HURON –– The Huron Tigers went on a 13-4 run to close out the first quarter en route to a 67-54 victory over the Spearfish Spartans on Friday at Huron Arena.

The two teams traded buckets early. Kade Vavruska got a transition bucket to open the scoring for Spearfish. Blake Ellwein used a dribble to lose his defender and pulled up for a long jumper.

Kamren Davis nailed a three, and Trace Wenz was fouled on a drive and sank two free throws.

Davis was fouled and sank both free throws and Ellwein responded with a pair of free throws of his own.

Davis Chase got a sharp pass from Wenz and he was fouled heading to the hoop, getting the hoop and the harm, putting Huron up 9-7. The would not trail again in the game.

Ellwein got a short jumper, and Mason Southern came off the bench for a quick pump fake and jumper for Spearfish.

Ellwein was then fouled off ball and sank two free throws. The next trip down, Ellwein scored his tenth point of the first quarter on a post move.

Anderson Porisch cut between two defenders for a bucket to make it 17-9.

Karsen Seyer got a basket after Ellwein grabbed a steal going out of bounds and saved it into the hands of a Spartan. McNeil was able to get a backdoor layup to close out the first half with Huron up 19-11.

Vavruska nailed a corner three to open the second half, but then both teams went into very sloppy play.

For nearly three points, Ellwein was the only one to score on the court, putting in two short shots and a pull-up three to push the lead to 26-14.

Wenz would get a transition layup and Vavruska would respond with a long jumper.

Chase was fouled on the floor and got one of two free throws, and Ellwein then got a fadeaway bucket in the post to make it 31-16 Huron.

Spearfish would close out the first half on a run, as Davis got a pair of free throws, Southern lofted a runner over Ellwein, and Davis got a steal and a layup to send the teams to half with Huron up 31-22.

On the Tigers’ first possession of the second half, Ellwein got a putback of his own shot to push his tally over 20 points.

Wenz was fouled on a steal attempt and sank both free throws, then he hit a corner three to push the lead to 38-22.

Dylon Doren hit a pair of free throws for the Spartans, but Porisch attacked quickly with a layup through the defense. Wenz hit another three to make it 43-24, Huron’s largest lead of the game.

Vavruska hit a pair of threes to cut into the Huron lead, but Bubba Peterson got a jumper for the Tigers and Ellwein got a short jumper to make it 48-30.

Southern sliced through the defense and Doren got one of two free throws, but Ellwein got fouled on a hard drive to the hoop, sinking both free throws to make it 50-33 heading into the final period.

The Spearfish defense attacked the Huron ballhandlers more to open the fourth, leading to turnovers and rushed shots for the Tigers. Vavruska got a free throw and Doren got a cut to the hoop for a bucket to make it 50-36.

Chase got behind the defense for a left-handed layup, Bennett Kortan was fouled and sank a pair for Spearfish, Chase got a dunk, and McNeil scored in transition.

Southern answered with a hard drive, earning two free throws, then the lefty nailed a three. Another three from Davis got the score to 56-46 and earned a timeout from Huron.

Ellwein got a dunk off a steal by Porisch, Kortan answered with a steal and a layup, and Ellwein posted up and got fouled, hitting a pair of free throws.

Kortan got another pair of free throws, Mason Jurgens got one of two at the free throw line for Huron, and Cooper Gibbs finally got on the scoreboard for Spearfish with a putback to cut it to 61-52, the first time the deficit was less than 10 since the opening moments of the second half.

McNeil would get a pair of free throws and an intentional call was made on Kortan as he prevented Chase from a dunk on a breakaway. Chase hit both free throws, and Ellwein was fouled on the ensuing possession and nailed a pair of free throws to clinch the game.

A Spearfish bucket made it 67-54 Huron at the final buzzer.

Huron’s emphasis on the low-post game allowed the Tigers to come away with the win, according to coach Tim Buddenhagen.

“Continue to move the basketball, push the ball inside, then be ready when the ball comes back outside, knock it down,” Buddenhagen instructed. “When we swing the ball and jam it inside, we’re really good.”

The Tigers move to 9-5 behind 32 points and seven rebounds from Ellwein. Wenz added 12 points and Chase had 10.

Spearfish fell to 9-4 despite three players in double figures, led by Vavruska with 14. Davis had 12 points and Southern added 11 off the bench. Doren snagged six rebounds and Kortan had five steals for the Spartans.

The Tigers host Sturgis today, and Buddenhagen is hoping the team can build on this game.

“We have to be getting better all the time,” he said. “I thought we took a huge step tonight.”

Spearfish 11 22 33 54
Huron 19 31 50 67

Spearfish (9-4): Bennett Kortan 1 4-4 6, Dylon Doren 1 3-4 5, Kamren Davis 3 4-4 12, Mason Southern 4 2-2 11, Karsen Seyer 1 0-0 2, Thomas Hughes 1 0-0 2, Kade Vavruska 5 1-2 14, Cooper Gibbs 1 0-0 2, Ashar Hodgs 0 0-2 0. Totals: 17 14-18 54.

Huron (9-5): Trace Wenz 3 4-4 12, Colton McNeil 2 2-2 6, Mason Jurgens 0 1-2 1, Jonathan Peterson 1 0-0 2, Blake Ellwein 10 10-10 32, Anderson Porisch 2 0-0 4, Davis Chase 3 4-6 10. Totals: 21 21-24 67.

FG: S - 17/43 40%; H - 21/44 48%. 3-pt FG: S - 6/18 (Vavruska 3, Davis 2, Southern); H - 4/12 (Ellwein 2, Wenz 2). Rebounds: S 26 (Doren 6), H 23 (Ellwein 7). Assists: S 6, H 11 (Wenz, McNeil 3). Steals: S 10 (Kortan 5), H 12 (Three with 3). Fouls: S 22 (Doren, Gibbs out), H 18. Technical foul: S - Kortan.