SIOUX FALLS – On a day with plenty of emotion for third-seeded Brandon Valley, the Lynx jumped out early and held serve the rest of the way for a 63-48 victory over the Huron Tigers in the final game of the opening day of the Class AA Boys’ Basketball Tournament at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls

The Brandon Valley School District announced on Wednesday that long-time basketball coach Brent Deckert passed away from cancer. A friend of Huron Tiger coach Tim Buddenhagen - and most anyone he ever coached with or against, the Tigers staff joined many coaches in the Class AA tournament wearing shirts that said, “The game honors toughness” in honor of Coach Deckert. A moment of silence was held before the starting lineups were announced in his memory.

After a pair of empty possessions for each team, Brandon’s Landon Dulaney made a backdoor cut and got a layup. Huron’s Gavin Moeding immediately answered with a backdoor cut of his own.

The Lynx’s Aiden Zerr was fouled and hit one of two free throws. Huron was able to find Colton McNeil for a corner three and a 6-5 lead that would end up being the only Huron lead of the game.

Brayden Miller then nailed a three in response for the Lynx and Zerr got a bucket inside to push the Brandon lead to 8-5 heading into the first media timeout.

Brandon big man Josh Olthoff and Moeding for Huron each missed a pair of free throws, a trend that would plague both teams in the first half.

Hayden Anderson made a strong move down low, and then the Brandon bench came to life.

Briggs Knutson hit a three for Brandon Valley. Huron’s Anderson Porisch answered with a three of his own, but Brady Wells and Ryland Carroll each got deep buckets as well to push the lead quickly out to 19-8 for the Lynx.

Porisch was able to drive to the hoop and draw a foul, hitting the charity shot to bring Huron within 19-11, but Olthoff hit a short jumper for a 21-11 lead for the Lynx heading into the second quarter.

CJ Gainey attempted to spark Huron to open the second half, getting a transition layup and a steal and a layup to narrow the lead to 21-15.

Anderson made a cut and Olthoff found him for a lay-in, then Moeding hit one of two free throws.

Miller continued the strong long-distance shooting for the Lynx.

Gainey answered with a three, but Carroll then hit a three the next two trips down the court to send the Lynx into the media timeout with 3:01 left in the half up 32-19.

Carsen Evans got Huron a pair of free throws and Porisch nailed a floater in the lane. An Olthoff free throw made it 33-23 Brandon heading into the half.

Blake Ellwein got his first points of the game for Huron to open the second half with a scoop shot, then after Dulaney got a layup off a pass from Olthoff, Ellwein hit one of two free throws.

Ellwein then found Moeding on a backdoor cut to bring the score to 35-28, the score at the media timeout with 4:33 left in the quarter.

Three Brandon players scored in a quick 7-2 run after the media timeout that brought the Lynx lead out to 42-30.

Holden Hegg made a strong move and got a bucket for Huron and Porisch and Ellwein each hit a pair of free throws, but the Lynx had an answer each time, and the two teams headed to the final period with Brandon up 46-36.

Gainey and Dulaney each hit a three to open the quarter, and after Moeding got a transition layup, Dulaney hit another three.

Ellwein was able to shake free for a basket, but he missed the foul shot. Olthoff was able to get two free throws to send the teams into the media timeout with Brandon up 54-43.

Huron continued to make strides, but each step was met with an answer by the Lynx, and after struggling from the line through three quarters, Brandon hit seven of eight free throws in the final frame to seal a 63-48 victory.

The Lynx move to 17-5 behind 18 points, 11 of them in the fourth quarter, by Dulaney. Anderson and Olthoff each nabbed eight rebounds while Olthoff also dished out five assists.

Huron falls to 13-9. Gainey led in scoring with 15 points and Porisch had 10 points and six rebounds. Ellwein only hit for seven points, but he had an all-around game with four rebounds, three assists and a remarkable eight blocked shots.

The Tigers will play Watertown in the second game of the afternoon session today, while the Lynx will match up with Harrisburg in the final game of Friday.

Huron 11 23 36 48
Brandon Valley 21 33 46 63

Huron (13-9): Colton McNeil 1 0-0 3, Gavin Moeding 3 1-4 7, Holden Hegg 1 0-0 2, CJ Gainey 6 0-0 15, Blake Ellwein 2 3-5 7, Anderson Porisch 3 3-3 10, Carsen Evans 0 4-4 4. Totals: 16 11-16 48.

Brandon Valley (17-5): Briggs Knutson 1 3-4 6, Brady Wells 1 0-0 3, Landon Dulaney 6 3-4 18, Aiden Zerr 2 1-4 5, Brayden Miller 2 0-0 6, Ryland Carroll 3 0-0 9, Hayden Anderson 3 2-4 8, Josh Olthoff 2 4-8 8. Totals: 20 13-24 63.

FG: H - 16/47 34%; BV - 20/45 44%. 3-pt FG: H 5/23 (Gainey 3, McNeil, Porisch); BV 10/18 (Dulaney 3, Carroll 3, Miller 2, Knutson, Wells). Rebounds: H 33 (Porisch 6), BV 30 (Anderson, Olthoff 8). Assists: H 9 (Ellwein 3), BV 15 (Olthoff 5). Steals: H 6 (Gainey 2), BV 8 (Dulaney 3). Blocks: H 8 (Ellwein 8), BV 1 (Olthoff). Turnovers: H 16, BV 10. Fouls: H 18, BV 16.