Titans fall to SF Jefferson, win double overtime thriller against Harrisburg

The Tea Area High School boys’ basketball team suffered a hard-fought loss to Sioux Falls Jefferson on Thursday, Feb. 6, as the Titans were unable to slow the Cavaliers in the second half.

Tea Area led 31-20 at halftime but were outscored 18-10 in the third and 24-18 in the fourth, suffering the 62-59 loss. 

“This was a tough loss,” said Tea Area head coach Drew Weber. “We were good enough offensively to win, but didn’t do nearly enough in the second half defensively to earn the victory. We let one of their studs control the game in the second half and he really was the difference in the game. We will regroup and continue getting better on both ends of the court.”

For Tea Area, Gavin Shawd led the way with 29 points, hitting three from downtown. He also grabbed three rebounds, had four assists and two steals. 

Both Blake Lundin and Mitch Grant finished with 11 points in the game. Lundin hit three three-pointers in the game and grabbed eight rebounds and had one steal. Grant grabbed six rebounds and led the team in assists with five. Grifin Wiebenga finished with six points, four rebounds, and three assists. Kayden Williamson had two points, five rebounds, and two assists. 

The Titans were in action again on Tuesday, Feb. 10 taking on Harrisburg. 

In the double overtime thriller, the Titans were able to secure the 71-65 win, thanks to a timely three pointer by Wiebenga and some clutch makes at the foul line. 

“It seems like every game we have played lately can be termed as an Instant Classic, but this one probably takes the cake. It was an all out battle between two top teams in an awesome environment,” said Weber. “We had guy after guy step up with momentum-shifting plays throughout the game, which made this one of our best TEAM wins of the season.”

Against the Tigers, Shawd led the way with 28 points, two rebounds, and three assists. He hit three three pointers in the game.

Wiebenga also had a stellar night, scoring 25 points and going four of five from three point range. He grabbed six rebounds and had one steal in the game. 

Lundin finished the night with seven points, nine rebounds.

Grant finished with six points, six rebounds, three assists and one steal. Lane Sieber provided four points, two rebounds, two assists and one steal. Wiliamson had one point, four rebounds, two assists and one steal. 

The Titans will travel to Sioux City East on Friday, Feb. 13 for a 7 p.m. game. They will be at Brandon Valley on Tuesday, Feb. 17 and at Yankton on Friday, Feb. 20. 

They wrap up the regular season with two home games, one on Feb. 24 against Sioux Falls Washington and another on Feb. 26 against Marshall.