BROOKINGS – Aberdeen Central used a balanced and timely effort on the offensive end of the court to claim its third boys’ basketball victory of the season, a 68-58 Eastern South Dakota Conference win over Brookings, pulling away in the final two minutes to seal the win.

“Great to see smiling faces in the locker room after the game,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “The kids played really hard and made some big plays in the fourth quarter.”

Central held the upper hand through most of the contest, but was unable to create much distance on the scoreboard until late in the fourth quarter. Up by four with under a minute to play, the Golden Eagles got a big 3-pointer in the corner that forced Brookings to foul to stop the clock.

Central, however, was able to convert at the free throw line while also getting some key stops on defense.

“It was a physical game, and we survived,” Norberg said. “We got some big offensive rebounds and hit some timely 3-point shots.”

That physicality – teams were whistled for a combined 44 fouls in the game – led to a free-throw-heavy game. Central was 13-for-20 from the line, as a team, while Brookings was 17-for-23.

To counter, Central went long, hitting six treys on the night including two from Michael Dutenhoffer off the bench. Dutenhoffer finished with 11 points in his reserve role. Luke Swanson led the Golden Eagles with 17 points, including an 8-for-8 performance at the free throw line. Brendan Phillips added a dozen points and five rebounds.

Brookings, which remains winless on the year, got 20 points from Bergan Tetzlaff before the senior fouled out of the contest. Brodie McCarty tallied 19 points, while Jase Bauer came off the bench for 10 points before he also fouled out.

Central, 3-15 on the season, remains on the road to begin the final week of regular-season action, heading to Sioux Falls Roosevelt on Tuesday before hosting Sioux Falls Jefferson next Friday at Golden Eagles Arena.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (3-14): Brendan Phillips 4 3-5 12, Luke Swanson 4 8-8 17, Colby Dauwen 2 0-2 4, Jacob Weishaar 3 1-2 7, Jack Bertsch 4 0-2 8, Michael Dutenhoffer 4 1-1 11, Christian Palmer 1 0-0 3, Bryson Burgard 2 0-0 5. Totals 24-55 13-20 68.

BROOKINGS (0-18): Jones Huntimer 1 1-2 4, Brodie McCarty 6 3-4 19, Bergan Tetzlaff 7 6-7 20, Winston Plummer 1 1-2 3, Jase Bauer 2 6-8 10, Gavin Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 18-44 17-23 58.

Aberdeen Central 16 32 50 68

Brookings 12 29 42 58

3-point field goals – Phillips, Swanson, Dutenhoffer 2, Palmer, Burgard; Huntimer, McCarty 4. Fouled out – Bertsch; Tetzlaff, Bauer. Total fouls – Aberdeen Central 26; Brookings 18. Rebounds – Aberdeen Central 21 (Phillips 5, Bertsch 5); Brookings 26 (Tetzlaff 9). Turnovers – Aberdeen Central 10; Brookings 18. Blocks – Aberdeen Central 1 (Dutenhoffer); Brookings 4 (Tetzlaff 2). Steals – Aberdeen Central 12 (Dauwen 4); Brookings 3.