DICKINSON - When asked how he felt about his performance on Tuesday night, Jared Keller just called on the words of Dickinson Trinity boys basketball coach Gregg Grinsteinner.
"Like he said, I'm not Michael Jordan," Keller said. "I can't do everything."
Keller didn't do everything, but he did enough to help the Titans secure a 49-35 victory over Center-Stanton on Tuesday night at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.
The 6-foot-4 senior post got to the basket with relative ease, scoring 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting and crashing the boards for a game-high seven rebounds.
Keller's Titan teammates found the same groove, scoring 26 of their points close to the basket.
ADVERTISEMENT
"They're so disciplined on offense," Center-Stanton coach Scott Jung said. "... Their points were a little quicker and more athletic. They beat us in spots and had easy scoring opportunities."
The Wildcats kept things close in the first quarter and had two layups in the final minute to cut the Titans' lead to 11-9.
Center-Stanton took a small lead in early in the second quarter but watched it wash away when the Titans went on a 13-1 run to help build a 28-19 halftime lead.
"We worked as a team," Keller said. "We had to slow down to get the offense going. Once we got it inside, we had to slow down to get the shots."
Trinity worked the ball for good inside shots that paced a 10-0 run that lasted nearly four minutes in the third quarter and built its lead to 43-27 heading into the fourth.
On the defensive end, the Titans made it difficult for Center-Stanton to keep up, allowing the Wildcats to shoot just 14 of 39 from the field.
Shae Brown had 11 points and four rebounds to lead the Wildcats.
"We guarded well and made them earn the points they had," Grinsteinner said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Grinsteinner said Trinity needed a disciplined game if it hopes to fair well this week when it hosts Bowman County and travels to top-ranked and undefeated Watford City for back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday.
Both teams have
"This was good for us to get a game like this," Grinsteinner said.
Bowman County defeated the Titans 65-64 in three overtimes in the semifinals of the Roughrider Tournament on Dec. 13. Grinsteinner expects Trinity fans to turn out in force for the rematch, which has turned into a decent rivalry in recent years.
"That's going to be a wild atmosphere," he said with a laugh.
Dickinson Trinity 49, Center-Stanton 35
C-S 9 19 27 35
Trinity 11 28 43 49
ADVERTISEMENT
C-S: Shae Brown 11, Jacob Henke 7, Kelan Brown 6, Aaron Reinke 6, Dan Staigle 3, Andrew Anderson 2.
T: Jared Keller 12, Marcus Sickler 8, Jordan Selinger 7, Robbie Morey 7, Brooks Thorson 4, Aaron Grinsteinner 4, Tommy Peters 4, Jonathan Ficek 3.
3-pointers: Brown, Selinger. Free throws: C-S 6-12, T 6-11. Total fouls: C-S 17, T 17. Fouled out: Grinsteinner. Rebounds: C-S 25 (Aaron Burkhart 7), T 24 (Keller 7). Assists: C-S 2 (Brown, Burkhart), T 8 (Grinsteinner, Keller, Morey 2). Steals: C-S 6 (Brown, Reinke 2), T 8 (Keller, Morey 2). Turnovers: C-S 15, T 11.
