Postseason basketball just hits differently.

Less than three weeks after Aberdeen Christian defeated Hitchcock-Tulare by 28 points, the Knights pulled away from a tie game in the fourth quarter to grab a 54-45 victory over the Patriots in Region 1B boys’ basketball action at the Aberdeen Civic Arena Friday night.

“Tonight they shot a lot better and it was way more intense because it’s regions,” said Christian point guard Dylan Hofer. “Everyone just wants it more.”

It appeared the Knights were in for a repeat performance bolting out to a 9-0 lead to start the game. However, it soon became obvious that the Patriots came to play.

“Our guys are young, but yet they’re coming along,” said Hitchcock-Tulare coach Tom Salmen. “I wish we had a little more season left, because they’re picking it up.”

The visitors clawed their way back into the game and trailed 29-23 at halftime.

While Christian built a 33-23 lead two minutes into the second half, the Patriots hung tough behind the play of Devin Enander, who scored eight points in the period.

“He plays a lot like Dylan Hofer,” said Christian coach Matt Rohrbach. “They both just kind of go, go, go, and have one speed.”

While Hofer managed just three points total in the contest, the sophomore had his fingerprints all over the victory. In addition to grabbing six rebounds, he also broke the school record with nine steals.

“Today we’d full-court press,” Hofer said. “They’d get it to one of their guys and we’d just trap them or they’d try to throw a long pass and I’d just lurk it.”

With Hofer, it’s never really about the scorebook.

“Stats do deceive,” Rohrbach said. “The reality is we always feel like he has 20 points, because he’s always around the ball. … He doesn’t get tired.”

Rohrbach said it’s not always about how many points a player scores.

“Points matter of course, but they don’t matter in the sense that if you give up 20 points and you’re scoring 20, then are you really that good of a player? He’s great,” Rohrbach said. “He’s lock down and he does his job so well, and all the guys really rally behind him because he gets them going with his energy.”

Hofer said his role of doing a little bit of everything just evolves as he is on the court.

“It just kind of comes natural by playing,” Hofer said. “Just because I don’t get the open looks doesn’t mean I can’t impact the game.”

With the Knights clinging to a 47-43 lead in the closing minutes, Hofer scored his only basket of the game, got a steal and later a key defensive rebound to help seal the victory.

“He’s aggressive,” Salmen said, “and we needed to keep him out of the way a little bit more and we just didn’t.”

Patrick Maynard topped Hitchcock-Tulare with 20 points, while Enander followed with 18.

The 6-foot Enander repeatedly drove into the lane against the taller Knights and finished with acrobatic layups, using reverse spin on the ball.

“I just learned how to flip stuff off the glass and found the rotation to make it go in the hoop,” Enander said.

The sophomore scored all but two of his points in the second half as the Patriots pushed the Knights the whole way.

“He’s fast and he’s crafty,” Hofer said. “On fastbreaks he’s really dangerous, so you just have to make sure to stop him.”

While the Patriots season came to an end, they finished with one of their top performances of the season.

“I told them in the locker room that this was a pretty good game and they should be proud of themselves,” Salmen said. “They really fought hard tonight.”

And with no seniors on the roster, the future looks bright for the squad.

“With lots of time in the gym in the summer I think we can come back and be way better,” Enander said.

Luke Kaiser scored a game-high 20 points to lead Christian, including four clutch free throws in the final minute of action. Brooks Jett added 12 points and 14 rebounds.

The Knights, 16-5, will take on Waubay-Summit at 1 this afternoon in the region semifinals with a trip to next week’s SoDak 16 on the line.

“Regions are different and a lot of these guys really haven’t played in region games, outside of really Ellis (Russell) as focal points of the team,” Rohrbach said. “That first one is hardest to get. It’s good to get that first win off the books. We’re a confident ball club and we feel like (Saturday) we’ll be ready to go and we’ll be ready to play our best.”

HITCHCOCK-TULARE (7-15): Devin Enander 8 2-2 18, Patrick Maynard 8 0-0 20, Preston Wipf 1 2-2 4, Deegan Moes 1 0-0 2. Totals 18-54 4-4 45.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (16-5): Jett Johnson 2 1-2 6, Dylan Hofer 1 1-2 3, Ellis Russell 2 3-5 7, Luke Kaiser 8 4-4 20, Brooks Jett 5 1-2 12, Raymond Rodriguez-Martinez 1 0-0 2, Grady Jett 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 10-15 54.

Hitchcock-Tulare 6 23 39 45

Aberdeen Christian 16 29 39 54

3-point field goals – Maynard 4; Johnson, B. Jett. Total fouls – Hitchcock-Tulare 14; Aberdeen Christian 12. Rebounds – Hitchcock-Tulare 30 (Maynard 9); Aberdeen Christian 32 (B. Jett 14). Turnovers – Hitchcock-Tulare 17; Aberdeen Christian 16. Assists – Aberdeen Christian 7 (Kaiser 3). Steals – Aberdeen Christian 14 (Hofer 9).