MILLER — The De Smet Bulldogs, seeded second in Class B, used a 61-49 victory to clinch their sixth straight trip to the Class B State Boys’ Basketball Tournament, defeating the Timber Lake Panthers in Miller Tuesday in SoDak 16 action.

The Bulldogs struggled with shooting early, and as Timber Lake’s Aidan Rough Surface was about to shoot free throws with the Bulldogs up 7-6, the officials realized that the basketball was an official girls’ basketball, not a boys’ ball.

De Smet then finished out the final 2:57 of the first quarter on a 7-2 run with the correct ball to lead 14-8 after one quarter.

The Panthers did get back to a 14-14 tie with 6:13 left in the first half. Timber Lake even took a 20-19 lead with 3:38 left in the first, but a Britt Carlson three gave De Smet the 24-22 lead with 2:10 left and they’d finish the half with a 6-2 run to take a 30-24 lead into the break.

The Bulldogs played strong defense in the third quarter, forcing the Panthers into multiple miscues and working to easy shots on offense, pushing the lead to as much as 12 points before finishing the period with a 46-36 lead.

A barrage of long-range shots brought Timber Lake all the way back within two with 5:33 left in the game. However, De Smet’s defense and experience allowed them to consistently push out the lead.

The teams swapped in reserves with 30 seconds remaining as the Bulldogs closed out a 61-49 victory to clinch a return trip to the state tournament.

The Bulldogs move to 20-3 headed into the state tourney while Timber Lake finishes the season 13-10.

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by George Jensen with 16 points and nine rebounds. Kadyn Fast added 14 points and four steals.

Trace Van Regenmorder had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds for De Smet.

Kyler Bullinger bucketed 18 points for the Panthers and Tristan Dupris added 14 points and nine rebounds.

De Smet has won the last three Class B titles and finished second in 2019 before the 2020 tourney was cancelled due to COVID-19.

The program will be appearing in its 27th state tournament and has eight titles.

Timber Lake 8 24 36 49
De Smet 14 30 46 61

Timber Lake (13-10): Kyler Bollinger 5 5-5 18, Gracen Hansen 3 1-2 8, Tristan Dupris 4 4-4 14, Cole Ducheneaux 1 0-0 3, Aidan Rough Surface 3 0-0 6. Totals: 16 10-11 49.

De Smet (20-3): Trace Van Regenmorter 5 1-2 11, George Jensen 6 3-4 16, Tom Aughenbaugh 2 3-6 7, Kadyn Fast 5 3-4 14, Britt Carlson 2 0-0 5, Grant Wilkinson 4 0-0 8. Totals: 24 10-16 61.

FG: TL - 16/55 29%; DS - 24/59 41%. 3-pt FG: TL 7/25 (Bollinger 3, Dupris 2, Hansen, Ducheneaux); DS 3/21 (Jensen, Fast, Carlson). Rebounds: TL 27 (Dupris 9), DS 43 (Van Regenmorter 10). Assists: TL 5 (Dupris 2), DS 15 (Fast, Carlson 4). Steals: TL 4 (Bollinger 2), DS 7 (Fast 4). Turnovers: TL 11, DS 9. Fouls: TL 16, DS 12.