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DICKINSON — Bismarck High dictated Dickinson’s home court Friday night, effectively ending the Midgets' five-game winning streak. Without question, the visiting Bismarck team were an undeniably stronger side in the 82-66 final score, maintaining defensive intensity from the tip-off.
The Midgets, (5-4, 6-4), were unable to make their usual outside shots early on, which prevented them from catching up to the Demons, (6-3, 6-3), during their early scoring streak. According to Dickinson's head coach Dan Glasser, the large point deficit was due to the team's game plan not being executed successfully.
“Their game plan is to wear you down and they did a good job at that. They did a good job of making us hurry up, making us make bad decisions and I think sometimes when you are fatigued your brain starts to go too,” Glasser said. “I was hoping for a little better outcome because they have played against it before… But overall it is just a matter of having a game plan and sticking to it and I don't think we did that tonight.”
During the beginning of the game, Dickinson navigated through effective and quick tempo passing to get the ball through Bismarck's full-court press, but struggled to make shots from beyond the arc to capitalize.
The Demons quickly seized on the opportunity presented from missed 3-pointers to go on their own 7-0 scoring run.
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Turnovers proved costly for the Midgets as they committed 27, while Bismarck's defense recorded 16 steals and efficiently converted those turnovers into 25 points.
At halftime, the score was 41-28 in favor of Bismarck. The Midgets were heavily relying on their free-throw shooting to score points, with half of their 28 points coming from the charity stripe.
Alex Dvorak received two early fouls and had to sit out for a significant portion of the first half, but he still managed to be Dickinson's top scorer with 15 points, and went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Bismarck High is known for playing with a fast pace and applying a lot of pressure on their opponents, which they are able to do with their deep bench. Their six-foot-seven sophomore, Jack Shaffer, was a significant presence in the paint against the Midgets.
After returning from an injury last year, Shaffer is becoming a standout player in the state, contributing on both ends of the court. On Friday, the gentle giant secured seven rebounds, helping his team to score 29 points off second chances.
Bismarck head basketball coach Jordan Wilhelm noted his team's preparation in the half-court defense all week.
"We knew coming into the game that Dickinson has a team that has a lot of different players that can create scoring opportunities on the court, so we knew we had to make things difficult for them in the half-court. Recently, Shaffer has been getting more playing time on varsity and he's doing a great job defensively protecting the paint and offensively, he has great hands and good footwork and finishes well around the hoop."
Dickinson was able to beat Bismarck from the free-throw line, shooting just over 80% from the charity stripe, while the Demons shot 63.6% from the line. In the second half, the Midgets scored 38 points, including four three-pointers and one three-point play.
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DHS: Points — Alex Dvorak 15, Tyrese Annace 11, Damon Glasser 9, Hubert Niyimbona 8, Drew Biel 7, Isaac Schult 6, Owen Bittner, Thomas Freer 3, Keaton Crow, Dante Oyugi 2.
BHS: Points — Jack Shaffer 17, Andre Austin 13, Teysean Eaglestaff 11, Carter Henke 7, PReston Lemar, Quin Hafner, Luke Dockter 6, Drew Henriksen 5, Carson Henke 4, Ty Luetzen, Jenner Smude, Ross Fischer 2, Lucas McNichols.
