The phrase ‘defense wins championships’ may have never been more appropriate than it was Saturday night at Wachs Arena

De Smet held Lower Brule to just five points in the second half and none in the fourth quarter to defend its State B Boys’ Basketball Championship with a 49-26 victory in front of a huge crowd at the Barnett Center.

“We just really dig deep. Coach (Jeff Gruenhagen) tells us just play defense, get rebounds and the shots will fall,” said De Smet senior Kalen Garry. “We just really have to play defense 32 minutes a game and good things will happen for us.”

Lower Brule got off to a solid start against the Bulldogs and led by nine points in the opening quarter. Ellwyn Langdeau was the recipient of pin-point interior passes and scored eight points in the first eight minutes.

“We kind of write on our board every day before the game to weather the storm. Somebody is going to string some together,” Gruenhagen said. “We did that pretty well. We finally got a few baskets of our own to crawl back into it and then kind of just kept pushing that lead.”

That’s because the offense soon dried up for the Sioux. They managed just eight points in the second quarter before scoring just two baskets in the entire second half.

“We weren’t knocking down shots. Usually we do knock down shots and it frustrated the boys,” said Lower Brule coach Brian LaRoche. “We didn’t finish. Plain and simple.”

The Bulldogs, who had a big size advantage with 6-foot-9 center Damon Wilkinson in the middle, did not allow any high-percentage shots after the first quarter and also rotated out on shooters.

“We really locked down the second half and got things going,” said De Smet senior Rett Osthus.

Soon, Lower Brule couldn’t generate any offense as the Bulldogs contested shot after shot.

“We just didn’t share the ball,” LaRoche said. “We were supposed to move the ball and work for a good shot and we didn’t.”

Lower Brule came into the game averaging 74 points per game, but like most De Smet opponents found out this season, points are at a premium against the Bulldogs. The squad held their first tourney opponent to just 28 points on Thursday.

“All year we just wanted to get out and contest the shot, whether that’s switching the screen or not,” Gruenhagen said. “Stay down, get a hand up, make them think about every shot they take.”

Despite the lack of offensive production, the Sioux trailed by just seven points going in the fourth quarter. However, Lower Brule was unable to find a crack in the De Smet defense as the Bulldogs closed in on another title.

“We praise defense,” Osthus said. “We got a hand up on their shooters and kept them in front of us, and that really closed the deal.”

Meanwhile, with Wilkinson grabbing up one offensive rebound after another, the Bulldogs were able to produce enough offense for the victory. Wilkinson finished with 19 points and 23 rebounds, including 15 offensive rebounds.

“He’s so good,” Garry said of his teammate. “Just his ability to get every rebound, put it back up for us. He’s a big player.”

Garry scored eight points, and Osthus and Tory Holland each had seven.

This year’s senior class for De Smet went 94-7 the past four years, qualifying for the state tournament each season, winning two titles in addition to a runner-up finish.

Langdeau scored with 13 points to lead Lower Brule, which finished the season at 22-4.

De Smet capped its year at 25-1 and for the second straight season will be heading home with the most prized possession in Class B basketball.

“I’m speechless,” Garry said. “There’s no better feeling than being state champion.”

LOWER BRULE (22-4): Lane Gray 1 0-0 2, Brian LaRoche 2 0-0 5, Gavin Thigh 1 0-0 3, Keshaume Thigh 1 0-0 3, Ellwyn Langdeau 6 1-6 13. Totals 11-50 1-6 26.

De SMET (25-1): Tory Holland 2 1-4 7, Damon Wilkinson 9 1-3 19, Rett Osthus 3 1-2 7, Kalen Garry 4 0-2 8, George Jensen 3 0-0 6, Blake Van Regenmorter 1 0-0 2. Totals 22-62 3-11 49.

Lower Brule 13 21 26 26

De Smet 10 25 33 49

3-point field goals – LaRoche, G Thigh, K Thigh; Holland 2. Total fouls – Lower Brule 8; De Smet 9.  Rebounds – Lower Brule 32 (K. Thigh 11); De Smet 53 (Wilkinson 23, Holland 10). Turnovers – Lower Brule 10; De Smet 8. Assists – Lower Brule 6 (G. Thigh 3); De Smet 4. Steals – Lower Brule 3; De Smet 5 (Garry 3).