The Stanley County Buffaloes and Gettysburg Battlers had a score to settle after their late January contest was postponed due to weather. The two teams, both going through their toughest stretch of schedule, met in Fort Pierre on Valentines Day as each game down the stretch gains more and more impor tance. On an unseasonably warm Saturday, the Buffaloes came out red hot after the Battlers opened the game with a Jerand Chase field goal. Stanley County would hold Gettysburg scoreless until the final minute of the opening quarter holding the Battlers to just five points in the opening frame. Stanley County’s offense was clicking out of the gate as they quickly built a double-digit lead thanks to some sharp shooting from captains Paxton Deal and Eddie Duffy. Deal and Duffy combined for 7 made threes in the first half that propelled the Buffaloes to a 38-7 lead. Stanley County’s defense was as good as their offense holding the Battlers scoreless until the final few seconds of the second quarter. That defense persisted in the third quarter as they again held Gettysburg to just four total points and stretched their lead to 38. With a running clock, there wasn’t much time for Bryce Hall’s Battler team to mount much of a comeback, but they were able to find a stroke of offensive rhythm scoring 12 fourth quarter points thanks to a couple threes from Treyson Zeigler and Colby Falkenhagen off the bench. The Buffaloes would run out the clock and cruise to the 62-23 victory. Stanley County added another win to their 15-2 record while the Battlers fell to 7-10. Paxton Deal led both teams in scoring with 17 while Duffy trailed not far behind with 14. Deal was named the Player of the Game thanks to his four made threes, which was not the highlight of his day since he was honored in front of the home crowd after surpassing the 1,000-point mark in his career a few games ago. This was the first opportunity to be recognized at home after a road stretch over the last few games. As mentioned earlier, both teams stare down a tough stretch of final regular season play as Gettysburg will face 8-7 Ipswich on the road in their next contest. Stanley County will play in Mobridge against the 10-5 Tigers on the 17th. ...read more read less