Pierre kept switching defenses until it found the one that proved to be the difference maker Tuesday night.

The Governors pulled away in the second half to grab a 62-51 Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ basketball victory over Aberdeen Central at Golden Eagles Arena.

Central was moving the ball and getting solid shots, until a change in the defensive scheme from the Governors halted the Golden Eagles’ offense.

“They changed defenses with their pressure. We handled their pressure well, we got some good layups. They went to a different zone,” said Central coach Brent Norberg. “We were getting stuff, so they went to more of a trapping zone on the wings and we didn’t just adjust very well. We turned it over too many times up top that led to layups.”

The contest marked a successful homecoming for Pierre coach Brianna Kusler, a former standout player for the Golden Eagles.

“It’s nice to come and see familiar faces, family, and everything. And people who made my time as an Eagle very special. I have so many positive things to say about my time in Aberdeen,” said Kusler. “It’s certainly nice to be home. But also, I’m looking forward to getting back to my new home in Pierre.”

Central hung with the Governors in the early going, trailing by just two points following the opening quarter.

“Well, it’s good. You’re at home, you hope to get off to a good start and that was good,” said Norberg. “I was proud of the way we executed early.”

The Governors began to gain separation, using an 8-2 run to pull away from a 19-18 lead. That surge was fueled by steals and fast-break points.

“We were just not equipped to handle 8-0 and 6-0 spurts, and they had one this game and that was enough,” Norberg said. “That’s been our Achilles heel all year.”

Kusler challenged her players to play for a full 32 minutes and was pleased with their performance.

“This was a good, solid, complete game for us, and that was really what we had challenged the boys with,” said Kusler. “They embraced that challenge of establishing things on the defensive end and then allowing that to play into our offense.”

Central leading scorer Brendan Phillips got off to a slow start, however, Jacob Weishaar, Jack Bertsch and Colby Dauwen each scored six points in the opening half.

“We wanna get everyone involved and there’s not one guy on our team that I’ve ever said to ‘Hey, don’t score, don’t shoot.’ I mean everyone’s free to do that, to find their shots and we did a little better of a job,” Norberg said. “Brendan had a lot of looks from three that he normally makes and he just couldn’t make them tonight, but he took good shots and everyone, I thought for the most part, we took pretty good shots.”

Weishaar was a key weapon on the evening, shooting 6 of 7 from the floor, and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line, getting 15 points.

“It felt good. I haven’t scored very much this year,” said Weishaar. “It felt pretty good.”

Pierre increased its lead from 27-22 to 43-31 in the third quarter as Luke Olson scored eight points in the period on the way to a game-high 29 on the night.

“He’s an outstanding leader. His presence, he’s a floor general for us,” said Kusler. “His performance tonight was maybe a little bit more than what he’s done all the time, but he’s capable of that.”

Phillips recovered from his quiet start with 10 of Central’s 20 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 14 on the evening.

“You know, obviously, shot wasn’t falling first three quarters. I was struggling,” said Phillips. “But, putting the ball through the hoop gave us some energy, and gave us some energy on our press and on our defense.”

In the end, however, the 20-point final quarter wasn’t enough to track down the Governors.

“The kids don’t quit. They’re great kids, they’re gonna keep playing. They have a lot of pride,” said Norberg. “We just weren’t able to do enough to overcome it, but you keep playing till the buzzer, and that’s what they do.”

Central, 2-9 on the season, is back in action Thursday as it has a road game against fifth-rated Sioux Falls Washington.

PIERRE (4-6): Austin Corde 4 0-0 8, Dawson Getz 7 2-2 17, Luke Olson 11 5-6 29, Caiden Ahartz 2 2-2 6, Carter Schiefelbein 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 9-10 62.

ABERDEEN CENTRAL (2-9): Brendan Phillips 5 2-3 14, Luke Swanson 2 1-2 6, Colby Dauwen 3 0-2 6, Jacob Weishaar 6 3-4 15, Jack Bertsch 3 0-0 6, Michael Dutenhoffer 1 0-0 2, Turner Bergan 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 6-11 51

Pierre 12 27 43 62

Aberdeen Central 14 22 31 51

3-point field goals – Getz, Olson 2; Phillips 2, Swanson. Fouled out – Dauwen. Total Fouls – Pierre 15; Aberdeen Central 14. Rebounds – Pierre 28 (Getz 8); Aberdeen Central 27 (Weishaar 8). Turnovers – Pierre 11; Aberdeen Central 15. Assists – Pierre 12 (Olson 4); Aberdeen Central 15 (Dauwen 7). Steals – Pierre 11 (Olson 3); Aberdeen Central 3 (Dauwen, Bertsch, Bryson Burgard). Blocks- Pierre 2 (Getz 2); Aberdeen Central 2 (Phillips, Weishaar).