUX FALLS - The opening half of the Class A boys state basketball tournament may have given the impression that the top-ranked Red Cloud Crusaders and the eighth-ranked Chamberlain Cubs were on the same level.

After coming out of the locker room in the first half Thursday, Red Cloud showed why it is on a higher level and why it only lost one game on the season.

The Crusaders scored 28 points in the third quarter, or as many points as they did in the first half, to beat the Chamberlain Cubs, 69-47, and punched their ticket to the state semifinals at the Sioux Falls Arena.

After opening the second half with a 32-28 lead, Chamberlain (14-10 overall) only scored three points in the third frame and could only manage 15 points in the second half.

"They are the best team in the state, and once they have confidence, they are a scary team to play," Cubs head coach Allan Bertman said. "We had some really nice open looks in the third quarter, and they were not going in, like they were before."

Red Cloud senior Christian McGhee explained the difference between halves.

"We got chewed out at halftime," he said.

McGhee struggled from the 3-point line (2-of-13), but led his team in his assists with eight and had a clutch 3-pointer which put a dagger in the Cubs' chances of winning.

"It was a big wake-up call. When you get here everyone is good, and so if we let up a little bit, we will behind just like today," McGhee said.

According to Rama, his team goes on many runs.

"We're definitely a team that rolls, we might not score for two minutes, but then we might score 15 in three minutes. We're going to go on a run, it is just a matter of time."

Chamberlain (14-10) was led by junior Joe Hieb with 19 points and 6-foot-2 senior Wade Hickey had 14 points along with seven rebounds. Sophomore Chevy Fisher added solid minutes and grabbed six rebounds in 12 minutes of play.

Hieb, Chamberlain's leading scorer this season, is looking forward to two more games in the state tournament.

"We got two left, and we are going to make the best of them," he said.

Lester Gotheridge had a game-high 24 points to lead the Crusaders.

Red Cloud will take on Platte-Geddes at 6 p.m., MDT for the right to advance to the state championship game.

Chamberlain will take on Sioux Valley in the consolation bracket at noon.