Rangers punch ticket to SoDak 16 with win over STM

It was a packed house at the Hill City Gins Gym for the highly anticipated showdown between the regional number two seed Hill City Rangers and the number three seed, St. Thomas More Cavaliers last Friday night. 

The game was a re-match between the two teams after Hill City beat STM for the first time in 25 years Feb 22. The outcome of the game determined which team would secure a seat in the SoDak 16 and which team would have a season-ender.

Going into this game the Rangers didn’t change much about their strategy but knew they would have to do a better job of rebounding this time around. 

“No, we didn’t change a lot, but obviously we needed to take care of our defensive rebounding,” said head coach Laramie Harvey. “Everett did draw the assignment of keeping the Speed kid off the glass because he had a whale of a game on the boards the first go ‘round. He’s big, strong and a tough assignment, but Everett did a good job.”

With a line from the entrance that wrapped around the corner of the school and beyond, fans of both teams flooded into the gymnasium for what was arguably the biggest sporting event in the history of the Hill City Rangers athletics. 

From the back and forth banter of the student section to the cheerleaders competing for floor space, it was a momentous atmosphere.

Hill City’s Everett Sullivan tipped off against STM Broeden Sales. The Cavaliers came up with the first possession but missed with Hill City getting the board and heading down the floor. Zane Messick took the first shot for the Rangers, missing but recovering his own rebound and putting it back up for two to get the Rangers on the board. 

It was Messick again from the three-point line this time to put the Rangers up 5-0 and provoking the first time out from the STM bench. 

The Cavs came out and worked the ball around, draining the shot clock. With seven seconds left, Ashton Paulsen drove into the paint but was stopped by Dax Frandsen and Alex Stoekmann but hit the fade away shot putting STM on the board for the first time of the game.

Devin Buehler notched seven points for the Rangers putting them up 12-6 at the end of the first quarter. 

The second quarter was predominantly one-sided offensively in favor of the Cavaliers. Buehler and Messick were only able to put up two points each in the quarter with STM putting up 11 points between four players. The Cavs took the lead with just over two minutes remaining and ended with STM up by one at the half 17-16.

The Rangers didn’t trail for long. A Buehler three tied the game again just two and half minutes into the quarter. A foul sent STM’s Paulsen to the line, where he drained both shots to put Cavs up once again. Messick immediately answered with a jump shot to bring the score to 21-21. 

STM’s Sales made a move in the paint put the Cavs up by two. On the next Ranger possession Messick hit a long-three to again take the lead 24-23. Speed was fouled on a jumper in the paint but failed to make the bonus shot.

An Alex Stoekmann pass to Messick for his third three-point shot of the night tied the game up again with two minutes remaining in the third. 

Speed and Hill City’s Sullivan went to battle in the paint as Speed hit a jumper over Sullivan’s defense. On the other end of the court, Speed fouled Sullivan at the post and Sullivan went two-for-two from the line to tie up the game 29-29. The next STM possession Speed made another big move in the post, putting up two with just 33 seconds remaining. 

With a loose ball and bodies all over the floor, STM called a time-out, which they received even though the team didn’t have possession of the ball which gave them possession after the time-out with just 12.6 seconds remaining. Harvey was clearly upset about the call, walking onto the court before returning to the team’s huddle. 

STM missed a three-point attempt near the buzzer to end the third 31-29 in the Cavs’ favor as they outscored the Rangers 14-13 in the quarter.

To begin the fourth, STM’s  Declan Duffy missed a long three that ended up in the hands of Buehler who took the ball coast to coast for layup and drew the foul for the potential plus one but the bonus didn’t fall. 

Stoekmann drew his fourth foul defending against STM Speed on the post with one second left on the shot clock. STM received the ball under the basket. The ball was inbounded to Sales for an alleyoop for two bringing the Cavs up 33-31 with 6:35 left to play.

On the Rangers next possession they ran the shot-clock down to two seconds as Buehler shook his defense with a cross-over and drained a step back three to retake the lead by one. 

After an STM time out, the Cavs passed the ball down low and drew a foul on Messick for Saless to shoot two. He went one of two from the line. The Rangers got the ball with a tie game. Dax Frandsen drove the lane and dumped the ball to Sullivan, who went up against Speed and scored his first basket of the night. 

