- It was a physical war on the floor, but the Yankton Bucks Basketball Squad fell short 61-55 Friday night vs the Pierre Governors in the state capitol. Pierre Junior Lincoln Kienholz (Keen-Holes) dropped 33 points in the Governor victory. Coach Haynes acknowledged the influence Kienholz had on the outcome.
Despite falling behind by as many as thirteen points, the Bucks rallied to make it a one possession game near the end. Haynes talks about how despite the loss, he is proud of the fight the team showed in their effort.
The lead scorer for the Bucks was Junior Drew Ryken who tallied 19 points. Yankton, now 7-7 on the season, fell one spot in the Class AA Standings to 9th. They have a chance to climb back into the top eight this Friday and Saturday, as both Rapid City Stevens and Rapid City Central come to the Summit Activities Center for a pair of girls/boys double-headers.
- The Mitchell Corn Palace was host to this years Gymnastics ESD Conference Meet on Saturday. The host Mitchell Kernels took the team ESD Title with a final tally of 150.475. Yankton finished 5th with a 138.075 score. Taking the Individual All-Around Scoring Title was Myah Morris of Watertown who posted a 38.3 final score. The highest scorer for Yankton was Alison Johnson who posted a 8.775 and finished 9th in Bars, and finished the All-Around Scoring with a final score of 36.15, which was good enough for an 8th place finish. The Gazelles now turn their focus to the State Meet this Friday and Saturday, back at the Mitchell Corn Palace.
- Yankton High School was host to 17 varsity wrestling teams this past Saturday for its Yankton Invite. The Bucks finished 12th with a final score of 45, while Rapid City Stevens took the team victory with a final mark of 289. The Gazelles joined Tea area in a second-place finish after suffering a clean sweep by Brookings. The Bucks and Gazelles squads now travel to Huron on Thursday for a meet beginning at 6pm.
- South Dakota State Men’s Basketball Douglas Wilson had 25 points to lead the Jackrabbits to an 89-79 win against South Dakota Saturday night inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. SDSU (21-4) stayed unbeaten in Summit League play at 12-0. South Dakota (13-9, 6-5) got 15 points from Kruz Perrott-Hunt and a near double-double from Hunter Goodrick (13 pts, 8 rebs), but lost its third straight in the series. It was the first game in six that was played in Vermillion. In Women’s Basketball, South Dakota State shot 57 percent in the second half to defeat the Coyotes 75-65 inside Frost Arena on Saturday afternoon. South Dakota (18-5, 11-1) saw its 16-game winning streak come to an end and recorded its first loss in Summit play since last season in Brookings. The Jackrabbits (15-8, 11-1) won their seventh-straight since their loss to USD in Vermillion. The South Dakota Women return to action Thursday night as the Coyotes host Omaha at 7 pm inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. The South Dakota Men travel to North Dakota State on Monday for a 7pm Summit League contest.
