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DICKINSON — After a series of away wins, The Midgets’ success in the new year continues, beating Bismarck Saint Mary’s (1-6, 1-7) Tuesday night in their home gymnasium. Executing stellar offensive plays and shooting over a third of their shots from the outside had the home crowd hyped, ending the game with a 82-71 result.
Now on a five game winning streak, Dickinson High School boys basketball team (5-3, 6-3) is on the outside of top three in the highly-competitive Western Dakota Association (WDA) standings.
A slow first half, leading 25-16, did not dictate the second half, DHS more than doubling their score. The team's consistently from three-point range came courtesy of attacking the paint, opening good looks to their shooters. Nearly 37 % of the shots came from behind the arc.
“In the first half we were not attacking and getting into the paint like we needed to,” Dan Glasser, DHS head coach, said. “I just told them that the shots are going to be there, ‘Let's try and get to the basket and actually shoot some free-throws and be more aggressive.’ And I think they did a better job of that in the second half.”
Seniors Alex Dvorak and Tyrese Annance each garnered three, three-pointers. Despite Annace not being able to complete a single shot in the first half, he more than made up for it with 11 points in the second.
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“I know I didn’t come out hot right away and when that happens I just try to be the best teammate I could possibly be,” Annace said. “At half time, all my other teammates were hitting, Alex was getting to the rim, Drew Biel getting offensive boards and open shots so I was just letting the game come to me.”
Leading the Midgets’ offense was Dvorak scoring 30 points on the night, including two dunks. He would also lead in assists with six, attributing to the gymnasium’s uproar after setting up junior Damon Glasser for an alley-oop in the second half.
The junior also had a dunk in the first half and was the team’s third leading scorer with 14 points.
Senior Drew Biel ranked second with 15 points and had six boards on the defensive end. Dvorak would also lead his team on the defense with four stolen balls and nine boards.
St. Mary’s may not have won the overall game, but definitely came out on top in rebounds. Their height advantage garnered them eight more total rebounds than the Midgets, 38 over 30, and would end the game with more points from inside the paint. Coach Glasser gave proper recognition to the Saints, saying that their standings doesn't reflect their performance.
“Just talking to the other coaches in the league, getting ready to play [St. Mary’s], they all said the same thing.How they never quit and you saw that tonight,” said Glasser.
Coaching staff's halftime message to attack the paint certainly aided the home team, with the Midgets going to the line eight times in the game, seven of which came in the second half.
However, both players and coaches attribute their success to their resilient team chemistry that had players feeding off of one another.
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“I think we have a bond that no other team has,” Annace said. “We are there for each other, we have each other's back, on and off the court and having Glasser as head coach, [Mike] Williams, Brenden [Ware] and [Brent] Wolf all together, have our backs. We are really like a big family.
“These guys care so much about each other and they dont care who scores, everyone is cheering for each other, everyone is pulling for each other. I think that what makes our team successful right now is just doing it for the person next to you,” said Glasser.”
