The Madison junior varsity basketball team placed fifth in the second annual Dell Rapids Junior Varsity boys' basketball tournament held on Thursday.
After dropping the first game to a talented Sioux Falls Roosevelt JV team, Madison's Bulldogs bounced back to pick up two wins and earn fifth place in the tournament.
Sioux Falls Roosevelt slipped past Madison 41-37 in the opening game.
Tayler Anderson scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds to pace the Bulldogs. Carter Kasuske scored eight points while Jacob Leighton and Danny Klosterman each had six counters. Kasuske and Leighton each snared five rebounds.
"After a slow start, we adjusted pretty well to the aggressive style of play that Roosevelt played," said Madison Coach Ross Huska. "We were behind the entire game but fought hard enough to come within one point with under a minute to play. We just couldn't get a good look at the end to try to tie it. I was very proud of the entire team's effort."
Madison 64, Deubrook 54
Madison opened up an early lead and held on for a 64-54 win against Deubrook in the second game of the day.
"We started out great on both ends of the floor, opening up a 41-15 lead," said Huska. "I think that with such a big lead at halftime, we became a little complacent and lost our intensity during the second half."
Kasuske and Bradyn Steffen each tossed in 12 points to lead the Bulldogs. Kasuske added four steals.
Klosterman scored 11 points. Leighton chipped in with nine counters and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Anderson and Heith Williams had seven and six points, respectively.
"It was a good learning experience for the whole team on finishing out the entire game," Huska said.
JV 46, Freshmen 26
It was a battle of Madison for the consolation championship with the Madison JVs coming out on top over the Madison freshmen 46-26.
Williams led the JVs with 12 points. He made all four of his field goals and was perfect (3-of-3) from the charity stripe.
Leighton and Kasuske each tossed in six points for the winners. Leighton pulled down five rebounds and Kasuske snared four rebounds.
"Playing against our Madison freshman team was something we knew was a possibility when we entered the tournament," Huska said. "Both teams played hard and I think both teams succeeded in getting some rust off of their game."
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