Madison Escapes Red Cloud To Advance To Class A State

In a thrilling affair in Chamberlain, the Madison Boys Basketball Team outlasted the Crusaders of Red Cloud, 68-62, to return to the Class A State Tournament on Tuesday night. The two sides faced off for the second time this season, but a little more on the line this go around. It was a tight first quarter, with Red Cloud leading 13-11 after one. The second and third quarter belonged to Madison, as the Bulldogs outscored the Crusaders 43-23 in those 16 minutes to hold an 18 point advantage heading into the fourth quarter. That is when Red Cloud made its move. 

The Crusaders would dominate the first four minutes of the final frame and quickly erased the defecit to pull within one point. Despite giving up their lead, the Bulldogs never allowed Red Cloud to pull ahead. While Madison only scored one bucket in the fourth, they would go eight for ten on free throws down the stretch, including Senior Tyler Tappe hitting seven of eight. In the end, Madison was able to get the stops defensively that they needed and picked up their 17 win of the season. 

Carter Bergheim hit seven three’s in the contest and scored 25 points for Madison. Tyler Tappe had 18 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Coach Jeff Larsen talks about his team’s ability to perservere when things weren’t going their way.

Tappe knew he wanted the ball down the stretch, with the game on the line.

Bergheim on his hot shooting night.

Cody Brown talks about, despite his foul ridden night, the bench stepping up

Madison will be the eight seed in next week’s Class A Boys Tournament in Rapid City and will face off against the one seed in Saint Thomas More in quarterfinal action.

 

Class A Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 19th:

#1 St. Thomas More vs. #8 Madison

#4 Crow Creek vs. #5 Dakota Valley

#2 Sioux Valley vs. #7 Dell Rapids

#3 Sioux Falls Christian vs. #6 Tiospa Zina