SIOUX FALLS – Aberdeen Central’s strong finish could not make up for a rough start at the Sanford Pentagon Friday night.

The Golden Eagles were outscored 21-0 in the opening quarter and eventually fell 56-46 to the fourth-rated Cavaliers in non-conference boys’ basketball at the Pentagon Classic.

STM set the tone early and built a cushion it would maintain for the rest of the contest. Central closed the gap as the game wore on, but was never able to regroup from the scoreless first period.

“I was proud of how the kids battled after a nightmare start,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “We weren’t very aggressive at the start and we couldn’t recover.”

Spencer Barr topped the Golden Eagles with 17 points, five assists and three steals. The senior made 11 of 13 free throws on the night. Carter Dingman contributed nine points.

Caleb Hollenbeck poured in 30 points and grabbed seven rebounds for STM, which improved to 5-0 on the season. The Cavaliers had beaten three teams from Wyoming and one from Nebraska prior to recording their first win over a South Dakota squad.

Central, 1-2 on the season, is scheduled to return to Sioux Falls on Tuesday to take on Sioux Falls Washington.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (1-2): Carter Dingman 3 1-2 9, Karson Carda 2 0-0 4, Parker Lemer 0 2-2 2, Spencer Barr 2 11-13 17, Grant Fritz 2 0-0 4, Jett Carlson 2 0-0 5, Camden Fauth 1 0-0 3, Brian Johnson 1 0-0 2. Totals 13-37 14-17 46.

ST. THOMAS MORE (5-0): Easton Ogle 0 0-2 0, Caleb Hollenbeck 10 5-7 30, Will Green 4 5-6 14, Jordan Uhlir 2 3-4 7, Layton Spratte 1 0-0 2, Turner Thompson 0 1-2 1, Lee Neugebauer 1 0-0 2. Totals 18-40 14-21 56.

Aberdeen Central 0 13 22 46

St. Thomas More 21 29 34 56

3-point field goals – Dingman 2, Barr 2, Carlson, Fauth; Hollenbeck 5, Green. Fouled out – Uhlir. Total fouls – Aberdeen Central 21; St. Thomas More 19. Rebounds – Aberdeen Central 21 (Carda 4, Fritz 4); St. Thomas More 28 (Hollenbeck 7, Green 7). Turnovers – Aberdeen Central 14; St. Thomas More 15. Assists – Aberdeen Central 9 (Barr 5); St. Thomas More 12 (Easton Ogle 4). Blocks – Aberdeen Central 4; St. Thomas More 1. Steals – Aberdeen Central 6 (Barr 3); St. Thomas More 8 (Uhlir 3).