The Sioux Falls Skyforce got to scout the Dakota Wizards' season-opener on Saturday. After watching his former team lose to Maine, Skyforce assistant Duane Ticknor was certain of one thing - the

Wizards would be much better on Sunday.

He was right. Powered by a 22-point, 17-rebound effort from Curtis Withers, the Wizards hammered the Skyforce, 91-74.

"We're just getting some real chemistry," said Withers, Dakota's first-round draft pick. "Last night we let our fans down. Today we kind of recovered mentally and physically."

Withers is averaging 22.0 points and 13.0 rebounds per game.

"He's been a savior for us," Wizards coach Rory White said. "He's our go-to guy down there. He's our best inside player. We're going to keep riding him as long as we can."

White said he was looking for more intensity from his team, and he got it.

"We felt that we came out flat (Saturday). We had no energy at all," White said. "I challenged them this afternoon to come out and play hard from the beginning."

That effort was most evident on defense. The Wizards limited the Skyforce starters to a total of 28 points - or what Reggie Williams alone had averaged in Sioux Falls' preseason game and regular-season opener.

Sioux Falls shot just 35.1 percent (26-for-74) from the floor and committed 27 turnovers.

"We tried basically to bring defensive energy," Withers said. "We all know on our team that if we rebound and play defense, it makes offense easier."

White credited Maurice Baker - who had eight points, eight assists, six rebounds and six steals - for setting the tone.

"Mo Baker said, ‘Hey, it starts with me guys.' He went out there and got a couple of steals and got us going defensively."

The Wizards never trailed and the only time the game was tied was at 2-2.

Yet even though the Skyforce struggled mightily early on, hitting just two of its first 12 shots, it took some time for Dakota to pull away.

The Wizards led 25-17 after one quarter and 47-36 at the half.

It wasn't until they scored the first eight points of the third quarter, half from Baker, that the Wizards really began to pull away.

With Romel Beck, who had a game-high 24 points, leading the offense, Dakota looked like it would cruise to victory.

But with mostly reserves on the floor, the Wizards stumbled to start the fourth quarter, and the Skyforce took advantage. Sioux Falls put together a 14-0 run - including the first 12 points of the final period. Suddenly Dakota's 20-point lead had dwindled to 76-70 with 7:04 to play.

"We started playing hard," Sioux Falls coach Tony Fritz said. "We played with effort and some urgency and some toughness. That's what got us back into the game."

It looked like Sioux Falls had a chance to make it even closer when Baker lost the ball in the lane. But Baker recovered, went behind his back and hit a huge pull-up jumper.

Withers followed with a dunk, then Renaldo Major set up Marcus Dove for a layup, and the Sioux Falls rally was over.

"I brought the guys off the bench to give them an opportunity and show what they can do after the starters got a big lead like that," White said. "... Maybe I can't sub all at once like that."

White said that the Wizards needed the win.

"It's very crucial to not go 0-2 when you're going on the road for five games," White said. "... We needed this. It's unfortunate we dropped the one yesterday, but going on the road 0-2, it could have been a disaster."

Withers had another reason for being happy about the victory.

"It helps with confidence -and with coach making us run less in practice," he joked.

n NOTES: Dove severely sprained a finger in Saturday's opener against Maine. The Wizards feared it was broken, which could have sidelined Dove for four to six weeks.

Sioux Falls 17 36 58 74

Wizards 25 47 76 91

SIOUX FALLS (74): Joe Krabbenhoft 2-4 1-2 5, Michael Joiner 1-5 2-2 5, Greg Stiemsma 2-5 0-0 4, Reggie Williams 3-7 1-2 8, David Bailey 2-10 2-2 6, Keith Brumbaugh 3-11 2-4 9, Raymond Sykes 5-8 3-4 13, Leemire Goldwire 5-14 3-4 16, Mike Nelson 3-7 1-2 7, Pete Campbell 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 26-74 16-24 74.

WIZARDS (91): Romel Beck 8-11 7-7 24, Curtis Withers 9-18 4-5 22, Marcus Dove 2-9 3-4 7, David Bell 3-8 1-2 9, Maurice Baker 4-10 0-0 8, Renaldo Major 4-7 1-2 9, D'Lancy Carter 1-2 0-0 2, Jason Straight 2-6 1-1 5, Darren Cooper 1-3 0-0 2, Jimmy Binnie 1-9 0-0 3. Totals 35-83 17-21 91.

3-pointers: SF 6-27 (Goldwire 3-8, Williams 1-1, Joiner 1-3, Brumbaugh 1-4, Krabbenhoft 0-1, Campbell 0-1, Nelson 0-3, Bailey 0-6), W 4-14 (Bell 2-3, Beck 1-3, Binnie 1-4, Dove 0-1, Straight 0-1, Baker 0-2). Rebounds: SF 46 (Sykes 10), W 51 (Withers 17). Assists: SF 17 (Williams 4, Bailey 4), W 21 (Baker 8). Fouls: SF 21, W 23. Technical fouls: SF 1 - coach Tony Fritz. Steals: SF 12 (Krabbenhoft 3), W 18 (Baker 6). Turnovers: SF 27, W 22. Blocked shots: SF 10 (Stiemsma 6), W 2 (Dover 1, Major 1).

A: 2,400.

Records: SF 1-1; W 1-1.