SIOUX FALLS – Groton battled early, but ultimately couldn’t contain West Central, falling 59-40 to the Trojans Friday afternoon in the consolation semifinals of the Class A State A Boys’ Basketball Tournament at the Sanford Premier Center.

The Tigers ended the opening quarter with the lead, but failed to gain much traction in the second quarter, scoring just five points on two possessions. The last of those five points – a 3-point play by Becker Bosma with 3:15 to play – was the final lead for the Tigers the remainder of the contest.

West Central responded on its ensuing possession with a 3-pointer from Connor Mebius, ballooned that lead to five by the end of the half and held off a couple of spirited Groton rallies in the second half to secure the win.

Ryder Johnson finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for Groton. Bosma finished with 10 points, while Gage Sippel notched seven points and eight rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end of the court.

West Central got 20 points from Mebius, who hit a trio of 3-pointers and went to the line a dozen times, making seven of them. Will Kuhl added 14 points and nine rebounds, while Kolte Garry had seven points for the Trojans.

Groton will face fellow Northeast Conference foe Clark-Willow Lake today in the seventh-place game. That contest will tip at noon. Groton won a previous matchup in the final seconds during the regular season.

WEST CENTRAL (20-4): Connor Mebius 5 7-12 20, Kolte Garry 6 0-0 12, Carter Tetzlaff 2 0-0 4, Luke Knight 1 3-4 5, Will Kuhl 6 2-2 14, Boche Knight 2 0-0 4. Totals 22-53 12-18 59.

GROTON (17-7): Keegen Tracy 1 0-1 2, Ryder Johnson 4 2-2 12, Becker Bosma 4 2-2 10, Karson Zak 2 0-0 5, Gage Sippel 2 3-4 7, Teylor Diegel 0 1-2 1, Turner Thompson 1 0-0 3. Totals 14-48 8-11 40.

West Central 10 22 41 59

Groton 12 17 34 40

3-point field goals – Mebius 3; Johnson 2, Zak, Thompson. Total fouls – West Central 12; Groton 15. Rebounds – West Central 38 (Kuhl 9, Garry 7); Groton 30 (Sippel 8, Johnson 7). Assists – West Central 9 (Mebius 2, Garry 2, Tetzlaff 2); Groton 9 (Bosma 3). Turnovers – West Central 7; Groton 13. Blocks – West Central 3 (Kuhl 3); Groton 7 (Johnson 2, Zak 2). Steals – West Central 9 (Mebius 2, B. Knight 2); Groton 7 (Tracy 3).