ABERDEEN — For the first time since 2019, the No. 1 seed lost in the opening round of the Class B boys basketball tournament.

No. 8 Lyman stunned No. 1 Viborg-Hurley, 49-44, in the first round of the Class B boys basketball tournament at Wachs Arena. Ironically, Viborg-Hurley accomplished the same feat in 2019, knocking off No. 1 White River in the first round. 

On Thursday, the No. 8 Raiders (18-6) were the ones upsetting the No. 1 Cougars (20-4). 

“Wow,” Lyman coach Cooper Garnos said. “I am still thinking, ‘Did it really happen?’ It’s surreal. I am rubbing my eyes. I am scratching my head. Did that just happen? It’s an incredible feeling and now that it’s starting to sink in a little bit, I couldn’t be happier for the boys.”

The Raiders never looked overwhelmed against the Cougars, who were last season’s Class B runner-ups. The Cougars were ranked No. 4 in the final South Dakota Prep Media Basketball Poll and were the No. 1 seed in the mighty Region 4B. 

The Raiders, who were led by MJ Diehm’s 15 points, shot 41% from the field and 13-of-16 at the free-throw line to key the upset win. 

“To knock off the No. 1 seed, it feels great,” said Diehm, who added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. “It’s a dream come true. I am still trying to believe it, but we deserve this. We worked our butt off all year.”

Dawsen Volmer added 10 points and eight rebounds for Lyman. Jake Austin totaled 15 points and three 3-pointers for the Cougars. Brady Schroedermeier recorded 12 points and nine rebounds for Viborg-Hurley, which led 22-20 at halftime. 

The first half featured five ties and 11 lead changes. 

“We came out with a lot of intensity right away,” Diehm said. “We knew how big this game was going to be. We knew how much energy we needed to pull this off.”

Lyman’s energy translated to the third quarter, where it outscored the Cougars by a 17-10 margin. Garnos said the halftime speech revolved around defense, communication and containing Viborg-Hurley’s 3-point shooters Austin and Braydyn Morrison. 

“We have to run those guys off the 3-point line and make them do something else,” Garnos said. “So that was part of the talk.”

The Raiders built a 37-32 lead after the third quarter, and led by nine early in the third quarter. The Cougars got within 41-40 after Nolan Kolthoff split a pair of free throws with five minutes left. 

A Josiah Vaad 3-pointer and a Cole Kieffer field goal pushed the advantage to 46-40 with four minutes left. After Diehm split two free throws for a 47-42 lead with 51 seconds left, Schroedermeier’s field goal got Viborg-Hurley with 47-44 with 37 seconds left.

Diehm’s two free throws pushed it to 49-44 with 30 seconds left, and Viborg-Hurley corralled multiple offensive rebounds on the final possession, which Garnos said “That last 25 seconds seemed like 10 minutes.”

The Cougars missed multiple second-chance opportunities on the final possession, and Lyman celebrated once the buzzer sounded. 

“I never felt comfortable until that buzzer went off and I am hard of hearing so I had to look for the red lights,” Garnos said. 

Viborg-Hurley will play Castlewood or Aberdeen Christian in the consolation semifinals at 11 a.m, CT on Friday. 

Up next, Lyman will play Castlewood or Aberdeen Christian in the championship semifinals at 5 p.m., CT, on Friday as the Raiders look to pull off another upset. 

“We know what we are capable of,” Diehm said. “We know that we can beat any single team here. We can go with any single team here, and we just have a lot of confidence.”