FARGO - Dalton Feeney is relegated to the end of the bench here, his broken right foot wrapped. The Bismarck Century standout suffered the season-ending injury just prior to the start of the West Region tournament.
“When it happened, we were pretty bummed,” Patriots senior guard Andrew Steinwand said. “Now it’s sort of fueled us. We’re trying to rise above the adversity.”
Century is one win away from rising to the top of North Dakota Class A boys high school basketball. The Patriots advanced to Saturday’s state championship game after defeating Grand Forks Red River 48-40 in Friday’s semifinal round.
“Dalton is a presence, a kid others feed off of,” Century coach Darin Mattern said. “It’s difficult to replace a kid like that. We had to get some things organized in a hurry. But, with this group, it’s next man up. I’m not surprised (to reach the final).”
The constant for the Patriots has been defense. They hold opponents to an average of fewer than 50 points a game. They became only the second team this season to hold Red River to fewer than 45 points.
“You’re going to have nights when you’re not shooting well,” Mattern said. “Defense has been the identity of this team all season.
“We had to keep their two guards (Shayden Keplin and Mark Toe) out of the lane. That was a heckuva challenge. And we had to keep them off the glass. I felt we were solid in both areas.”
West Fargo 62, Turtle Mountain 55
West Fargo senior guard Brady Heisler scored 19 points to lead the No. 4-ranked Packers to a 62-55 win over Turtle Mountain-Belcourt in the consolation semifinals on Friday.
Senior center Melvin Collins added 17 points 10 rebounds for the Packers (20-6).
West Fargo plays Jamestown at 11:30 a.m. today in the fifth-place game.
Nathan Martin and Landyn Keplin each scored 13 points to lead the Braves (14-12).
Jamestown 73, Wahpeton 71 (OT)
Jamestown junior Jake Reuther came off the bench to sink a baseline jumper with 10 seconds to go in overtime, and Wahpeton’s Jordan Ralph missed an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Blue Jays into the fifth-place game.
Nick Fuchs had a game-high 23 points, but fouled out in overtime, making way for Reuther. Noah Wanzek added 17 for Jamestown (11-15).
Thomas Nelson paced the Huskies with 16 points and Carson Zarak had 15.
