Britton-Hecla trailed at the first three quarter breaks but outscored Aberdeen Roncalli 15-9 in the final period to post a 59-54 win in first round play of the Region 1A boys basketball tournament in Britton on Tuesday.
The victory avenged a 59-53 loss to the Cavaliers during the regular season.
The Braves earned the third seed in regional play and will travel to Webster on Friday to take on the second-seeded Bearcats. Webster Area posted a 58-47 win over B-H on Dec. 21 in the second game of the season. The winner of Thursday’s contest will advance to the SoDak 16 set for Tuesday to determine a berth in the Class A state tournament to be held in Rapid City March 19-21.
Following a Jaxon Zuehlke three-point play with 3:35 to play to give the Braves a 54-50 lead, Roncalli hit back-to-back buckets to knot the contest at 54-all with 2:47 left, the seventh time the hard-fought game was tied. Zuehlke, who had seven of his team-high 21 points in the final stanza, broke the deadlock with a follow shot with 47 seconds remaining and Chaz Vietor hit three free throws in the final 25 seconds as Roncalli went scoreless for the final 2:47.
Vietor backed up Zuehlke’s effort with 15 counters and Will Richter netted 14.
ABERDEEN RONCALLI: Jesse Hernandez 10 0-0 22, Austin Fisher 2 0-0 6, Quinten Shelton 1 0-0 2, Creighton Fisher 3 0-0 8, Bryson Olson 4 2-4 10, Sam Larson 1 0-0 2, Mason Berndt 2 0-2 4. Totals 25 2-6 54.
BRITTON-HECLA: Mitch Burger 2 0-2 4, Will Richter 6 0-0 14, Lofton Heer 0 2-2 2, Chaz Vietor 4 5-7 15, Jaxon Zuehlke 9 3-5 21, Nathan Folkman 1 1-2 3. Totals 22 11-18 59.
AR (7-14) 13 28 45 54
BH (13-8) 9 26 44 59
3-point goals - Hernandez 2, A. Fisher 2, C. Fisher 2; Richter 2, Vietor 2. Totals fouls – AR 20, BH 11.
