STURGIS - Sioux Falls Washington scored the final 11 points Friday night and toppled Sturgis 56-49 in Greater Dakota Conference boys basketball at Brown High School.

Tyler Hinker netted two free throws with just over five minutes left to give the Scoopers a 49-45 edge. That would be the last time Sturgis dented the scoreboard.

Nate LeMaster and Trevor Gebhart combined for three free throws as Washington closed the gap to 49-48. Levi Smith drilled a 3-pointer with 1-½ minutes left to put Sioux Falls ahead 51-49.

Jim Trett's Warriors connected on five foul shots over the final 48 seconds to seal the victory. Sioux Falls is 1-0 in the conference, 1-0 overall; Sturgis is 0-1 and 0-1.

Washington led 19-16 after the first quarter, but Sturgis used an 18-11 scoring edge in the second frame to take a 34-30 advantage into the locker room. The Scoopers used four Hinker points as part of an 8-0 run to open the stanza.

Ryan Jans' free throw pulled Sioux Falls into a 24-24 tie. A 7-0 spurt featuring three Dillon Morris points gave Sturgis a 31-24 advantage. Sioux Falls scored six of the half's final nine points but still trailed by four.

Kassidy Huffman's free throw presented the Scoopers with a 41-33 advantage midway through the third period. Washington responded by outscoring Sturgis 10-2 the rest of the period; Smith and Scott Ritter buried 3-pointers.

Smith finished with 19 points for Washington, which plays at Spearfish today.

His efforts included five 3-pointers.

Hinker turned in a 19-point performance to pace Sturgis, which hosts Sioux Falls Lincoln today at 2:30 p.m. Morris chipped in with 15 points.

"What it comes down to is, I don't think we shot the ball well in the final four minutes," Scoopers' head coach Ethan Dschaak said. He added Sturgis had 13 turnovers and shot 29 percent from the floor on the night.

Dschaak said the Scoopers executed things pretty well, and the shot selection was good. Shots were the same in both halves, Dschaak continued, although Sturgis collected only 15 second-half points.

Lincoln is the only conference team Sturgis has never defeated. Dschaak said his primary concern now is helping the Scoopers to a 1-1 weekend record.

"I told the kids in the locker room afterwards that this thing is a marathon, not a sprint," Dschaak commented. "We'll be fine."