GROTON – Groton used hot shooting and defensive pressure to fuel a win on Friday.

The Tigers pulled away from Aberdeen Roncalli for a 63-35 Region 1A semifinal win and claim a spot in the SoDak 16 field.

Tigers coach Brian Dolan said the win started on the defensive end.

“The kids came out and played really well,” Dolan said. “We had a lot of energy on the defensive end and I think we executed well on that end.”

The Tigers never trailed as they opened by scoring the game’s first seven points, and continued to build their lead using a strong pressure defense, eventually leading 23-9 after the opening quarter. Cavaliers coach Dan Gallagher gave credit to Groton for putting pressure on his team’s offense.

“They defended us really well,” Gallagher said. “We knew that was going to be the case, but they disrupted a lot of what we were trying to do and got us really disgruntled. We didn’t hit some early shots, and then they really took advantage of long rebounds, early turnovers, and getting points in transition.”

While the Tigers won the regular season meeting 61-50 back on December 21, Dolan said the difference between that meeting and Friday’s was his team’s defensive discipline.

“Tonight, we were a lot more disciplined with our matchups and our assignments, and kind of feel like we made them take tougher shots than we did the first time, which I think was the biggest difference in the game,” Dolan said.

After leading 37-19 at halftime, the hosts began the third quarter on a 9-0 run, and continued to pull away in the second half. Gallagher was proud of how his team fought, but also noted how well Groton executed throughout the night.

“Our guys played hard, but they were just able to execute more efficiently and effectively at more opportune times,” Gallagher said.

Dolan was glad to see his team play the inside-out game that they have played all season offensively.

“We did a good job of going to the basket early. We got a little less aggressive there in the middle of the second quarter, but we picked it back up in the third,” Dolan said. “We want to get to the rim first and if we don’t have anything there, we play inside out. We definitely shoot the three better when we play inside out, so we did a good job of that.”

Roncalli, which finished its season with a 14-8 record, was led by Maddox Miller with 17 points, while Caden Shelton tallied six.

The Cavaliers will graduate four seniors, and Gallagher thanked them for their contributions to the program and the impact they will have on the future of Roncalli basketball.

“Obviously it’s not the way we wanted to go out, but we can’t be more proud of our seniors and upperclassmen who have really left their footprint on our program,” Gallagher said. “While it wasn’t the result they wanted, their impact is going to end to a ton of success for our program in the years to come.”

Lane Tietz led Groton with 26 points, including four 3-pointers. Ryder Johnson had 17 points, while Keegan Tracy had eight points. Jacob Zak added six points to the total.

The Tigers (18-4) will now set their sights on the Class A SoDak 16 on Tuesday, where they will take on Dell Rapids for the right to advance to the Class A State Tournament in Rapid City.

Dolan said the team will take time off before preparing for the Quarriers, and added that the team has experience this season against other Dak 12 schools that could pay dividends on Tuesday night.

“It should be a good matchup,” Dolan said. “We just got down to the Dak 12; played a few of those schools this year. We’re just gonna be who we are; so we’re going to come out there and guard and try to wear you down a little bit on the offensive end.”

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (14-8): Maddox Miller 6 2-3 17, Brody Weinmeister 1 0-2 2, Keegan Stewart 2 0-1 4, Aiden Fisher 1 2-2 4, Parker Grieben 1 0-0 2, Caden Shelton 2 2-2 6. Totals 13 6-10 35.

GROTON (18-4): Jacob Zak 2 1-2 6, Lane Tietz 7 8-8 26, Ryder Johnson 8 1-1 17, Keegan Tracy 3 0-2 8, Logan Ringgenberg 1 0-0 2, Teylor Diegel 1 0-0 2, J.D. Schwan 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 10-13 63.

Aberdeen Roncalli 9 19 25 35

Groton 23 37 54 63

3-point field goals – Miller (3); Tietz (4), Tracy (2), Zak. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 16; Groton 16. Rebounds – Groton 31 (Johnson 10). Turnovers – Groton 8. Assists – Groton 8 (Tracy 4). Blocks – Groton 2 (Johnson 2). Steals – Groton 5 (Colby Dunker 2).