SIOUX FALLS — No. 1 vs. No. 2 lived up to the hype.

Class A No. 2 West Central knocked off Class A No. 1 Sioux Falls Christian 64-55 in front of a packed house inside Sioux Falls Falls Christian School on Tuesday. 

“It was a great atmosphere, Sioux Falls Christian fans showed out and West Central fans,” said WC head coach Dave Hollenbeck. “To play in front of this kind of atmosphere creates memories for the kids.”

Despite the harsh road environment, it was the Trojans setting the early tone with an 11-3 lead in the opening minutes of the game before the Chargers clawed its way back for a 12-11 advantage for SFC’s first and only lead of the contest.

WC responded with a 10-0 run and maintained the double digit advantage into the halftime break.

“We felt that if we could come out and get on top of them or even just play with them, I felt we could kind of build some confidence as time went on,” Hollenbeck said. “I just thought a good start was really important.”

But the defending state champs weren’t going away easily. SFC quickly cut the lead to five points halfway through the third before the Trojans pushed back with a 43-31 lead.

Going to the final frame down seven points, SFC’s Brant Wassenaar and Canyon Prins sparked one last comeback attempt, with a Prins’ three-pointer making it just a two-point game with just over two minutes to play.

But West Central’s Connor Mebius continued to make clutch plays down the stretch, finding Hayden Heier and Will Kuhl for back-to-back buckets before scoring the five straight points off a layup and three free throws.

Mebius says the key down the stretch was the Trojans’ ability to shut down a talented and potent Charger lineup.

“Just defense, that’s what we work on.” Mebius said. “Hone in on defense, you can win games and that’s about it.”

Mebius ended with a game-high 23 points, making big plays throughout to keep momentum with WC. Hollenbeck credits Mebius with the ability to control the tempo of such a highly-anticipated game.

“I thought my point guard did a really nice job of controlling tempo, controlling pace and then he got to the foul line,” Hollenbeck said of Mebius. “He was good all night, never came out of the game. He’s just a tough gritty kid and he performs. But when a guy puts in the amount of time he puts into basketball, it makes sense.”

Heier added 14 points for the Trojans, Kuhl collected 11 points while Boche Knight netted eight points in the win.

For SFC, Wassenaar had 18 points, Cooper Goodbary had 16 points, Prins collected 10 points while Carson Nickles had six in the loss.

It was also the first loss to a South Dakota team for the Chargers since the 2024 Class A state championship against Hamlin, earning 24 consecutive wins against teams from the 605.

“A team with that much talent and then they get a little bit better, that’s awfully hard to play against,” Hollenbeck said of SFC. “They’re unbelievably talented, they put five college players on the floor. At least two of them are Division I level.

The celebration Tuesday belonged to West Central (7-0), but the schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Trojans will face three more ranked opponents in its next five games, including Class A No. 7 Dakota Valley, No. 4 St. Thomas More and No. 6 Lennox.

“It’s not going to get any easier,” Hollenbeck said. “We’ve got Lennox coming up, we’re probably going to end up playing Clark/Willow Lake, the list goes on.”

But for a team that’s already battle tested in Class A boys basketball with three ranked wins over No. 10 Vermillion, No. 9 Groton Area and now top-ranked Sioux Falls Christian, West Central has looked every bit of a top team in the state.

“We had a lot of preparation that went into this and hard work in practice, dedication to this game,” Mebius said. “The real goal is March and that state tournament run.”