A slow start did not prevent a solid finish for Aberdeen Roncalli Monday night.

The Cavaliers outscored Tiospa Zina by 37 points over the final three quarter on the way to a 57-20 Eastern South Dakota Conference boys’ basketball win at Roncalli Gym.

Tiospa Zina held the lead for more than seven minute to start the contest, but the Cavaliers got things going.

“It wasn’t a lack of effort, it was just a lack of focus. Lack of paying attention to little things,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “The focus thing is what we really wanted to correct right away and it took a little while, but second quarter kind of figured it out a little bit.”

With Tiospa Zina up 7-6 late in the opening quarter, Roncalli’s Jesse Hernandez hit his second 3-pointer of the quarter to give the Cavaliers their first lead of the night. The junior guard followed it up with another three on their first possession of the second quarter and the Cavaliers didn’t look back.

“I think everyone knew we didn’t come out to the start we wanted. And over the past week, my coaches have told me I’m a shooter, so just have confidence,” Hernandez said. “So, putting those two up, I think it really gave us momentum.”

The Cavaliers broke the game open by outscoring the visitors 27-5 in the second quarter.

“There have been games where all the shots haven’t fallen, but Jesse’s really come up big the last two games with some clutch shots,” Gallagher said. “We have some different guys that, you know, whether that’s in the paint, whether that’s from the perimeter, can find a way to get a shot.”

Roncalli started the second half much differently than it started the game to continue to build on its lead.

“We kind of talked at halftime and said that we weren’t playing our basketball, and our basketball is, one of our keys every game is to get out in transition,” Hernandez said.

And the Cavaliers did. Roncalli had four straight possessions where a steal led directly to fastbreak points fueling an 8-0 run in less than a minute.

“It was our starting group, normal starters, that recognized this is not who we are, and we’ve got to treat this like a playoff game,” Gallagher said. “So, they really came together and turned it around and just figured out how we need to play moving forward.”

In the third quarter, Ashden Sierra did all the scoring for Tiospa Zina as he put up seven points. On the other hand, the Cavaliers had seven different players score points in the period.

“We have a lot of guys that can score. To see them kind of share the ball in that way too so they can all score is also a big thing,” Gallagher said. “It’s good to see that many guys gain not just in the stat book, but sharing the basketball that well to have seven guys scoring in one quarter. That’s a unique situation.”

With most of the starters not playing in the final quarter, it gave an opportunity for the younger Cavaliers to get minutes. It also served as a learning opportunity, because Roncalli’s standard does not change regardless of who is on the court.

“You see those younger kids get in and it’s really fun, and being able to build up a lead to that point’s really fun,” said Hernandez. “But, you also see the mistakes they made. Like coach in the locker room said that we had five turnovers in that last group and we have a lead, but we still want those younger guys to kind of learn, because they’re who’s gonna be on the court next year.”

Hernandez finished with a game-high 14 points, to lead three Cavaliers in double figures. Sam Franks followed with 13, and Aiden Fisher added 11.

Sierra topped the Wambdi with 12 points.

Now that the regular season is over, the Cavaliers (9-11) shift their focus to the postseason, which starts next week.

“Seeing our shooting improve, seeing our transition get going tonight, just kind of sets us forward for where we want to be,” Gallagher said. “But we also understand, it’s 0-0 when it comes to playoffs. It’s win or go home. No matter who you play, if you wanna continue to play, you gotta beat the guy that’s across from you.”

Tiospa Zina will finish off its season with a home matchup Friday against Milbank.

TIOSPA ZINA (2-16): Ashden Sierra 5 0-0 12, Isaac Rodlund 3 0-0 7, Malaki Fast Horse 1 0-0 2, Devon Bluehorse 2 0-3 5, Eric Jens Jr. 0 1-2 1. Totals 11 1-5 27.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (9-11): Aiden Fisher 5 0-0 11, Jackson Lewno 1 2-2 4, Parker Grieben 3 1-2 7, Tom Niederbaumer 1 0-0 2, Danny Schumacher 1 0-0 3, Jesse Hernandez 5 0-0 14, Sam Franks 6 1-2 13, Brody Weinmeister 2 0-0 4, Sam Larson 2 0-0 6, Austin Fisher 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 4-6 66

Tiospa Zina 7 12 19 27

Aberdeen Roncalli 9 36 61 66

3-point field goals -Sierra 2, Rodlund, Bluehorse; Aiden Fisher, Schumacher, Hernandez 4, Larson 2. Total Fouls – Tiospa Zina 9; Aberdeen Roncalli 5.