RAPID CITY — Lockdown defense propelled the Trojans into Saturday's title game.

No. 2 West Central shut down No. 3 Clark/WIllow Lake, 56-43, advancing to the Class A state championship game Saturday night at 6:45 p.m., MT. 

The Trojans will face top-seeded and defending state champ Sioux Falls Christian for the title inside the Summit Arena at The Monument.

“I thought we competed tonight and I was pleased with how well we got on the boards,” WC head coach Dave Hollenbeck said. “I just thought we gave a good effort on the block outs tonight. There were times where we let a few guys get to the rim without any contact but it was better than the first time we played them.”

Friday’s nightcap semifinal featured a rematch from West Central’s 55-52 win over the Cyclones on Jan. 24 at the Hanson Classic.

Compared to the early season meeting, senior center Will Kuhl said the biggest difference in Friday’s win was rebounding.

“100% rebounding,” said Kuhl, who finished with 16 points, nine boards and two blocks. “The first game, they killed us on the rebounds. We were lucky to get that first win but tonight I think we beat them by like 10 boards and that really mattered.”

West Central's Will Kuhl shoots as Clark/Willow Lake's Bo Begeman tries to defend during a game in the semifinals of the Class A boys state tournament on Friday at Summit Arena at The Monument in Rapid City. (Matt Gade / 605 Sports)

The Trojans (24-0) won the battle on the boards 37-28, including a 6-4 advantage on offensive rebounds. It was the effect of outstanding defense by WC to start, holding CWL to 1-of-17 shooting from the floor with five turnovers in the first 12 minutes.

“Our defense is for sure something we really emphasize and something that we’re really proud of,” Kuhl said. “We’re very proud of our defense because it definitely leads to our offense.”

The offense helped gain a 16-2 advantage by the second-quarter media timeout, but the Cyclones weren’t going away that easy.

Clark/Willow Lake (21-3) closed out the final four minutes of the half on a 12-5 run to cut the lead back to single digits at halftime.

To start the third quarter, 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Sully Felberg connected from long range to cut the lead to just six points.

“We had some turnovers and they started hitting some shots,” Hollenbeck said of CWL’s midgame run. “We didn’t do a good job offensively getting a good look at the rim. We have to be a little tougher, we’ve got to play tougher and get to the boards harder.”

The Trojans responded quickly to a threatening Cyclone comeback with a quick 9-0 run to take a 32-17 advantage. A Kuhl basket early in the fourth gave WC a 17-point lead and was in control the rest of the way.

“We put a lot of emphasis on our defense and our rebounding,” Hollenbeck said of the win. “They may have not shot as well as they normally do, but I didn’t think we were very good offensively and that’s a tribute to them. They defended us really well, they do a really good job, they’re very well coached.”

Junior guard Connor Mebius led the Trojans in scoring with 22 points and five rebounds, shooting a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line. The charity stripe was important for the Trojans in the fourth quarter hitting 16 free throws in the final eight minutes.

West Central's Connor Mebius goes to the basket around a Clark/Willow Lake defenders during a game in the semifinals of the Class A boys state tournament on Friday at Summit Arena at The Monument in Rapid City. (Matt Gade / 605 Sports)

“Connor really stepped up big time and Boche (Knight) stepped up, hit some free throws,” Hollenbeck said. “Will had some and I thought as a team, we shot really well from the foul line.”

Knight finished with six points, four rebounds and two steals while Tanner Wagner had four points for WC.

CWL’s Felberg ended with 13 points and eight rebounds, Bo Begeman had eight points and five boards, Chris Bevers was limited to just seven points, six boards and two assists while Emmerson Larson had six points, three rebounds, a steal and a block in the loss.

The Cyclones will face No. 4 Hamlin Saturday at 5 p.m., MT, in the third place game. CWL beat the Chargers 58-50 on Feb. 19.

The Trojans will get a long-awaited rematch with the defending state champ Sioux Falls Christian Chargers at 6:45 p.m., MT.

“We’ve got to figure out how to move the ball a little bit better and obviously tomorrow night, it’s a whole different beast,” Hollenbeck said. “They’re unbelievably talented, there’s nobody in South Dakota with as much talent on one team as those guys.”

The two teams were ranked top-2 all season in the High School Prep Media Poll. WC defeated its Dak-XII rival back on Jan. 6, 64-55, on the road.

“We just got to go out, play our game, play our pace and play our defense and we’ll be good,” Kuhl said.

“It’s going to take a really special effort,” Hollenbeck added. ”They’re obviously the favorite, they’re the one-seed and they won it last year. They’re a bigtime favorite tomorrow night so we’re going to have to play the underdog and we’re going to have to fight.”