No. 2 Mandan tops No. 1 seed Bismarck High in championship game

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BISMARCK — The No. 2 seed Mandan boys basketball team went down to the wire to knock of No. 1 seed and No. 2-ranked Bismarck High.

The Braves used a quality second half to defeat the Demons 63-62 on Saturday in the West Region Tournament championship game.

Win or lose both teams are headed the Class A state tournament, which starts on March 8 in Fargo. Mandan is now the No. 1 seed to come out of the West and Bismarck is the No. 2 seed.

The Demons led at halftime 24-16, but the Braves had Devin Coyle on their side. The senior guard notched 17 points, while Erron Collins added 16. Mandan also had Jacob Watson and Aaron Janz each finishing with 11 points.

For the Demons, North Dakota State basketball recruit Dexter Werner posted a game-high 18 points and 15 rebounds. Taylor Schafer supplied 12 points, followed by Devin Schirado with 11.

M: Jacob Watson 5-7 1-3 11, Phaden Marcellais 2-7 0-0 4, Aaron Janz 4-13 1-1 11, Devin Coyle 5-14 5-8 17, Erron Collins 4-9 6-7 16, Seth Westby 1-6 1-2 4, Casey Kautzmann 0-0 0-0 0, Nathan Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, Trey Fitzsimmons 0-0 0-0 0.

B: Tyler Clairmont 2-3 0-0 6, Dexter Werner 5-16 8-10 18, Devin Schirado 4-12 0-0 11, Jaxon Fitterer 1-3 0-0 3, Josh Seibel 2-2 0-2 4, Tyler Unruh 1-3 0-0 2, Taylor Schafer 4-7 2-2 12, Ben Jolliffe 2-3 2-3 6.

Halftime: Bismarck 24, Mandan 16. 3-pointers: M 7-17 (Collins 2, Coyle 2, Janz 2, Westby 1), B 8-20 (Schirado 3, Schafer 2, Clairmont 2, Fitterer 1). Rebounds: M 32 (Collins 7, Westby 5), B 39 (Werner 15, Jolliffe 10). Free throws: M 14-21, B 12-17. Fouls: M 17, B 24. Turnovers: M 8, B 10. Assists: M 9 (Janz 3), B 8 (Schafer 4).

St. Mary’s 59,

Century 55

The Bismarck St. Mary’s boys basketball went down to the wire with Bismarck Century for a spot at the state tournament.

The Saints used a 25-point performance from Ben Weisbeck to defeat Century in the West Region state qualifying game.

Darius Sparks chipped in 12 points, while David Neff added 10.

Patriots’ senior Tom Fraase had a game-high 29 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

C: Tom Fraase 11-23 3-3 29, Tyler Rudolph 1-4 0-0 3, Zach Rhone 1-3 0-0 2, Andre Maund 6-21 0-2 13, Alex Bray 1-6 2-2 5, Hunter Walsh 1-3 0-0 2, Jacob Loraas 0-0 0-0 0, Marcus Thune 0-0 0-0 0, Erik Morrell 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 21-61 6-9 55.

SM: Scott Nagel 0-3 1-2 1, Brad Obritsch 1-3 0-3 2, Preston Tescher 3-7 2-4 9, Darius Sparks 2-8 7-8 12, Ben Weisbeck 9-14 6-7 25, David Neff 4-4 2-2 10, Trent Bohan 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Obritsch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-39 18-26 59.

Halftime: CHS 24-23. 3-pointers: C 7-26 (Fraase 4, Maund 1, Bray 1, Rudolph 1), SM 3-11 (Tescher 1, Sparks 1, Weisbeck 1). Rebounds: C 27 (Fraase 7, Bray 5), SM 38 (Tescher 9, Sparks 8, Weisbeck 6, Nagel 5, Neff 5). Turnovers: C 6, SM 16. Assists: C 3, SM 7 (Tescher 5). Steals: C 7 (Fraase 3, Bray 3), SM 2. Blocked shots: C 0, SM 0. Records: Century 13-9, St. Mary’s 14-8.

Minot 77,

Jamestown 70

The Jamestown boys basketball team couldn’t hold onto its slight lead in the second half.

Minot used a strong second half to defeat Jamestown 77-70 in the West Region state qualifying game.

Austin Frank led the Magicians (16-6) with 29 points including six 3-pointers. Brandon VanDusen added 15 points.

The Blue Jays (8-14) had with Danny Fischer leading the way with 19 points.

Minot 77, Jamestown 70

J: Danny Fischer 3-15 12-14 19, Jacob Neiland 2-4 0-0 4, Dyllan Anderson 4-12 0-0 10, Nathan Willer 5-9 0-0 10, Jordan Thoreson 3-7 3-4 9, Ryan Schlenker 5-7 0-0 12, Arron Benson 1-2 0-0 2, Tyler Krenz 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 25-58 15-18 70.

M: Austin Frank 10-13 3-4 29, Mitchell Quist 3-5 0-0 7, Kyle Gerding 3-7 6-7 12, Kelvin Mackey 3-7 4-4 10, Brandon VanDusen 5-13 4-4 15, Caleb Albertson 0-2 0-2 0, Kolton Larson 0-0 0-0 0, Colter Hustad 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 26-51 17-21 77.

Halftime: JHS 36-31. 3-pointers: Jamestown 5 (Anderson 2, Schlenker 2, Fischer 1), Minot 8 (Frank 6, Quist 1, VanDusen 1). Rebounds: Jamestown 33 (Willer 7), Minot 28 (three with six). Assists: Jamestown 11 (Fischer 4), Minot 16 (Mackey 8). Steals: Jamestown 4 (four with one), Minot 7 (Quist 3). Turnovers: Jamestown 13, Minot 10. Fouls: Jamestown 15, Minot 17. Fouled out: Jamestown, Anderson. Technical fouls: None. Records: Jamestown 8-14 overall; Minot 16-6.

Tags: high school basketball, west region tournament, sports