Top-seeded Aberdeen Christian jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 55-17 win over Britton-Hecla in Region 1B boys’ basketball tournament action Tuesday night at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.

The Knights scored the game’s first ten points and never looked back, using a balanced offensive attack and aggressive defense to stifle the Braves.

Christian coach Matt Rohrbach was pleased with how his team started the game.

“I thought we did a good job of honing in on what we needed to get better at and I thought our defense kind of got us going early,” Rohrbach said. “Malek (Wieker) obviously hit two threes in the first quarter which was nice.”

Wieker scored six of the first ten points on back-to-back 3-pointers, while the Knights opened up an 18-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. Wieker noted that the team wanted to get off to a fast start.

“There’s been some games this year where we didn’t really get off to a fast start and that kind of got us in trouble in the second half,” Wieker said. “We want to treat every game like it’s our last, and for us seniors we do have to treat it like that. We came out guns blazing and were ready to go and we were focused.”

It was more of the same in the second quarter as Christian built a 31-7 halftime lead. The Knights continued to be balanced offensively, while the defense held the Braves to just two made baskets from the field in the first half, along with three free throws.

Throughout the night Christian was able to allow its bench players to get some significant playing time, something coach Rohrbach was excited to see.

“I thought our starters did a good job of allowing them to come in with some flow and some rhythm,” Rohrbach said. “I feel like we have just a great bench which really provides that energy in practice and in games.”

The contest marked the final game at the Civic Arena for six Christian seniors, including Kaden Clark.

“It’s been a special place,” Clark said. “Our old superintendent Mr. (Eric) Kline played here and there’s some rich history at the Civic Arena, and so to be able to play here for four years and obviously win a lot of games here, it’s been a tremendous privilege for us.”

Wieker led Christian with 13 points and six assists, while Clark and Ethan Russell each had 10 points. Jackson Isakson added eight.

Britton-Hecla was led by Landon Carlson, Wyatt Tosse, and Dawson Treeby with three points apiece.

Despite his team’s defensive dominance, Rohrbach said there are always ways to improve.

“Something we talked about in pregame was just positioning defensively, making sure that we are always in a stance, for one, and always in the right gaps so that we are never leaving somebody on an island or out to dry,” Rohrbach said.

While the Knights started the postseason with a convincing win, Clark noted that the team needs to continue to improve as games become more challenging.

“We’re always preparing for the next game, for bigger games down the road,” Clark said. “We hope to be in the state tournament again and hopefully win it all. It starts with games like these. Build the good habits now, because you’re not just going to flip a switch in the state tournament.”

Christian (19-2) will play Hitchcock-Tulare at 6 p.m. Friday at the Webster Armory with the winner qualifying for next week’s SoDak 16.

BRITTON-HECLA (3-18): Gage Storley 1 0-0 2, Luke Storley 1 0-0 2, Landon Carlson 1 0-0 3, BoDell Davidson 1 0-2 2, Wyatt Tosse 1 0-0 3, Dawson Treeby 0 3-4 3, William Schuller 1 0-0 2, Daniel Person 0 0-2 0. Totals 6 3-8 17.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (19-2): Andrew Brennan 1 0-0 2, Jackson Isakson 3 0-0 8, Ethan Russell 5 0-0 10, Malek Wieker 5 0-0 13, Kaden Clark 5 0-0 10, Abe Holscher 1 0-0 3, Konnar Furman 1 0-0 2, Joey Johnson 1 2-4 4, Brendan Stapp 1 0-0 3. Totals 23 2-4 55.

Britton-Hecla 4 7 9 17

Aberdeen Christian 18 31 44 55

3-point field goals – Carlson, Tosse; Isakson 2, Wieker 3, Holscher, Stapp. Total fouls – Britton-Hecla 9; Aberdeen Christian 9. Rebounds – Aberdeen Christian 36 (Clark 8). Assists – Aberdeen Christian 10 (Wieker 6). Turnovers – Aberdeen Christian 10. Block Shots – Aberdeen Christian 1 (Clark). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 7 (Furman 2).