Nebraska coach Adam Poulosky had a simple approach to the South Dakota vs. Nebraska all-star boys’ basketball game, Sunday at Yankton’s Laddie E. Cimpl Arena.
And Jaxson Kilmurry understood it well.
“I just wanted a good game,” said Kilmurry, the Battle Creek standout who scored 24 points in leading Nebraska to a 118-103 victory. “We definitely wanted to win, represent Nebraska. Playing with all these guys once before and during the summer just made it easier.”
Nolan Becker (Cedar Catholic) finished with 19 points for the balanced Nebraska squad, which had all 10 players score seven points or more in the contest. Michael Koenig (Summerland) finished with 15 points, Kellyn Ollendick (Elkhorn Valley) scored 14 points, Gibson Roberts (Laurel-Concord-Coleridge) had 12 points and Drake Nemetz (West Holt) added 11 points in the victory.
Britton Mulder, who helped lead Sioux Falls Christian to the Class A title, scored a game-high 26 points for the South Dakota team. Spencer Karstens (Gayville-Volin) finished with 16 points. Aiden Hamm (Beresford) scored 13 points. Hayden Sprik (Platte-Geddes) and Carter Hanson (Vermillion) each had 12 points. Logan Collette (Dakota Valley) and Preston McFayden (Wagner) each hit three three-pointers for nine points.
The contest marked the first time since 2008 that Mount Marty hosted an all-star game. Cimpl Arena was previously home to the South Dakota-Nebraska All-Star Game from 1989-2008, a run of 20 years.
“It was something coach (Allan) Bertram and I had talked about getting going,” said MMU head men’s basketball coach Collin Authier. Bertram is MMU’s head women’s basketball coach. “We’re finally in a spot with our programs where we can commit the time, energy and effort to be able to do this.”
Though there wasn’t a set “mile radius,” nearly all of the players came from within two hours of Yankton.
“We were going to keep it area as much as we possibly could,” Authier said. “This means a lot more and smaller towns. These guys were talented kids that had great high school careers and have bright futures. Some of these players that played today are going to have a future of playing college basketball.”
Poulosky, a 2004 Mount Marty grad, thought about his own playing days as he prepared to coach on the MMU campus.
“Before the game I was thinking, ‘That’s where Thor used to sit,’” Poulosky said, referring to former MMU head coach Jim Thorson. “That’s kind of a unique feeling, sitting in Coach Thor’s chair.”
South Dakota coach Josh Arlt, a 2024 MMU grad, also sat in his former head coach’s chair, as MMU flipped its benches for home games a few years back. Arlt, now an assistant coach at Beresford, was contacted by his MMU head coach, Authier, about heading up the South Dakota team for the event.
“It was a great learning experience. That would probably be the best way to put it,” Arlt said. “I just wanted to roll out the ball and play. These guys know how to play. There’s a reason why they were selected.
“And no turnovers. Can’t finish with empty possessions.”
South Dakota got off to a fast start, leading 16-4 early in the contest. But Nebraska ran off nine straight points to close to within three (16-13), then took a 24-20 deficit into the second quarter.
“Man, they were hot,” Poulosky said of South Dakota’s opening quarter. “They had some good shooters.”
South Dakota continued to shoot well, finishing with 18 three-pointers in the contest. But the Nebraska offense pushed the pace, scoring 30 points or more in each of the final three quarters.
“I think we didn’t play good enough defense to win early on,” Poulosky said. “I think we played better defense, and got out and ran better. So that got us going.”
Nebraska led 54-53 at the half and 83-79 after three quarters, but it quickly pushed the margin to double-digits on the way to a 35-point fourth quarter and a 15-point victory.
“We were just having fun,” said Kilmurry, a York (Nebraska) recruit. “But if it was close, we were going to lock in and buckle down until we got the win.”
For Zahrbock, one of three Mount Marty recruits on the South Dakota roster, it was one final chance to wear the Yankton red-and-white. Players wore their high school uniforms, home for South Dakota and road for Nebraska.
“It was great to put on that Yankton jersey one last time,” he said. “Obviously the season didn’t end the way we wanted it to — we wanted to make it to state — but getting to put it on one more time and play, that was good.”
Follow jcimburek.bsky.social on BlueSky.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.