RAPID CITY, S.D. — Huron turned a defensive slugfest into a championship celebration Saturday night.
Behind a balanced scoring effort and a dominant second quarter, third-seeded Huron knocked off No. 1 Sioux Falls Lincoln 59-47 in the Class AA boys basketball state championship game at the Monument Ice Arena.
The title is Huron’s first since 2004 and caps a 20-4 season, while Lincoln finished 23-1 and saw its two-year run of dominance come to an abrupt end.
Lincoln, which entered averaging 70 points per game, never found its rhythm offensively. The Patriots shot just 27% from the field and 6 of 33 from 3-point range, both season lows, as Huron dictated tempo from the second quarter on.
After trailing 11-8 at the end of the first quarter, Huron flipped the game with a 15-5 second period. Blake Ellwein and Myles Ellwein sparked the surge, combining for key perimeter shots as Huron took a 23-16 halftime lead.
Lincoln’s struggles continued after the break. Despite a brief push early in the third quarter, Huron answered with timely shooting and a 10-point run to stretch the lead to double digits. The Tigers led 38-28 entering the fourth.
Huron then methodically pulled away in the final period, shooting 75% from the field in the quarter and extending the lead to as many as 17 points. Lincoln never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Blake Ellwein led Huron with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Myles Ellwein added 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Chase Davis contributed six points and 10 rebounds, anchoring the interior defense.
Chase Schuchhardt provided a key spark off the bench with eight points, all in the first half, helping Huron build momentum.
Lincoln was led by Samuel DeGroot, who scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Brody Schafer added 14 points, but needed 14 shots to get there, and Sam Ericsson struggled to just three points on 1-of-14 shooting.
The Patriots’ 47 points marked their lowest output since a 32-29 loss to Watertown in the 2024 SoDak 16, snapping a 49-game stretch without being held that low.
Huron’s defense forced 12 turnovers and consistently contested Lincoln’s perimeter looks, holding the Patriots to 18% shooting from beyond the arc.
The loss ends a dominant two-year stretch for Lincoln, which went 45-3 over that span, including a third-place finish last season and its lone loss this year coming in the title game.
For Huron, the win also carries historical weight. The Tigers avenged a previous championship loss to Lincoln in 2009 and secured their long-awaited return to the top of Class AA.