RAPID CITY - White River earned its third straight trip to the state Class B boys basketball tournament, dominating New Underwood, 72-49, in a Tigers-versus-Tigers Region 7B finale Tuesday night at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center.

Louie Krogman scored 27 points to extend his all-time, all-gender state scoring record to 3,363 points. Jake Krogman scored 17 points, with Matthew Bartlett adding 16 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

The key statistic, however, was the 27 turnovers given up by New Underwood, 18 in the first half alone, that allowed White River's Tigers to build a cushion and steadily slip away.

New Underwood's Tigers couldn't get much of an attack going, owing to White River's hustling defense.

"That's our game. We like to pressure the other team and get our up-and-down game going," White River coach Eldon Marshall said.

"The guys came out ready to go. We were able to create some turnovers and get some buckets and get the lead," Marshall said.

"We did not take care of the ball. We could not get into our offense and create some mismatches down low," New Underwood coach Stacy Finkbeiner said.

"We have young guards and we've struggled against pressure all year. White River does such a great job. They're everywhere. It's like you're playing against seven people."

Louie Krogman pumped in 14 points in the first half.

Bartlett, a 6-foot-5 junior, was particularly effective inside with 12 points before the break.

"He was 6-for-6 in the first half," Marshall said. "We depend on him rebounding and he averages 13 boards a game. He's big for us."

New Underwood trailed 19-11 at the first quarter break and was rendered scoreless for 5:44 in the second quarter.

Jaron Finkbeiner finally broke the ice for New Underwood with 2:16 left and added three more baskets, but White River outscored New Underwood 20-8 in the period to all but put the game out of reach.

Finkbeiner, a 6-foot-4 senior, finished with 25 points to lead New Underwood.

"He's had a great career for us. He's gone over a 1,000 points himself, averaging over 20 points and 13 boards, so he has nothing to hang his head about," Stacy Finkbeiner said.

Mickey Knecht led New Underwood with 10 rebounds and also added five points. A third senior, Chris Bingham scored two points in the final outing of his high school career.

White River will take a 22-3 mark to next week's State B tournament in Aberdeen. The Tigers finished third at last year's "B" tourney.

"Hopefully, we can do a little better than third," Louie Krogman said. "We'll just have to see what we can do when we get there."

New Underwood completes the year at 12-9.