The teams continued trading baskets as Paulsen drove in for a jumper in the paint. Messick was blocked by STM’s Wyatt Gylten and it was knocked out of bounds. The Rangers inbounded the ball under the basket to wide open Messick under the hoop for two. Gylten then hit an off-balance shot and the score was once again locked up 38-38.

With just about a minute and a half left in the game, Gylten hit a three point jump shot and was immediately called for a technical foul for excessive celebration after the shot which exploded the crowd on both sides.

Messick went to the line to shoot the free throws for Hill City. He made both shots bringing the score to 41-40 and the Rangers got possession of the ball. After a Ranger time out, and just over 30 seconds to go, the Rangers inbounded from the sideline to the back court. Frandsen drove to the basket but missed the shot and STM came up with the rebound with under 20 seconds to go. The Rangers fouled and STM called a time out. The Cavs inbounded and the Rangers immediately foul and sent STM to the line. STM’s Paulson hit both shots and put the Cavs up by 3 with 14.2 seconds left.

The Rangers inbound and get the ball to Buehler for a three, which he hit tying up the game with just seconds left on the clock. STM inbounded the ball and Gylten launched a half court shot for the win which narrowly missed and bounced off the back of the rim and sent the game into overtime. 

Frandsen hit the first shot in overtime and his first bucket of the game. On the other end of the court, a foul was called on Buehler during a rebound attempt. The Ranger fans made it very clear that they didn’t agree with the call but Speed went to the line and went one of two, bringing the Cavs within one of the Rangers.

The next Ranger possession Messick drove the lane and was fouled on a made layup and sank the bonus for a three point play putting Hill City up by three. 

The Cavs missed a three point attempt and Hill City came up with the ball but lost it again as Gylten went for the steal from Buehler.  Before Gylten could get possession of the ball, Harvey called a time out, preventing an STM fast break and giving the Rangers another possession.

Both teams missed shot attempts and the ball went up and down the floor until there was less than a minute left. At the 40 second mark Duffy hit his first shot of the game, a three pointer which brought the Cavs back to a one-point deficit. 

Messick inbounded the ball to Frandsen, who attempted to drive down the sideline but the ball went out of bounds, turning it over with 38 seconds left. 

STM inbounded the ball on the sideline and passed into the middle to Sales who went up strong and hit a bunny putting the Cavs up by one with just 19.5 seconds left.

This, is where the Hill City magic happened. 

Messick took the ball out and launched a full court pass to Frandsen, who sprinted the court and caught the inbound pass. Frandsen drove, went up and dumped the ball across the lane to Stoekmann, who pump faked, shook the defense and went up and layed it in with his left hand for his only basket of the night and arguably his most important of the season. 

With 9.3 seconds on the clock STM inbounded the ball and moved it down the floor. Paulsen lost the handle on a pass and Frandsen knocked the ball out of bounds with 2.1 second remaining. 

STM had no time outs and was forced to inbound the ball in a last ditch attempt at a shot. They threw the ball in, with Sullivan pressuring the pass  and knocking his opponent off balance and forcing him to throw the ball which was intercepted by Messick as the clock ran out and the Rangers won by one in overtime 50-49.

The game ending was a gut-punch to the St. Thomas More players and fans and a triumphant victory for the Hill City Rangers who are now one win away from their first ever state tournament.

Buehler and Messick were a one-two punch against the Cavaliers with 20 and 22 points. Sullivan had a big game defending the paint and crashing the boards. Frandsen and Stoekmann had the play of the night with Frandsen’s assist to Stoekmann for the bucket in the final seconds that gave the Rangers the final tip of the scale to win the game. 

“It was a total team effort and I think we’re getting to a point where people don’t care who scores what, they just play,” said Harvey. “They don’t care who scores. They don’t care who gets the credit. They just want to win and it’s real fun to be a part of something like that.”

The Rangers traveled to neutral territory in Sturgis Tuesday, March 11, to take on Cheyenne Eagle Butte for the make or break game to go to the state tournament in Sioux Falls. Results were not available at the time of publication.