ABERDEEN — White River was back in familiar territory and it showed. 

The Tigers, who were making their 18th straight Class B appearance, felt right home at Wachs Arena in the opening round on Thursday. White River led wire-to-wire in a 72-56 Class B boys basketball win over Faith at Wachs Arena. 

Joe Sayler led the Tigers with 24 points and six rebounds. Nic Marshall added 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Tigers (20-4). Evastine Wright scored 11 points off the bench for White River, which built an early double-digit lead en route to the opening round. 

“We had guys come out and hit a couple shots and it just gives you some confidence,” White River coach Eldon Marshall said. “That confidence is always good for the individuals and the team to come out like that and get a lead and we were able to dictate the tempo.” 

Faith’s Caden Selby and Jackson Schauer scored 15 points apiece. Rylan Palmer added 12 points. 

Marshall (13 points) and Sayler (11 points) powered White River’s 36-24 halftime lead. The Tigers shot 14 of 26 from the field and hit five 3-pointers in the first half. 

“It’s the first game of the state tournament,” Sayler said. “You have guys that have jitters and to come out strong, come out focused, it just gives you a lot of confidence throughout the rest of the game.”

The Longhorns (22-2) cut White River’s deficit to 36-30 after a Selby four-point play. Faith got within five points (43-38) with under four minutes left, but a Gavin Folkers 3-pointer stretched it back to 48-38. The Tigers took a 54-40 lead into the final quarter. 

“They are a good basketball team,” Sayler said. “Basketball is a game of runs. We just had to take that punch and hopefully not let them punch anymore and finish the job.”

White River, which led by 21 points late in the game, received 13 second half points from Sayler.

“We got the ball in his hands and he made some scoring plays down the stretch and we were able to extend it back up and dictate the fourth quarter,” Eldon Marshall said.  

Sayler, who will play college basketball at South Dakota State University, also praised his teammates. 

“It’s huge when everybody contributes,” Sayler said. “It makes the game a lot more fun. They stepped up big and Logan came in and hit shots. T.J. (Beardt) didn’t score, but he was on the glass working hard. It’s a team game and at the end of the day it’s what we can do as a team.” 

White River's Nic Marshall (1) and Faith's Jackson Schauer (10)scramble for a loose ball during a game on the first day of the Class B State tournament on Thursday at the Barnett Center. (Matt Gade / For 605 Sports)

The Tigers won the rebounding battle, 27-21. Sayler (six), Marshall (five) and Wright (five) powered the rebounding margin for the Tigers. 

“It just controls the pace,” Sayler said. “We made them miss shots and then when we got that rebound, it cut them to one possession every time down.” 

White River will play Lower Brule at 6 p.m. Friday in the championship semifinals. White River lost to Lower Brule in a triple-overtime thriller in last season’s Class B semifinals. 

“They are a great team,” Eldon Marshall said. “We are going to have to be playing well and I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge.”