The Pine Ridge Thorpes waltzed into their contest Friday with two straight wins but they left with three. They put the hurt on Lakota Tech with a sharp 80-60 victory. Given Pine Ridge's advantage in MaxPreps' South Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked third, while Lakota Tech is ranked 32nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Marvin Richard lll was the offensive standout of the matchup as he dropped a double-double on 25 points and ten rebounds. The contest was his third in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kanye Hollow Horn, who dropped a double-double on ten points and 11 rebounds.
Lakota Tech's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Riley Casey, who scored 21 points along with eight rebounds, and Gilbert White Jr. who scored 14 points. White Jr. is absolutely dominating the steal category: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season. Mackenzie Cass was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with five rebounds.
Lakota Tech struggled to work together and finished the game with only two assists. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as Pine Ridge racked up 12 assists.
Pine Ridge's win bumped their record up to 3-0. As for Lakota Tech, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-1.
Pine Ridge won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Rapid City Christian at 8:00 p.m. on December 16th. Rapid City Christian knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with flashy point totals in its past four matchups -- so hopefully Pine Ridge likes a good challenge. Lakota Tech won't have much time to rest: their next match is against White River at 9:30 a.m. on December 16th.
