Aberdeen Roncalli defended its home court one last time this season.
The Cavaliers used another solid defensive effort to fuel to a 57-37 win over Miller on Saturday at Roncalli Gym in a non-conference boys' basketball game. The win came one night after Roncalli lost a tough battle against No. 1 Clark-Willow Lake.
"To come back and get a W, that makes you feel a little better," Roncalli point guard Kendal Deutsch said.
Roncalli coach Todd Neuendorf felt his team needed to play with the same effort it did against the Cyclones the night before. He felt they did that against the Rustlers.
"We wanted to play with intensity and I really thought we did that," Neuendorf said. "I thought we played hard, just like last night."
The two teams exchanged the lead early in the first quarter. The Cavaliers then pulled away and took a 16-8 lead after the first eight minutes. Roncalli led by as much as 26-13 midway through the second quarter and went into halftime with a 31-22 lead.
Kory Schwan propelled the first half effort with 11 points, including three three-pointers. Schwan finished with 14 points. Reserve Zach Schaefbauer drilled two consecutive treys early in the second quarter, which forced Miller to burn a timeout.
"Schwanny started the game off hitting three threes," Deutsch said. "That got us going right away. He is really good at doing that. Then Schaefbauer hits back-to-back threes and that got us going. Those two guys stepped up real well."
The Cavaliers did not make a three-pointer in the second half.
"We just have to make a couple of adjustments," Neuendorf said, "but we can't live on that three-point line."
Six-foot-6 Dominic King scored the first six points of the second half and finished with 12 points. He also had eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Roncalli stretched their lead to double digits midway through the third quarter and led 44-32 going into the fourth quarter.
The Rustlers then made only five points in the final eight minutes. Miller shot 17-for-43 from the field in the game. The Cavaliers forced 24 Miller turnovers and had 16 steals on the night.
"Defense was really good," said Deutsch, who had five steals. "The full court press worked really well. We got them flustered a little bit. We caused quite a few turnovers. That definitely got us going."
And it was Deutsch who was the key defender, said Neuendorf.
"Kendal Deutsch is always guarding the other team's best player," Neuendorf said. "He did a great job on the (Lee) Sivertsen kid. I was proud of that and proud of our whole team effort."
Sivertsen finished with 14 points and Beau Keeter added 10 for the Rustlers. Miller, which had won 11 of its last 12 games, drops to 13-4 on the season. The Rustlers will host Winner on Monday in a Big Dakota Conference contest.
Roncalli (14-4) will play at Groton on Monday in its regular-season finale. It will be the non-conference contest between the two Northeast Conference rivals. It will also be the Cavaliers' third game in four nights.
"You don't get much rest," Deutsch said about the busy schedule, "but it is good. It gets us ready for districts."
MILLER: Preston Blackwell 3 1-3 7, Lee Sivertsen 6 0-0 14, Beau Keeter 5 0-1 10, Haydn Herman 3 0-0 6, Brendan Letsche 0 0-2 0. Totals 17 1-6 37.
ABERDEEN RONCALLI: Kory Schwan 5 1-2 14, Kendal Deutsch 3 1-2 7, Zach Andera 0 4-4 4, Brayden McNeary 3 2-2 8, Dominic King 5 2-2 12, Zach Schaefbauer 3 0-0 8, Lucas Lorenz 0 3-4 3, Layne Holzer 0 1-2 1. Totals 19 14-18 57.
Miller (13-4)| 8 22 32 37
Aberdeen Roncalli (14-4)| 16 31 44 57
3-point field goals -- Schwan 3, Schaefbauer 2. Total fouls -- Miller 16; Aberdeen Roncalli 15. Rebounds -- Miller 19 (Sivertsen 5); Aberdeen Roncalli 26 (King 8). Turnovers -- Miller 24; Aberdeen Roncalli 16. Officials -- Ryan Neale, Jeff Planteen, Doug Ruesink. B Game -- Roncalli 59-24.