BRANDON — Avery Schneekloth’s strong offensive night wasn’t enough to lift the No. 4 Marshall girls basketball team to victory on Friday. Taking on Brandon Valley, the top-ranked team in South Dakota’s largest class, Marshall rallied after trailing by 7 at halftime but ultimately lost 69-68.

The Tigers were down 37-30 at the break. While Marshall outscored Brandon Valley by 6 in the second-half, they still fell just shy of the win.

Schneekloth finished as Marshall’s leading scorer with 18 points on 5 of 17 shooting, knocking down each of her two 3-point attempts. Reese Drake also added 12 points while Avery Fahl and Danielle Nubile finished with another 11 each.

As a team, Marshall shot 43% from the field and 8 of 18 (44%) from 3-point range. Still, Brandon Valley shot 57% from the field and 4 of 14 (29%) from 3 to hold on for the win.

Schneekloth led Marshall on the glass with eight total rebounds, four on each end of the court, while Drake’s four assists and two steals were both team-highs.

Marshall (19-4) returns to its home court for the final time during the regular season when it hosts Tri-City United (9-14) today at 1:30 p.m.

No. 7 Mayer Lutheran 58,

Minneota 36

MAYER — The tenacious defense of the No. 7 Mayer Lutheran girls basketball team was too much for the Minneota Vikings to overcome on Friday as the Vikings fell 58-36 in the non-conference matchup.

Libby Sussner finished as Minneota’s leading scorer with 9 points on 4 of 7 shooting. As a team, Minneota shot 21% from the field and 2 of 13 from 3-point range, while Mayer Lutheran shot 33% from the field and 6 of 16 from beyond the arc.

Autum Anderson led the Vikings defensively with three steals and Jaylyn Coequyt contributed a steal and a block. Still, Mayer Lutheran won the turnover battle 37-16.

Despite the loss, Minneota was able to control the glass. The Vikings outrebounded Mayer Lutheran 42-29 overall and 13-11 on the offensive end, led by nine total and four offensive boards from Eden Meagher. Leah Coequyt also grabbed seven total rebounds.

Minneota (17-8) gets back in action on Monday when it heads to Granite Falls to take on Yellow Medicine East (8-15) in its penultimate regular-season game. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

MCC 85, MLAC 48

SLAYTON — Another dominant two-way game from Aiden Swenson helped the Murray County Central boys basketball team run away with an 85-48 win over Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey in a non-conference matchup on Friday.

Swenson set the tone defensively with five blocks in the game. His 16 points on 7 of 14 shooting and seven rebounds were also both team-highs.

Dugan Kluis was a machine when it came to setting up his teammates in the game, dishing out 14 assists on just one turnover. His five rebounds also tied Tristan Behrends and Krew Schneider for second on the team.

Wyatt Thompson was efficient with his scoring, going 6 of 7 from the field for 13 points. Behrends and Carter Hanson also contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Murray County Central (15-5) returns to action on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. for a road matchup against Edgerton (12-7).

No. 5 HBC 70, RTR 46

HILLS — The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton boys basketball team wasn’t able to turn its luck around on Friday, falling 70-46 against Red Rock Conference-foe No. 5 Hills-Beaver Creek for its fourth loss in its last five games.

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (12-10) continues its stretch of five straight road games to close the regular season when it takes on Pipestone Area (6-17) today at 2 p.m.

RCW 65, YME 24

GRANITE FALLS — The Yellow Medicine East boys basketball team had no answer for Renville County West on Friday, falling 65-24 in Camden Conference play.

The Sting fell behind 39-11 at halftime and never recovered. Kia GreyCloud was the lone Sting player to finish with more than 5 points, scoring 11 on 4 of 12 shooting along with a team-high three steals.

Gunnar Fagen grabbed eight rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive glass, along with a pair of blocks. Cooper McCosh also grabbed six rebounds with a steal.

Yellow Medicine East (3-20) next hosts BOLD (2-19) for its home finale on Monday at 7 p.m.

HLOF 60, WWG 43

OKABENA — The Westbrook-Walnut Grove boys basketball team was unable to find its rhythm in the second half of its Red Rock Conference matchup against Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda on Friday, falling 60-43 to the Coyotes.

WWG trailed 24-23 at halftime, but couldn’t take the lid off the bucket after the break.

Neil Kuehl led WWG with 11 points, followed by another 10 from Connor Jackels.

Westbrook-Walnut Grove (13-10) returns to its home court to host Red Rock Central (6-17) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

SWMC 81, RRC 49

LAMBERTON — The Red Rock Central boys basketball team wasn’t able to get back in the win column on Friday, falling 81-49 to Southwest Minnesota Christian in Red Rock Conference play for its fourth straight loss.

Red Rock Central (6-17) hits the road to take on Westbrook-Walnut Grove (13-10) in its next game on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.