Valley City was unable to withstand Devils Lake’s blistering pace from behind the arc, as the Firebirds rolled to a comfortable 72-55.

The three-point barrage would start early for Devils Lake. Potential first-team all-state forward Wylee Delorme knocked down four three-pointers in the quarter as the Firebirds tried to make the game an early runaway. The Hi-Liners countered with Zach Sykora, who went blow for blow with Delorme early on as he fought to keep his team in the game. Despite additional buckets from Jack Dieterle, Talon Larson, and Bryson Heck, the Hi-Liners would find themselves down 21-13 after one-quarter of play.

The second quarter saw a much more tentative start from both sides, as neither was able to match their respective paces early on. Devils Lake, though, surged in the middle stage of the quarter, building up a 16-point lead and forcing a Hi-Liner timeout. The timeout was just what the Hi-Liners needed, as they chopped the deficit down to 35-26 as the first half came to a close.

The second half, though, would belong to Devils Lake, as a balanced attack saw four players reach double figures in the third quarter as the Hi-Liners saw the game start slipping away. A wayward touch from deep and from the foul stripe would plague Valley City all game as the Hi-Liners finish 2-14 from deep and 10-22 from the charity stripe. Both factors would lead to Devils Lake running away with the game in the second half as they cruised to a 72-55 win. Wylee Delorme would lead all scorers with  23 points, and Zach Sykora would lead Valley City with 13 points.

Valley City’s next game is at 1:00 p.m., and they’ll face Beulah. The game can be heard on 1490AM/96.3FM KOVC and online at NewsDakota.com.

 

Ivy Real Estate Group Player of the Game: Zach Sykora