By 605 Sports Staff

The Class A state boys basketball tournament is Thursday-Saturday in Rapid City. 

The eight-team field features on undefeated team in Dakota Valley (23-0), while St. Thomas More (20-2), Winner (22-1) and Groton Area (20-3) are 20-win teams. 

Here's a closer look at each team in the field: 

Class A

Dakota Valley

Record: 23-0

Coach: Jason Kleis

Key Players: Isaac Bruns (24.1 ppg, 8.8 rpg), Randy Rosenquist (12.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 7.5 apg, 4.9 spg), Jaxson Wingert (10.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Jaxon Hennies (7.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.1 apg), Sam Faldmo (4.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.1 apg)

Notes: No. 1 seed Dakota Valley plays No. 8 Sioux Falls Christian at noon in the opener on Thursday. The Panthers edged the Chargers, 60-54, on Jan. 27 of this season. … This is the eighth state tournament appearance for Dakota Valley and its third consecutive trip. … Of the five leading scorers, all of those players are juniors. Randy Rosenquist Jr., is the brother of Rylee Rosenquist who helped lead the Dakota Valley girls to a sixth-place finish at the 2022 Class A girls state tournament. … Randy Rosenquist Sr., the father of Randy and Rylee, was an all-conference men’s basketball player for the University of South Dakota. 

Flandreau

Record: 19-3

Coach: Brendan Sheppard

Key Players: Tash Lunday (24.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 4.3 apg), Chase LeBrun (15.4 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.6 bpg), Liam Streitz (8.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.3 apg), Alex Anderson (8 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.2 apg). 

Notes: No. 4 seed Flandreau plays No. 5 Groton Area at 1:45 p.m. in the opening round. … The 2022 Class A state tournament appearance is the 16th overall by the Fliers and the first since 2004. … Flandreau won the Class A title in 1997. … Anderson, LeBrun and Lunday have combined for 102 made 3-pointers this year. … Sheppard is a former Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball player and his son, Luke, is a 6-foot-3 eighth-grader for the Fliers. …Tash Lunday currently has scored 1,964 points heading into the Class A state tournament. 

Groton Area

Record: 23-3

Coach: Brian Dolan

Key Players: Lane Tietz (14.5 ppg, 2 rpg, 2 apg), Kaden Kurtz (11 ppg, 5.5 rpg) Jacob Zak (9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 14 blocked shots), Tate Larson (8.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Jacob Zak (7.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg). 

Notes: No. 5 seed Groton Area plays No. 4 Flandreau at 1:45 p.m. in the opening round. …

This is the 9th overall appearance for Groton Area and their first state tournament since 2001. …The Tigers enter the state tournament on a six-game winning streak. …Groton won 13 games in 2020-2021. … As a team, the Tigers shoot 55.35% from the field this season. 

Lakota Tech

Record: 16-5

Coach: Francis Big Crow

Key players: Jordan Whirlwind Horse (13.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg), Triston LeBeau (13.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Marvin Richard III (11.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.3 spg), Beau Donovan (10.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 4.4 apg, 2.2 spg), Jamiah Bianis (5.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.6 spg)

Notes: No. 7 seed Lakota Tech plays No. 2 St. Thomas More in Thursday’s opening round. …Lakota Tech is a second-year high school and this is Tatanka's first-ever trip to the Class A state tournament. … Lakota Tech is located five miles east of Pine Ridge. … Eighth-grader Marvin Richard III is the brother of Lakota Tech girls player, Shyleigh Richard, who played in last week’s Class A girls tournament. 

Sioux Falls Christian

Record: 14-9

Coach: Mike Schouten

Key players: Ethan Bruns (13 ppg, 5 rpg), Brooks Nelson (11 ppg, 4 rpg, 2 apg, 2 spg), Nathan Koole 11 ppg, 7 rpg, 2 apg), Logan Schipper (9 ppg, 2 rpg), Tate Snyder (7 ppg, 3 rpg, 5 apg), Jayden Witte (5 ppg, 2 rpg, 2 apg)

Notes: No. 8 seed Sioux Falls Christian plays No. 1 Dakota Valley at noon in Thursday’s opener. The Chargers lost to the Panthers, 60-54, earlier this season. … Sioux Falls Christian is riding a four-game winning streak including a 63-47 win over Tea Area in the SoDak 16. … The Chargers won last year’s Class A state championship. 

Sioux Valley 

Record: 18-5

Coach: Bill Vincent

Key players: Oliver Vincent (17 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 6.5 apg), Hayden Ruesink (15 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.5 apg), Alec Squires (10 ppg, 10 rpg, 2.5 bpg), Damian Danzeisen (9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2 apg), Parker Puetz (8 ppg, 6 rpg, 3.8 agp), Patrick Carey (8 ppg, 1 rpg).

Notes: No. 6 seed Sioux Valley plays No. 3 Winner at 7:45 p.m. in Thursday’s opener. …Oliver Vincent and Parker Puetz both shoot over 90% from the charity stripe. …The Cossacks finished as runner-up to Sioux Falls Christian in 2021. …This is the third consecutive trip to the Class A state tournament for Sioux Valley. … Puetz will play baseball next season at North Dakota State University. 

St. Thomas More

Record: 20-2

Coach: Dave Hollenbeck

Key players: Cade Kandolin (15.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.4 apg, 2.2 spg), Caleb Hollenbeck (14.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.9 spg), Ian Clewley 9.1 (9.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg), Jordan Uhlir (5.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg), Ethan Burnett (3.4 ppg, 3.9 apg) 

Notes: No. 2 seed St. Thomas More plays No. 7 Lakota Tech at 6:00 p.m. in Thursday’s opener. …St. Thomas More is coming into the state tournament on a seven-game winning streak. …The Cavaliers losses came to Class A No. 1 Dakota Valley (48-46) and Class B No. 1 De Smet (36-30). … The Cavaliers have qualified for 15 state tournaments, including four championships and two runner-up finishes. 

Winner

Record: 22-1

Coach: Brett Gardner

Key players: Blake Volmer (16 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 4 apg, 2.1 spg), Slade Cournoyer (9.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.5 spg), Ethan Bartels (8.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.7 apg), Shawn Hammerbeck (6.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg), Elijah Peterson (5.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg), Jack Vesely (4.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg)

Notes: No. 3 seed Winner plays No. 6 Sioux Valley at 7:45 p.m. in its opener. … After an eighth-place finish in 2021, and with the loss of four starters, the Warriors are in their second-consecutive state tournament. … Blake Volmer’s father Todd was a starter on Lyman’s 1985 state championship team.