SIOUX FALLS – Aberdeen Central struggled to find a rhythm on offense Thursday night in a 54-40 non-conference boys’ basketball road loss to fifth-ranked Sioux Falls Washington.

Central began the game with a 13-12 lead after the opening quarter, but soon found itself in a hole after a scoreless second stanza. That drought allowed the host Warriors to take control of the contest.

“We really struggled to take care of the ball and make clean passes,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “We are really lacking confidence right now. Defensively we played pretty well for the majority of the game, but still had too many mistakes and poor rotations.”

Brendan Phillips had a dozen points to lead the way for the Golden Eagles. Colby Dauwen added 11 and Luke Swanson finished with nine.

Washington got a big 27-point performance from Tommy Hoffman. Lucas Johnson added 11 for the Warriors.

Central, 2-10 on the season, will head to third-rated Harrisburg next Friday for an Eastern South Dakota Conference match-up.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (2-10): Brendan Phillips 5 2-3 12, Luke Swanson 2 4-4 9, Colby Dauwen 4 1-1 11, Jacob Weishaar 1 0-0 2, Christian Palmer 2 0-0 6. Totals 14-42 7-8 40.

SIOUX FALLS WASHINGTON (7-4): Tommy Hoffman 10 5-6 27, Brennan Vertley 3 0-0 6, Lucas Johnson 4 1-2 11, Jhace Woods 1 0-0 2, Sam Uing 1 0-0 2, Hayden Schiling 1 0-0 2, Ben Sprecher 2 0-0 4. Totals 22-48 6-8 54.

Aberdeen Central 13 13 26 40

Sioux Falls Washington 12 24 41 54

3-point field goals – Swanson, Dauwen 2, Palmer 2; Hoffman 2, Johnson 2. Total fouls – Aberdeen Central 10; Sioux Falls Washington 10. Rebounds – Aberdeen Central 17 (Phillips 3, Jack Bertsch 3, Weishaar 2); Sioux Falls Washington 22 (Woods 5). Turnovers – Aberdeen Central 11; Sioux Falls Washington 9. Steals – Aberdeen Central 6 (Swanson 2); Sioux Falls Washington 9 (Woods 3, Sprecher 3).