There would be no late-game drama needed this time.

After a pulling out a win in the final minutes on Friday night, Aberdeen Christian was dominant from the opening tip on Saturday afternoon. The Knights put the defensive clamps on Waubay-Summit in a 49-22 Region 1B boys’ basketball SoDak 16 qualifier victory at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.

“We were locked in from the beginning. We were ready to play,” said Christian junior Luke Kaiser. “We all just said we don’t want this to be our last game.”

The contest played out much differently than Waubay-Summit’s narrow win over the Knights during the regular season.

“The ball moved more the first time,” said Waubay-Summit coach Mark Amdahl. “The ball did not move well enough tonight to get any movement to create any double gaps for our offense.”

The Knights held a 6-4 lead in the opening quarter before Raymond Rodriguez-Martinez came off the bench to score five straight points in less than a minute to give Christian a shot of momentum.

“I thought it was very big, coming off the bench,” Martinez said. “The way that we came out and started playing, that was just so perfect for us. It was such a big momentum shift.”

Not known for his scoring, the junior proved that he can provide instant offense when given the opportunity.

“I’m more of a defensive player, but if I get those open shots, I’m going to knock ’em down,” Martinez said, “and if I get a drive, I’m going to take it. That’s just what I got to do.”

After the Mustangs closed to within 11-6 late in the first quarter, their points dried up as Christian went on a 22-4 run to take control.

The Knights did not have a field goal in the second quarter, but did make 10 free throws. Meanwhile, Waubay-Summit managed just one basket and two foul shots in the period.

“This was the best version of the guys that we’ve had all season long as far as defensively. There’s so many game balls to give out,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. “I think it starts with Jett Johnson and Grady Jett locking up (Traveion) Neilan, because he’s obviously an incredible player and he killed us down there when we played in Waubay.”

With the middle clogged and the Knights hounding outside ballhandlers, the Mustangs never got into an offensive flow.

“They applied a lot of pressure. We struggled with that early in the season,” said Waubay-Summit senior Dylan Rumpza. “We got better throughout, but we just collapsed today.”

Things only got worse for the Mustangs in the second half as Christian steadily pulled away. Waubay-Summit did not score more than six points in any single quarter during the contest.

“They did a really good job of shutting the paint off for our scorers,” Amdahl said. “They locked us up defensively and then we started rushing shots that we felt were open, and then they didn’t fall.”

Rohrbach understands how fickle the game of basketball can be at times.

“Basketball is like that sometimes and you hope that that’s not you, and that is the reality unfortunately, you just can’t make shots. … Basketball is tough,” Rohrbach said. “That’s why I think you have to hang your hat on more than just being a good shooting ball club, and more than being just a defensive team. You have to be a complete team. Credit to these guys for buying into that reality.”

Kaiser and Dylan Hofer had 13 points apiece to top Christian.

After setting a new school record for steals in a game on Friday, Hofer followed it up with another stellar performance on Saturday.

“The guys on the bench were yelling ‘playoff Dylan,’ because he was incredible (Friday) night, he was incredible tonight,” Rohrbach said.

Rumpza finished with six points to lead the Mustangs in his final prep game.

He said the highlight of his career was playing in the State B tournament in 2022.

“Being with great players like Damon (Opdahl), Jackson (Wohlleber) and Jonathon (Johnston) from previous years, you learn a lot and you succeed a lot, and winning kind of became a tradition,” Rumpza said. “It was just trying to hold that tradition up.”

The Mustangs finished with a 14-8 record. Amdahl credited the Knights following the game, but was also proud of his team.

“Credit to them. They showed up today. They played. We had an off day,” Amdahl said. “It doesn’t define our season. We still had a good season and I’m proud of our guys.”

While Christian is known for its size with five guys 6-foot-3 or taller, it was the 5-9 Hofer and 5-8 Martinez that lit the fire on Saturday.

“Our small guys have a lot of energy and they bring energy to the big guys,” said the 6-3 Kaiser said. “That energy goes all around, so we’re family, we play as a team, and that’s why we’re winning.”

The Knights, who improved to 17-5, will look to continue winning as they face Lemmon during the SoDak 16 on Tuesday at Faith.

“If our mentality stays the same as far as getting better every day, every possession, working for each other, playing for each other, I think we’ll be in good shape,” Rohrbach said.

WAUBAY-SUMMIT (14-8): Hogan Hlavacek 2 1-1 5, Tigh Gaikowski 0 0-2 0, Dylan Rumpza 1 4-4 6, Traveion Neilan 1 3-4 5, Evan Aker 0 0-2 0, Teegan Gaikowski 0 2-2 2, Newton Campbell 2 0-0 4. Totals 6 10-15 22.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (17-5): Jett Johnson 2 0-0 5, Dylan Hofer 3 6-7 13, Ellis Russell 0 1-2 1, Luke Kaiser 4 4-5 13, Brooks Jett 2 1-2 5, Raymond Rodriguez-Martinez 2 0-0 5, Grady Jett 2 0-0 5, Daniel Opdahl 0 2-4 2. Totals 15 14-20 49.

Waubay-Summit 6 10 16 22

Aberdeen Christian 14 24 42 49

3-point field goals – Johnson, Hofer, Kaiser, Martinez, G. Jett. Total fouls – Waubay-Summit 18; Aberdeen Christian 17. Rebounds – Waubay-Summit 20 (Hlavacek 7); Aberdeen Christian 24 (B. Jett 12). Turnovers – Waubay-Summit 12; Aberdeen Christian 11. Assists –Aberdeen Christian 9 (Russell 5). Blocked shots – Aberdeen Christian 2 (B. Jett, Martinez). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 11 (Hofer 3, Russell 3).