MITCHELL — Winner flipped a tight West River vs. West River contest into a 24-point boys basketball victory on Saturday.

Fueled by a 39-20 second half surge, the Warriors pulled away from Custer for a 55-31 win at the Sacred Hoops Classic. Winner (5-0) was clinging to a 16-11 halftime advantage, but turned the game with 25-9 third quarter to stay perfect on the season. 

“It was actually a really good half,” Winner coach Brett Gardner said. “We were missing shots. They were missing shots. I would like to credit both defensive teams. We played pretty good defense and I thought they played pretty good defense.”

In the third quarter, Winner all-state guard Blake Volmer got the lid off the basket for the Warriors. The 6-foot-3 guard logged 22 points and 11 rebounds, while he did most of his damage in the second half to spark the offensive surge.  

“We started hitting some shots,” Volmer said. “I thought in the first half we were getting to the rim. We were getting good shots. We just couldn’t finish. The second half we finally broke the basket.”

Volmer, who added three assists, hit a couple jumpers in the third quarter and those seemed to ignite Winner’s offense. Aiden Barfuss added 13 points, while 6-foot-7 Shawn Hammerbeck added 11 points and 15 rebounds.  

“We settled in and then Aiden Barfuss hit a couple of threes,” Gardner said. “Shawn Hammerbeck took over on the glass. We just needed a spark and Blake provided that and our team followed suit.”

Winner's Aiden Barfuss, right, goes up for a shot against Custer at the Sacred Hoops Classic. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

Custer’s Kyle Virtue and Kincade Lehman scored eight points apiece. Rhett Lowe and Carter Boyster added five points apiece. The Wildcats dropped to 4-4 on the season. 

It was the first meeting between the West River teams since 2011, a 55-53 Winner victory. 

“It was good to see an uncommon opponent and somebody with the tradition that Custer has and the program that coach (Paul) Kelley has,” Gardner said. “So it was good to see somebody different. So we are not playing the same conference teams over and over again. That will prepare us for later runs hopefully.” 

The teams matched up evenly on the court and Volmer said Winner will benefit from facing the Wildcats. 

“They are pretty long and athletic and they are the best team we’ve seen this year,” Volmer said. “So it was good. I feel like they will be one of the better West River teams by the end of the year.”

Winner will play Bon Homme on Monday. Custer will face Class A No. 4 St. Thomas More on Thursday.