By Ryan Deal

605 Sports

Wall rallied from a 16-point third-quarter deficit, outscoring Lyman 37-20 in the second half to sneak past its Western Great Plains Conference foe. The Raiders defeated the Eagles, 72-69, during the regular season. 

“It made the game a little more competitive because we played them in the regular season and it’s kind of a battle between us every time,” said Wall sophomore Teelan Kjerstad, who scored 22 points. “It’s fun out there.”

Kjerstad, who is Ryan’s son, scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half. He finished 6-of-18 from the field, 3-of-7 at the 3-point line and 7-of-7 at the free-throw line. The 6-foot-1 sophomore added five rebounds and five assists. 

“I was just playing free and playing my game, and just not letting anything else dictate that,” Teelan Kjerstad said. 

While Kjerstad sparked the second-half surge, Dinger drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer. Lyman’s Cole Kieffer put the Raiders ahead, 55-54, with 53 seconds left. Dinger hit his third 3-pointer on Wall’s next possession, giving the Eagles a 57-55 advantage with 34 ticks left.  

“We ran our normal set and I got the ball up top and had a shot at three,” Dinger said. “So I took it and it went in. It felt amazing.”

Coach Kjerstad said the play typically calls for Teelan Kjerstad to come off a high ball screen, leaving the defense with a dilemma. 

“They have to choose if they are going to go with him,” Ryan Kjerstad said. “It’s nice because if they both decide to go with Teelan now we have our best shooter out there for a wide open three and that’s what happened.”

After Lyman’s MJ Diehm missed two free throws with :10.7 seconds left, Kjerstad iced the game with two free throws with :4.7 seconds remaining. 

Dinger finished with 17 points. Younger Amiotte recorded eight points and 11 rebounds. Jace Mohr totaled seven points.

Lyman’s Dawsen Volmer finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, including an 8-of-12 performance from the field. Aksel Ehlers added eight points and seven rebounds. Diehm and Kieffer scored seven points apiece. Conway Collins and Canyon Garnos scored six points apiece. 

The Raiders shot 12-of-25 from the field in the first half, and led 35-22 at halftime. Lyman led by as many as 16 points with 7:19 left. Wall, however, sped up Lyman and forced 17 second-half turnovers on nine steals in the final 16 minutes. 

“Our defense won us the game hands down,” Teelan Kjerstad said. “We picked them up full court and we started double teaming and our defense and energy won us the game.”

Lyman will play Aberdeen Christian in the seventh-place game at noon on Saturday.

Wall will play Freeman for the consolation championship at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday. 

And the Eagles can add another state tourney win with a consolation championship. 

“I am just happy for the boys,” coach Kjerstad said. “They’ve had this mission in the back of their minds since they were in middle school. They have been playing summer ball together for five years now. I am just happy that they are finally able to get that taste.”