FORT PIERRE — Galen Schoenfeld knows what comes next, and he can't wait.  

“Aberdeen is a special place and I always want to be there,” said the Viborg-Hurley coach after his Cougars earned another trip to the Class B state boys basketball tournament. “Obviously, I enjoy going when we are not playing. But nothing beats being able to be there with your team.”

The Cougars qualified for their seventh Class B boys basketball tournament, pulling away from Faith for a 73-58 SoDak 16 win on Tuesday. 

“The kids wanted this,” Schoenfeld added. “From the end of last year, it was ‘Let’s get back and let’s improve upon last year.’ So now we have that chance. We know we have three more games and then it’s over. We have to go out and give it our all just like the other teams will.”

Against Faith, Viborg-Hurley’s Brady Schroedermeier logged 26 points to pace a balanced scoring attack. Nick Hanson posted 15 points and 14 rebounds. Nolan Kolthoff and Bryson Morrison scored 10 points apiece. Kolhoff grabbed six rebounds, while Devin Sayler had five assists.

Faith’s Jackson Schauer tossed in 33 points and nailed three 3-pointers. Caden Selby added 15 points and hit three 3-pointers. Klayte McLellan scored five points.

After a seesaw first half, Viborg/Hurley used a strong third quarter surge to build a 44-33 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

“We both played well,” said Hanson, who hammered a one-handed dunk in the third quarter run. “We did everything we had to do and we just held them in the third quarter. We came out in the fourth quarter. We put our ‘D’ up and it was fun.”

The Cougars had to withstand a last gasp flurry by Faith. The Longhorns cut the deficit to 46-40 with 5:37 left, with Schauer doing most of the damage. The all-state guard netted 17 of his 33 points in the final quarter.  

“He’s an amazing player,” Schoenfeld said. “I thought we did a fairly good job making him work hard for his points, but he’s just outstanding. I mean 1,700 career points and he was an all-stater last year and certainly a first-teamer this year.”

Viborg-Hurley, however, kept Faith at bay in the final quarter. Bryson Morrison’s 3-point play with 1:07 left put Viborg/Hurley ahead 65-55. The Cougars converted on 12 of 19 free throws in the fourth quarter to help ice the win. 

The Cougars nailed eight 3-pointers to help spark the victory. 

“They were playing the zone and trying to sag off and contain Nick,” Schoenfeld said. “When you can put some guys out there that can knock 'em down for you. Obviously that’s a huge difference.” 

The Cougars will now head to Aberdeen, where they will play No. 1 White River in the first round. 

“It’s nice to be back,” Hanson said. “Last year we lost the first round to De Smet, but we are back and we are ready now.”