HURON –– The Huron Tigers had a halftime lead, but the Spearfish Spartans outscored the Tigers 17-6 in the third quarter to take control of the game, coming out with a 62-52 victory Friday at Huron Arena.

Knowing that the Spartans would try to use their speed to their advantage, Huron came out prepared for the press break. However, it was Spearfish who got the first notch on the scoreboard with a three from Mya Kochuten just 15 seconds into the game.

Aly Davis got a bucket on the Tigers’ third chance of their first possession. The next trip, Allison Janes split the defense for a layup and then stole the ball on the press and made a layup.

The Spartans broke the Huron press and Avery Kirk got a layup on the back end. Hylton Heinz responded with a hard drive to the hoop for her first bucket.

Kirk was fouled heading to the hoop and got a pair of free throws to cut the Huron lead to 8-7, but Heinz stopped and popped in a jumper in the lane to make it 10-7.

Kochuten got her second three from deep on the wing to tie it up, but Davis nailed a three of her own to make it 13-10 with just a little more than four and a half minutes left in the first quarter.

The pace of the game would slow significantly from there as it was two full minutes before Jozie Dana cut across the lane for a layup. Heinz responded with a hard drive through the lane for another basket.

The two teams exchanged tough defensive efforts until Janes nailed a three at the buzzer to end the first quarter with an 18-12 Huron margin.

The Spearfish defense kept up their pressure to open the second quarter, with Dana getting the first bucket of the second quarter off a steal.

Tiersyn Grubb was fouled for Spearfish and hit one of two, but Adelyn Bouman got the offensive rebound and was fouled. She missed both shots, so Huron maintained an 18-15 lead.

Davis drove through the lane and got the bucket and a foul, but she missed the free throw. That was Huron’s first bucket in the second quarter with 3:40 off the clock in the second quarter.

Huron’s offense woke up, though, as Heinz cut through the defense for a bucket. Dana would get fouled and hit both charity shots, but Addyson Knight nailed a three to push the Tiger lead to 25-17.

The lead would move out to 10 at 27-17 after Davis was fouled and made the shot. Davis missed the free throw, which meant the substitute waiting for her to make couldn’t come on the court, and she ended up picking up her third foul on the ensuing defensive possession.

Kate Scharf connected for three for the Spartans, and Kirk got a turnaround bucket in the lane.

Abagail Harrington worked a give-and-go and was fouled, making both shots. Huron had a chance to close out the half with the ball but threw it away, and Dana got the ball, getting fouled and hitting two free throws just before the first half ended. Huron took a 29-24 lead to the locker room.

Davis drove hard to potentially get the Tigers on the board first in the second half, but she missed both free throws, and on the ensuing possession, Kochuten got the shooter’s bounce from the top of the key for three.

Dana sped past the Tigers for a layup and then worked her way underneath and was fouled, sinking both free throws to give Spearfish a 31-29 lead.

The Spartans weren’t done, as Kirk got a layup on the backside of a give and go with Bouman. Heinz was able to get a Tiger putback, but Dana quickly responded with a short basket.

Kochuten nailed another three, and Knight responded by cutting through the defense to keep the lead 38-33, but Scharf was able to nail another three. A Heinz bucket at the buzzer sent the game to final frame with the Spartans ahead 41-35.

The fourth opened well for the Tigers as Heinz was fouled on a hard drive and got a pair of free throws. After a pair of Kochuten free throws, Heinz got a putback bucket to cut the Spearfish lead to 43-39.

Kirk got a layup on the back side of the press. Huron responded with a drive through the defense by Heinz and a Janes drive across the lane to close the lead to 45-43.

Kirk drew Davis’ fourth foul and made one of two free throws. Huron had multiple opportunities with the score 46-43 but couldn’t convert and Kirk ended up nailing a corner three with 4:48 left in the game to give the Spartans a 49-43 lead.

Dana got a steal and a layup and Scharf hit another three. Heinz was able to get a bucket, but Scharf nailed another three, giving the Spartans a 57-45 lead with just more than two minutes left.

Davis fouled out, and Kochuten hit one of two free throws. Huron was able to get a bucket from Janes and a three from Harrington to cut the score to eight, but couldn’t get any closer and the Spartans hit free throws to close out the 62-52 victory.

The Tigers finally began attempting outside shots again late in the second half. Tigers coach Kody Kopfmann saw that as a key to the game.

“We had eight threes taken in the first half. I liked our pace,” he said. “Then in the first 14 minutes of the second half, we only took two threes. That congested the floor when we needed to spread it out.”

The Spartans move to 9-4 behind four double-digit scorers, led by Dana and Kochuten with 17. Kirk had 14 and Scharf put in 13.

Dana led Spearfish with seven rebounds, six assists, and five assists in a strong all-around game.

Huron falls to 6-8 despite a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds for Heinz. Janes added 11 and Davis had nine.

Huron was pleased with Hylton’s effort but struggled with how the offensive attack set up in the second half.

“We relied too much on Hylton to do the heavy lifting,” Kopfmann said. “We have to take shots when they’re open and not stand around.”

Spearfish won the junior varsity game, 43-31, and Huron took the sophomore game by the score of 42-34.

Kopfmann says the first half energy level will be needed in future games to have success.

“We didn’t come out the second half with the same energy and we let them feel comfortable,” Kopfmann observed. “I didn’t like our communication defensively in the second half.”

The Tigers host Sturgis this afternoon, with tip-off moved up to 12:30 p.m.

Spearfish 12 24 41 62
Huron 18 29 35 52

Spearfish (9-4): Adelyn Bouman 0 0-2 0, Jozie Dana 5 7-8 17, Avery Kirk 5 3-4 14, Tiersyn Grubb 0 1-2 1, Kate Scharf 4 1-2 13, Mya Kochuten 4 5-6 17. Totals: 18 17-24 62.

Huron (6-8): Allison Janes 5 0-0 11, Aly Davis 4 0-4 9, Hylton Heinz 9 2-2 20, Abagail Harrington 2 2-2 7, Addyson Knight 2 0-0 5. Totals: 22 4-8 52.

FG: S - 18/41 44%; H - 22/43 51%. 3-pt FG: S - 9/19 (Scharf 4, Kochuten 4, Kirk); H - 4/13 (Janes, Davis, Harrington, Knight). Rebounds: S 23 (Dana 7), H 27 (Heinz 11). Assists: S 12 (Dana 6), H 8 (Heinz, Jurgens 2). Steals: S 9 (Dana 5), H 8 (Janes 3). Turnovers: S 11, H 19. Fouls: S 8, H 19 (Davis out).