SPEARFISH - A defensive change by Rapid City Stevens head coach T.J. Hay paid dividends as the No. 4- seeded Raiders upended the No. 2 seed Spearfish, 43-34 in the first round of the District 4AA boys basketball tournament on Thursday in the Spartans' Gymnasium.

The win vaulted Stevens into the district championship at Sturgis at 7 p.m. today. The Scoopers edged Rapid City Central 56-54 in the other District 4AA first round game Thursday.

Stevens utilized a triangle-and-two defense against the Spartans. The Raiders held the Spartans' scoring duo of Justin Kemp and Jordan Johnson to 12 points, 14.5 points below their combined average of 26.5 points per-game.

"We worked on the triangle-and-two for one day," Hay said. "The kids couldn't have run it any better."

"We practiced all week for the triangle-and-two," Spearfish coach Dan Martin said. "We were standing around and not getting any movement. We were thinking instead of playing."

The Raiders, winning their second game in a row, were led by Sam Wolff, a 6-foot-1 guard, with a game-high 21 points. Senior forwards Taylor Sagen and Ivan Dzintars contributed 10 points and eight points, respectively.

Johnson and Chandler Schmuck tallied eight points each for Spearfish.

Both teams got off to a slow start in the scoring column. Kemp's layup with 4:58 left in the first period opened the scoring. Stevens responded with an 8-2 spurt. A trifecta by Wolff presented the Raiders with an 8-4 lead.

Schmuck drained a 3-pointer with 5:17 left in the half, giving Spearfish a 10-9 lead. The Spartans were held scoreless for the remainder of the quarter. Sagen canned four points and Dzintars dialed up a trey during a 9-0 scoring run, as the Raiders took an 18-10 halftime advantage. Wolff netted 10 points in the initial half.

Spearfish converted on only 20 percent (4-20) of its field goal attempts in the first half.

A three-pointer by reserve Chris Williams pulled the hosts to within 27-25 at the 6:35 mark of the fourth quarter.

Two free throws by Wolff pushed the Raiders' edge to 38-30.

"We were playing tight," Martin said. "We didn't play like we did the last three games. We turned the ball over on errant passes. We didn't shoot the ball with confidence.

"Rapid City Stevens had a good game plan. They played better than us."

"It's been a long season," Hay said. "Our kids played hard tonight. It was the first time all season we played hard from the opening tip to the final buzzer."

Stevens had success on dribble penetration into the lane, which resulted in dish offs for layups.

"I think Spearfish got tired," Hay said. "We got some good stuff going to the basket."

Stevens (3-19) split its two regular season Greater Dakota Conference games with Sturgis.

Spearfish (8-12) and Central split their two games this season, including last Friday's triple overtime classic win by the Spartans.