Dakota Prairie defeats TL-M

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MINOT — Alex Herman made two free throws with 4.1 seconds to play Friday to lift Dakota Prairie over Turtle Lake-Mercer 56-54 in the semifinals of the state Class B boys basketball tournament.

The Knights (21-6), who denied the Trojans a second straight trip to the state championship game, will play unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Linton for the title on Saturday. Turtle Lake-Mercer (23-3), which lost to Grafton 53-42 in last year’s title game, will meet North Sargent for third place.

Herman was fouled by the Trojans’ Mr. Basketball finalist Cameron Malzer while breaking up court with a rebound as time ran down. Herman calmly sank two free throws to put the Knights ahead. Malzer’s half-court shot at the buzzer came up short.

“When I saw the ball on the long rebound, I knew we didn’t have a lot of time left and I had to get it up,” Herman said. “Malzer fouled me trying to go for the ball, too.”

Herman was 5-5 from the line and scored 17 points. He had eight points early in the third quarter to help the Knights erase a seven-point halftime deficit. In Thursday’s first round, Dakota Prairie trailed Berthold 33-23 before winning 65-52.

“The fourth quarter is our key,” Herman said. “We know how to play defense in the fourth quarter.”

The Knights have outscored two opponents 38-15 in the fourth quarter.

Gus Kueber had 22 points and eight rebounds for Dakota Prairie.

Malzer had 26 points for the Trojans. Joe Everett had 11 points and Grant Singer added 10 points and 14 rebounds.

No. 1-ranked Linton reaches title game

Trent Roemmich had 21 points and 15 rebounds as top-ranked and undefeated Linton beat North Sargent 65-55 Friday in the semifinals of the state Class B boys basketball tournament.

Linton (25-0) advances to Saturday’s championship game at the Minot State University Dome.

Roemmich helped the Lions withstand double-doubles by North Sargent’s Ryan Drevlow and Tysen Hansen. Drevlow poured in 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Hansen added 15 points and 14 boards for the Bobcats (22-5).

“They fought hard,” Roemmich said. “We knew they were going to come to the boards and crash boards all night. We were told we had to beat them on the boards.”

Linton won the battle of the boards 39-37.

Justin Purintun added 19 points for the Lions, who are seeking their third state title and first since back-to-back crowns in 1984 and 1985.

Linton led 23-18 at the half after North Sargent missed two straight shots in the closing seconds. The Lions stretched the lead to 41-32 at the end of the third quarter. It then outscored the Bobcats 11-2 in the first 3:24 of the fourth quarter to take control of the game.

Purintun’s put-back gave the Lions a 47-34 lead with 6:08 remaining, and Roemmich scored on a layup following a turnover with 5:47 left. Purintun followed with a 3-pointer for an 18-point lead.

“It was great,” Roemmich said. “I’ve wanted to do this since I was little, now I can do it.”

Sanford leads Watford City past North Star

Kevin Sanford scored 17 points and had nine rebounds to lead Watford City past North Star 59-58 in the consolation bracket.

The Wolves play Bowman County today for fifth place while North Star and Berthold meet in the seventh-place game.

Christian Schulz had two 3-pointers and 14 points. North Star got 20 points from Tanner Komrosky.

Tags: class b, sports