BISMARCK - The Dickinson High and Turtle Mountain boys basketball teams split their regular-season series.
The No. 5-seeded Midgets got an edge on that season series at the right time, using a strong second half to handle the No. 4-seeded Braves 62-37 on Thursday during the quarterfinals of the West Region Tournament at the Bismarck Event Center.
“Tonight, we played really well mentally. We didn’t have a lot of bad possessions and I thought we played really good team offense,” Dickinson head coach John Wilson said. “We shared the ball extremely well.”
Three players finished in double figures and combined to score 44 points.
Senior forward Luke Herauf scored a game-high 17 points and added four rebounds. Senior Mark Erickson followed with 14 points and was 3 of 3 from 3-point range. Aanen Moody added 13 points and was 5 for 6 from the free-throw line.
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Moody, a sophomore guard, missed the final three regular-season games after he suffered a suffered a broken hand.
“It’s so great to have him back,” Wilson said. “Tuesday, he had an outstanding practice and (his hand) didn’t bother him at all and we told him we need to bring you off the bench as our sixth guy. … But what a threat to bring a kid like that in off the bench.”
Dickinson senior guard Drew Bechtold added eight points, three assists and two steals. Jackson Binstock and Nick Himmelspach each had six rebounds. The Midgets shot 42 percent from the field and were 13 for 18 from the free-throw line. The Braves were 3 for 6 at the line.
Nathan Martin led Turtle Mountain with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Jordan Davis followed with 10 rebounds and seven points. The Braves shot 35 percent from the field in the first half, but fell off significantly in the second half, when they were just 7 for 44 (16 percent).
The Braves’ ability to pull down offensive rebounds kept them in the game. Turtle Mountain grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. Dickinson’s defensive efforts picked up after halftime as it held Turtle Mountain to 15 total points.
Dickinson gets back on the court to play No. 1 seed and top-ranked Bismarck Century in the semifinals of the West Region Tournament at 4:30 p.m. today.
“You’ve got to respect them,” Wilson said. “They’re the No. 1 seed for a reason. They’re very good and very disciplined. We just told our kids you can’t come out and fear them, and we got to be better (today). At this point, it doesn’t matter what happened in the regular season.”
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DHS: Luke Herauf 17, Mark Erickson 14, Aanen Moody 13, Drew Bechtold 8, Jackson Binstock 4, Bronson Lewis 2, Tanne Davidson 2, Jordan Meidinger 2.
TM: Nathan Martin 13, Jordan Davis 7, Stacy Davis Jr. 6, Landyn Keplin 4, Seth Gillis 3, Connor LaFountain 2, Ryder Keplin 2.
3-pointers: DHS 5 (Erickson 3, Herauf 2), TM 2 (Martin 1, Gillis 1). Free throws: DHS 13-18, TM 3-6. Total fouls: DHS 10, TM 16. Rebounds: DHS 42 (Nick Himmelspach 6, Binstock 6), TM 46 (Martin 12). Assists: DHS 4 (Bechtold 3), TM 2 (Davis Jr., Davis). Steals: DHS 10 (Bechtold 2), TM 6 (Davis 3). Blocks: DHS 2 (Herauf, Bechtold), TM 1 (Davis). Turnovers: DHS 17, TM 21.
