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Lincoln takes down Harrisburg in South Dakota boys basketball semifinals

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RAPID CITY — The No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln boys basketball team had to weather a 12-5 run from No. 4 Harrisburg to open the third quarter to win 53-48 and advance to the SDHSAA Class AA state championship game.

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Harrisburg trailed 26-25 at halftime before going on its surge.

Lincoln head coach Luke Hannemann decided to turn up the heat, going to a full-court press even on misses and turnovers. That rattled the Tigers, and the Patriots responded with a 22-11 finish to the game.

"We just knew at that point we had to go," Hannemann said. "We couldn't let them have a lead on us and we had to really go. Our defense helped propel some of our offense."

Harrisburg head coach Scott Langerock felt he didn't do enough to prepare his guys for the pressure and thought he deserves the credit for the final Lincoln run.

"I didn't rep it enough in practice, and it's hard to simulate that kind of pressure," Langerock said. "There were a lot of banana cuts, soft cuts, hopping, not screening with a purpose and popping back to the ball. And it's the pressure, right. It's a big-time game and you have the undefeated giant in the state on the ropes, so you get excited then a little doubt creeps in."

Harrisburg stayed in it the rest of the way, and David Doe Jr. had a chance to make it a two-point game late. Sam Ericsson, who shot just 2-for-10 in the game, came in to block the shot and seal the win.

"I just pride myself on showing up for my team in some way," Ericsson said. "If my shot's not falling, then I'm going to find other ways to show up and find a way to get a win."

The Patriots' offense revolved around Sam DeGroot, who was named South Dakota Gatorade Player of the Year earlier Friday morning. He proved the voters right, going for 24 points on 10-for-16 shooting, five rebounds and four blocks.

"It's been a good day," DeGroot said. "The award's nice, but I like the team victory more. It was an intense game. We battled all the way through and came through in the end. It was a good win for us."

Lincoln lost in this spot — the top seed in the semifinals — last season, but the Patriots responded to adversity this year and punched their ticket to the final.

"It's just a resilient group," Hannemann said. "They've put in the time, they do things the right way, they're great kids off the floor, and usually karma comes around."

Brody Schafer added 11 points, five rebounds and seven assists, Ericsson tallied nine points and four steals and Owen Duffy contributed seven points for Lincoln.

Lincoln will play either No. 2 Sioux Falls Roosevelt or No. 3 Huron in the Class AA state championship game at 6:45 p.m. MT/7:45 p.m. CT.

Harrisburg was incredibly emotional after having poured every ounce of fight and effort into the loss. Langerock got teared up talking about this group and the way they battled to reach the semifinals and have a chance at a trip to the state title game.

"It wasn't anything the coaches did, these guys played for each other all year," Langerock said. "That starts in April of last year. It wasn't about one individual guy and they just believed in each other and wanted to make plays for each other, always. It's pretty easy to get behind guys like that in today's world."

Stellen Larson led the Tigers with 14 points and eight rebounds and Crayton Jibben and Cole Kooiker added 11 points each.

Langerock is happy this group gets one more chance to compete as a team, not just because of the opportunity to play for third place.

"The great thing about the AA state tournament is you get to play three games," Langerock said. "There's value in having this emotion tonight, and tomorrow the sun gets up and you go do it again. That's real life, because life's going to punch you in the face quite often and do you want to pout and forget it ever happened, or do you want to face it the next day? This is probably the best life lesson an athlete gets to experience."

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Lincoln tops Harrisburg, moves to SDHSAA boys basketball championship

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