MITCHELL — Sioux Falls Christian shook off the Christmas rust with a big win on Friday.

The Class A No. 1 Chargers clipped DeLaSalle, Minnesota, 67-63, at the Hoop City Classic in their first game after Christmas break. It was also Sioux Falls Christian’s first game since defeating Class AA Sioux Falls O’Gorman on Dec. 16. 

“We felt going in this was going to be probably our toughest test so far and it proved to be true,” Sioux Falls Christian coach Mike Schouten said. “But I also felt like we had a chance to beat them. We haven’t played a game in two weeks and we’ve only had four practices over Christmas. So I thought we were going to be a little rusty and it turned out that we were.”

Sioux Falls Christian (4-0) shook off the cobwebs and the Islanders, a perennial Minnesota power with 24 state basketball championships. 

“I hope it says we can compete with anybody, no matter what state in the area,” Schouten said. “I think that’s true at all levels. We’ve got a lot of good players in South Dakota, a lot of good teams, a lot of good coaches. It definitely tells me that we in South Dakota can compete with anybody in the area.” 

The Chargers, a dominant South Dakota team in their own right, proved it could play with and beat DeLaSalle, which has produced Division I and NBA talent in recent years. 

“I think that we just played our game and we were able to get the win over them,” Sioux Falls Christian forward Griffen Goodbary said. “They are really good. It was good to face a Minnesota team, too.” 

Sioux Falls Christian, which trailed by 11 points in the fourth quarter, received a game-high 23 points from Goodbary. The 6-foot-10 junior forward finished 10 of 16 from the field and grabbed five rebounds. Cooper Goodbary, who scored the go-ahead basket with under a minute left, added 12 points and four rebounds. Cole Snyder tossed in 11 points. 

De’Von Irwin scored 16 points, five rebounds and four assists for DeLaSalle, which built a 10-point halftime lead against Sioux Falls Christian. 

“They are hard to guard,” Schouten said about the Islanders. “They have a lot of weapons and they do everything well I feel and so we needed to play a complete game. We didn’t always do that tonight, but we did in the fourth quarter when it mattered.”

In the second half, the Chargers switched to a 2-3 zone and that neutralized DeLaSalle’s speed and quickness. 

“That is what bothered them the most and they weren’t making the shots they were early in the game,” Schouten said. “They were making everything. The second half, they didn’t make as much and I thought the zone bothered them and we just stayed with it and fortunately for us it worked out.”

Griffen Goodbary, who collected a key late rebound and altered several other shots, echoed his coach’s sentiments. 

“When we went into the zone they didn’t really know what to do,” Goodbary said. “We got a lot of turnovers off that. I think that was the biggest thing.”

Up next, Sioux Falls Christian hosts West Central in a Dak-XII Conference contest on Jan. 2.