OAKES, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Oakes Tornadoes boys basketball season began Friday night, but they fell late to Sargent County by a final score of 58-49.

It was a grinder of a game with it going back and forth all night long. Oakes had control for a solid majority of the first half but some points by the Bulldogs late tied the game 21-21 at the half.

Three point makes by senior guard Avery McFarland gave Sargent County a two possession lead going into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs held on to the lead for the rest of the game with it getting close down the stretch, but some second chance points and free throws from senior center Logan Decker put the game out of reach.

Sophomore point guard Trey Skoglund led the way in scoring in Oakes’ 2021-22 debut with 15 points knocking down a couple of treys. Junior shooting guard Joey Heim finished with 11 points and junior guard Noah Sundby finished with nine points before fouling out.

The Tornadoes leave for Grafton at 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning for a game at 2:00 p.m. The girls game will immediately follow.