By Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

The complete schedule includes: Bridgewater-Emery vs. Lyman, 10 a.m.; Ethan vs. Waubay/Summit, 11:30 a.m.; Clark/Willow Lake vs. West Central, 1 p.m.; Hanson vs. Potter County, 2:30 p.m.; Platte-Geddes vs. Aberdeen Christian, 4 p.m.; Sioux Valley vs. Tea Area, 5:30 p.m.; Dakota Valley vs. St. Thomas More, 7 p.m. and White River vs. De Smet, 8:30 p.m.

De Smet's Kalen Garry attacks the basket against Howard earlier this season in Howard. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Here’s a look at three storylines to watch at Saturday’s Hanson Classic:

Garry, Sayler headline finale

The 8:30 p.m. nightcap features two of the state’s best guards and future teammates in De Smet’s Kalen Garry and White River’s Joe Sayler. 

Garry and Sayler, who are both returning first-team Class B all-state selections, will head to South Dakota State University after high school. Garry is a senior, while Sayler is a junior. 

Garry, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, has powered the No. 1 Bulldogs to a 10-1 record this season. Garry is already De Smet’s all-time leading scorer with 1,863 career points. He’s coming off a 24-point performance in a 75-57 win over Hamlin on Tuesday. But the Bulldogs also feature heady all-state point guard (Rett Osthus), towering 6-foot-9 post (Damon Wilkinson) and do-it-all forward (Tory Holland). 

A bouncy 6-foot-3 guard, Sayler was recently named MVP at the 54th annual Jones County Invitational in Murdo. In the 58-36 win over Lyman, Sayler scored 25 points in the title game. The No. 2 Tigers are also powered by brothers Dylan Marshall and Nicolas Marshall, who were both named to all-tourney teams at the JCI. 

De Smet, which won last year’s Class B state championship, defeated White River at last season’s Dakota Wesleyan University Classic. 

Class A high-scoring guards aplenty in lineup 

Before the No. 1 vs. No. 2 Class B showdown, the schedule features a trio of high-scoring all-state Class A guards.

Tea Area’s Cael Lundin, Sioux Valley’s Oliver Vincent and Dakota Valley’s Isaac Bruns will all play prior to Saturday’s finale.

Lundin and Vincent will face each other during the 5:30 p.m. contest. Lundin, a 6-foot-3 senior guard committed to Northwestern College, paces a balanced Tea Area scoring attack. Lundin poured in 38 points in a losing effort against Class AA Sioux Falls O’Gorman earlier this season. No. 4 Tea Area is also paced by post players Cole Schilling (6-foot-7) and Reis Kirschenman (6-foot-4), along with guard Jeff Worth. 

A 6-foot-1 junior guard, Vincent scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season. But he’s also shown the ability to dish out the ball, including a nine-assist game against Chester Area on Tuesday. No. 5 The Cossacks are also powered by senior guard Damian Danzeisen, senior forward Parker Puetz (6-foot-4), senior post Hayden Ruesink (6-foot-5) and sophomore center Alec Squires (6-foot-10).

Bruns and No. 1 Dakota Valley plays No. 2 St. Thomas More in the penultimate matchup at 7 p.m. Bruns, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, also recorded his 1,000th career point earlier this season. He’s averaging 25.4 points and eight rebounds per game for the Panthers. He recently received a scholarship offer from Division I North Dakota, where his brother Paul Bruns is a freshman guard. 

Isaac Bruns also has help from junior guard Jaxon Hennies (7.5 ppg), junior guard Randy Rosenquist (13.6 ppg/7.4 apg/5.5 rpg/5.4 spg) and 6-foot-6 sophomore post Jaxson Wingert (9.6 ppg/4.1 rpg).

Platte-Geddes, Aberdeen Christian set for rematch

Aberdeen Christian’s run to a state runner-up finish included a come-from-behind 55-43 win over Platte-Geddes in the SoDak 16. 

Last season, Aberdeen Christian trailed 18-5 midway through the second quarter before mounting its comeback and pulled away for a 12-point victory. The Knights carried the momentum into state, outlasting Canistota (55-49) and Dell Rapids St. Mary (60-53) before falling to De Smet in the state championship. 

Saturday’s rematch features a handful of the same characters from last season’s SoDak 16 contest. No. 4 Aberdeen Christian is powered by all-state junior guard Malek Wieker, who is averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game for the Knights. Aberdeen Christian, which doesn’t have a senior, is also paced by juniors Ethan Russell (16.6 ppg/9.2 rpg) and Jackson Isakson (8.9 ppg/7 rpg).  

Platte-Geddes’ Caden Foxley, a third-team all-stater last season, is coming off 14 points and eight rebounds in a win over Gregory on Monday. The Black Panthers are also paced by Dawson Hoffman, Jackson Neuman, Cade Nachtigal and Hayes Rabenberg. 

Neuman nailed a 3/4 court shot at the buzzer in Monday’s 56-53 win over Gregory.