Aberdeen Christian made 14 of 16 free throws in the final quarter, played solid defense and collected a 59-49 non-conference victory over Leola-Frederick at the Aberdeen Civic Arena Thursday night.
The Knights had five different players step up to the charity stripe and knock down foul shots in the fourth period.
"This is the first team in Aberdeen Christian history that's really been solid on our free throws. We've never done this before," said senior center Job Niewenhuis. "We're just really looking for a good year this year, because we know how to finish games now."
While Matt Rohrbach led the free-throw shooting by hitting 5-out-6 down the stretch, the steady point guard received plenty of assistance as all five Christian starters nailed at least two free throws in the last two minutes of the contest.
"This is the first team we've had where we're feeling good about shooting free throws," said Knights coach Dave Palmer. "We were telling the kids to get the ball in Matt's hands and look how many other kids shot free throws."
Christian led by eight points early in the third quarter before the Titans chopped the lead to 40-39 with 6:26 remaining. That's when Christian reserve Seth Lundeen scored four unanswered points to give the Knights some breathing room.
After that, it was a matter of getting stops and making free throws and Christian did both.
"We knew we didn't get it done on defense (Tuesday in a loss to Hitchcock-Tulare)," Niewenhuis said. "We just really stepped it up on defense. I think we just worked really hard tonight."
In a marquee matchup of two first-team all-Lake Region Conference performers, Rohrbach and Brian Sumption went head-to-head on both ends of the floor. The last time they faced each other, Rohrbach had 43 points and Sumption 38.
This time Sumption finished with 17 points to lead the Titans, while Rohrbach had eight points and six assists for Christian.
However, on this occasion, Rohrbach had much more help as Sam Palmer led the victory with 19 points and Niewenhuis added 17 points and nine rebounds.
"With the lineup we have, there's going to be kids score on different nights," Coach Palmer said. "Obviously, Matt's a kid that we look to score, but when you're playing against one of the best kids in northeast South Dakota, Matt's job was to 'D' him up and wear him down and he did."
Matt Weisser contributed 11 points to the Leola-Frederick total and Derrick Podoll added 10.
Christian improved to 1-1 with the victory and will play host to Wilmot at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Civic Arena as part of a boys' and girls' doubleheader.
"These (first three opponents) are all teams that have just beat up on us in the past," Niewenhuis said of the Knights' schedule to open the season. "We're really looking to prove ourselves."
LEOLA-FREDERICK: Evan Emery 2 0-0 4, Brian Sumption 7 0-0 17, Matt Weisser 3 5-5 11, Derrick Podoll 5 0-2 10, Wyatt Heine 2 0-0 5, Dane Campbell 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 5-7 49.
ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN: Tanner Droog 0 3-4 3, Sam Palmer 7 2-2 19, Job Niewenhuis 6 5-8 17, Noah Aderhold 1 2-2 4, Matt Rohrbach 1 5-6 8, Seth Lundeen 3 0-0 6, Josh Holsing 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 17-24 59.
Leola-Frederick (2-1) 11 18 35 49
Aberdeen Christian (1-1) 12 24 37 59
3-point field goals - Sumption 3, Heine, Palmer 3, Rohrbach. Total fouls - Leola-Frederick 18; Aberdeen Christian 10. Rebounds - Leola-Frederick 19 (Sumption 5); Aberdeen Christian 24 (Niewenhuis 9). Turnovers - Leola-Frederick 7; Aberdeen Christian 7. Assists - Leola-Frederick 8; Aberdeen Christian 14 (Rohrbach 6). Officials - Jordan Opp, Tim Steinwandt and Tom Waage.