January 2, 2021 will now be known as “Buzzer-Beater Night” in the basketball world of the best schools in South Dakota.
The first full day of games in 2021 provided enough drama with five (!!!) games in the final game.
Here’s a collection of the exciting finishes, with games indexed in chronological order (seriously guys, spooky Saturday WILD).
Less than 64-63 with 10 seconds left, Western Christian (Iowa) sent the ball to Eli Van Essen, who dribbled a defender to the basket and then dropped to the ground, returned a pass to Brayden Van Meeteren. Van Meeteren grabs the ball and cuts for the winning layup.
Here’s a look at @WCWolfpackHoops’ Brayden Van Meeteren’s winning shot with 1 moment left that secured a 65-64 win over Dell Rapids at the Heritage Classic. (@MikeHenriksen on duty) #SanfordSports pic. twitter. com/UIIhd5a88Y
The first installment of the war for Rapid City (mark pending?) Didn’t disappoint the Raiders and Cobblers in a fierce back-and-forth war that ultimately centered on end-game ownership.
With the score tied and with less than five seconds to go, Stevens’s Jill Delzer shoots a triple that bounces off the basket and leaps to the other side of the lane before a teammate manages to push back. the balloon towards Delzer. In one fluid motion, the 5-foot-10 guard grabs the pass and picks up a shot that bounces around the rim and enters.
I have arrived! Jill Delzer tries a time pass to give the Stevens Raiders a 48-46 win #sdpreps #sdhoops pic. twitter. com/B0YrlYUUM2
It is a wonderful story.
Less than a year ago, Caelyn Valandra-Prue of White River tore her ACL, MCL and meniscus at Mitchell Corn Palace.
Back at Corn Castle on Saturday night, the USD track share dropped 27 points, that winning cube.
Dammit. Amazing.
As many others have noted on Twitter, a year ago Caelyn Valandra-Prue from White River (a @SDCoyotesXCTF engagement) tore her ACL, ACL, and meniscus at Corn Castle. Tonight she did that. Amazing. pic. twitter. com/dL8Nv48zDe
The cube from an Elijah Peterson game couldn’t have come at a better time.
6-0 guard / forward Winner went through a jump close to the wing to lead the Warriors to a 58-56 victory over Lennox. (It just wasn’t a fancy night for basketball fans. )
Ring drummers are fun! Winner of the horn at Lennox. pic. twitter. com/gChKciGTm8
On a night of wild endings, there was one that stood out above the rest.
One point down with 1. 2 seconds left, Sioux Valley’s Parker Puetz throws the ball into the opponent’s goal line. The ball deflects the basket from the hands of Oliver Vincent, and directly to Kelton Vincent, who grabs the pass (?) And sails towards the winning tray.
UNREAL.
Holy Cow. This is how the Sioux Valley tea area is turned upside down tonight. pic. twitter. com/zQBRSTdbfl
What an ending for Sioux Falls. They just gave me better camera shots of the doorbell drummer. pic. twitter. com/GeOPSYH62D
Another one of the winners from Sioux Valley. A call from @MikeHenriksen! pic. twitter. com/Juwxwj5vpD
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.