VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) –Wyndmere-Lidgerwood 59, Barnes County North 57
In the first game of the afternoon, the Warbirds got off to a good start. They were forcing turnovers and scoring easy baskets throughout the first half with an occasional deep jumper. However, in the second half, the Bison would crawl back in the game. Led by sophomore forward Oliver Hanson who stuck his hand in the passing lanes and made shots in the paint and in transition, Barnes County North made it a game despite at one point being down by 14. The Bison outscored the Warbirds in the third quarter 16-9 to make it a 40-37 game going into the final eight minutes. With 5.4 seconds left, Hanson made a reverse layup to tie the game at 57 apiece. However, instead of getting back and playing half-court defense, Bison head coach Stacy Schaffer decided to gamble and press and it backfired as senior guard Casey Everson committed a foul with 2.4 seconds left. Wyndmere-Lidgerwood sophomore guard Landon Buehre knocked down two clutch free throws to ice the game. Hanson led all scorers with 19 points and sophomore guard Jonah Harstad had 14 points and nine rebounds. For the Warbirds, 6-foot-11 center Bryer Kaczynski finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and seven blocks, and junior guard Adam Baldwin finished with ten points and five assists.
Sargent County 61, Maple River 42
The second game was all Bulldogs from the get-go. They continued their hot shooting from Tuesday night’s shootout against Dunseith where they made 63.5% of their shots. On Thursday night, they weren’t quite as hot but still made enough shots in the first half to put them at 59.3% shooting. After their 38 point first half, they cooled off significantly, but their lead was insurmountable. Maple River didn’t have nearly as much luck shooting, going just 29.3% from the floor in the loss and only 19% from deep which was saved by a few threes made late in the game. Senior center Logan Decker finished with a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Fletcher Willprecht ended up with 12 points and senior guard Avery McFarland got ten points and five boards. Junior guard Caleb Kocka led all Raiders scorers with 15 points and nine of those coming in the fourth quarter. The Raiders’ senior big man Evan Richman ended up with ten points and six rebounds for the evening.
LaMoure/Litchville-Marion 55 Dunseith 54
The third game of the day had the most frantic ending in the tournament. LaMoure came out hitting their shots and jumping out to a big lead early. They led 21-8 after the first quarter. Dunseith did their best in the second quarter to try and cut into the deficit, and credit to the Dragons they did just that. Ethan Morin hitting a couple of 3 pointers to bring his team back into this one. The Loboes went into half time with a slim 25-21 lead. A back and forth third quarter saw some runs for both teams. For the Dragons Jalen Poitra helped chip away at the Loboe lead, he finished the game with 15-points. In the second half LaMoure at one point held a 14-point lead on the scoreboard, thanks in part to Max Musland hitting four 3-pointers. The Dragons would battle back and take the lead in the final minute of the game. However, the Loboes Landon Piehl would go to the free throw line with his team down by just one point and only 12.3 seconds left in regulation. Piehl hit both of his free throws to give his team the lead, and the win 55-54.
Enderlin Eagles 65 Hillsboro-Central Valley 43
In the final game of day 2 of the tournament the Eagles were looking to pick up their second win in the tournament. After the first quarter, Enderlin had a slim 11 to 7 lead. With the first half winding down, the Eagles had only a 3-point lead. That is when Carson Bartholomay hit a 3-pointer with less than a second to go to give his team the 29-23 lead at the break. In the third quarter, the Burros did an excellent job of not letting the late basket deflate their team. Gannon Limke, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds, was hitting shots to keep his team in the game. In the end the size of the Eagles proved to be one of the reasons they won this game. Joe Hurlburt finished the game with 20 points and 19 rebounds starting dominating the game in the paint, and also hitting a couple 3’s in the win. The score doesn’t tell the real story of this game, as the Burros fought their way the entire night and gave a great effort, but in the end just lost their steam.
The final 4 games of the tournament that was set to take place on Friday January 14th has been postponed due to weather. Teams will have the option to reschedule the games at their home sites later this season.