Hazen leaps to No. 6, Titans drop to No. 7 a day before matchup

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Undefeated Hazen has overtaken Dickinson Trinity as the highest-ranked boys basketball team from Region 7 in the latest Class B poll — one day before they play.

The No. 6-ranked Bison (12-0) host the No. 7 Titans (12-1) at 6 p.m. CST Tuesday at Hazen’s Bison Sports Arena in a game that will determine the top seed in the District 14 tournament.

Trinity suffered its first loss of the season Saturday when it was upset by Linton-HMB 59-55 at the Bismarck Civic Center Jamboree.

Junior guard Jacob Volk leads Trinity’s balanced scoring effort with 17.9 points per game.

Isiah Binstock, Dylan Fridrich, Austin Gawryluk, Jesse Kubik and Mason Schiff each average between 7.2 and 8.8 points per game for the Titans.

Hazen has balance, too. But the Bison haven’t relied on just one go-to scorer each night.

Junior guard Stetson Carr leads the team with 14.1 points per game while senior forward Collin Lindquist averages 13.8 points.

Sophomore guard Austin Cieslak and junior center Josh Rothe chip in 11.8 and 11.3 points per game, respectively.

Hazen leads Region 7 in scoring at 71.3 points per game. Trinity has the best scoring defense, allowing 45.9 points per contest.

North Star remained the unanimously No. 1-ranked boys team in Class B, receiving all 12 first-place votes. Berthold and Lamoure held steady at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.

Central Cass unseated Carrington as the top-ranked girls team after being the defending state champion Cardinals 53-46 on Jan. 13.

Beach (9-1), riding an eight-game win streak, moved up one spot to No. 7 in the girls poll.

Grant County (8-1) dropped four spots to No. 9 after suffering a loss to Shiloh Christian last week.

The polls are voted on by members of the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

Class B Boys Rcd Pts Pvs

1. North Star (12) 12-0 120 1

2. Berthold 12-0 103 2

3. LaMoure 14-0 95 3

4. Central Cass 12-0 85 5

5. Grafton 11-1 70 6

6. Hazen 12-0 55 8

7. Dickinson Trinity 12-1 51 4

8. Bottineau 12-1 32 7

9. Rugby 11-1 25 10

10. Beulah 10-3 12 9

Others receiving votes: Maple Valley (9-1), Griggs County Central (10-2), Four Winds-Minnewaukan (10-3), Hatton-Northwood (8-4).

Class B Girls Rcd Pts Pvs

1. Central Cass (12) 9-0 120 2

2. Carrington 9-1 100 1

3. Minot Ryan 10-0 99 3

4. Grafton 9-1 79 4

5. New Town 9-0 67 7

6. Kindred 11-0 55 9

7. Beach 9-1 40 8

8. Thompson 7-1 33 6

9. Grant County 8-1 27 5

10. Central Valley 9-2 24 NR

Others receiving votes: Velva (9-1), Lakota-Adams-Edmore (9-1), Linton-HMB (8-2), Midkota (6-1).

Tags: trinity titans, hazen bison, beulah miners, beach buccaneers, grant county coyotes, high school basketball, region 7, sports, updates, preps, basketball