Huron won the battles for loose balls in the second half and eventually the Tigers won the battle on the scoreboard as well at Golden Eagles Arena Friday night.

Huron rallied from a halftime deficit to claim a 62-48 Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ basketball win over Aberdeen Central.

“Give them credit, they outworked us the fourth quarter,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “They played harder and they made the plays.”

After a near even first half in which Huron led by seven early and Central responded to lead by six, things changed to start the third quarter.

Trailing 30-27 at the break, the Tigers quickly reversed their fortunes with three consecutive offensive putbacks to take a lead they would never lose.

“That’s definitely what set the tone for them,” said Central senior Camden Fauth. “Obviously, as the game went on, that helped them extend the lead.”

Norberg said in that particular sequence, it wasn’t that the Golden Eagles weren’t working, they just weren’t talking.

“Every 50-50 ball in the second half they got. We didn’t communicate very good on defense. The reason we gave up those offensive boards is we had two guys running at shooters instead of one guy closing out, the other guy blocking out. A little lack of communication,” Norberg said. “It looks like they’re probably slacking off. They weren’t. They just didn’t communicate and when you do that, you leave a guy wide open, but so many times that half, every 50-50 ball went their way.”

The Tigers consistently made sure that 6-foot-8 sophomore Blake Ellwein got touches and he certainly made Central pay to the tune of a game-high 30 points. However, with a defense focused on him, other Tigers also made key plays to help keep the Tigers in front.

“Those small guys, they’re quick and they ran their stuff well,” Fauth said, “and whenever we defended the big guy well, those little guys caused problems as well. They’re a tough team to play.’

Staring at a 46-37 deficit late in the third quarter, the Eagles began to make a push. Central closed the gap to 48-44 with 5:35 left in the game on a conventional three-point play by Brendan Phillips. However, the visitors closed the contest on a 14-4 surge, led by Ellwein who made eight straight free throws in the final period to keep the Tigers on top.

Looking back, it was a seven-point seven-minute stretch in the third quarter that put the Eagles in a difficult position heading into the final period.

“Just those little stretches can hurt us,” Fauth said. “Obviously, one stretch hurts us and then you’re even the whole game, it’s still going to cost you at the end.”

Colton McNeil and CJ Gainey each contributed nine points to the Huron total as the Tigers improved to 11-6 on the season.

Central was led by Parker Lemer and Brendan Phillips with 13 points apiece. Grant Fritz finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Eagles, 7-9 on the season, head to Watertown on Tuesday.

“You always have to play better on the road than you do at home to beat people,” Norberg said.

Central has four games left during the regular season and they are all crucial as the Eagles attempt to move up the standings in power points.

“We could have made a big jump if we would have won tonight,” Norberg said. “We didn’t and so we have to find some wins here down the stretch.”

HURON (11-6): Colton McNeil 4 0-0 9, Gavin Moeding 0 1-2 1, CJ Gainey 3 0-0 9, Blake Ellwein 9 9-9 30, Anderson Porisch 2 2-2 5, Kolton Ogle 1 0-0 2, Carsen Evans 2 0-0 4. Totals 21-48 12-15 62.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (7-9): Parker Lemer 5 3-3 13, Camden Fauth 2 0-0 5, Brendan Phillips 3 5-5 13, Grant Fritz 4 3-4 11, Jacob Weishaar 1 0-0 2, Colby Dauwen 2 0-0 4. Totals 17-54 11-12 48.

Huron 17 27 46 62

Aberdeen Central 14 30 39 48

3-point field goals – McNeil, Gainey (3), Ellwein (3), Porisch; Fauth, Phillips (2). Total fouls – Huron 14; Aberdeen Central 16. Rebounds – Huron 34 (McNeil 6, Gainey 6); Aberdeen Central 34 (Fritz 9). Turnovers – Huron 9; Aberdeen Central 7. Assists – Huron 11 (Porisch 5); Aberdeen Central 10. Blocked Shots – Huron 2 (Ellwein 2); Aberdeen Central 1 (Fritz). Steals – Huron 4; Aberdeen Central 2 (Dauwen 2).