The No. 3-ranked Dickinson Trinity boys basketball team opened Region 7 play by clawing out a victory against Beulah on Tuesday at the Knights of Columbus Activities Center.
With two points separating them at halftime, and after being tied through three quarters, the Titans were able to ward off the Miners in the final 8 minutes to secure a 61-54 win.
"It was just a battle," Trinity head coach Gregg Grinsteinner said. "It was two teams, two proud programs that got embarrassed in Minot (the last week of December) and just got after each other. It was really hard-fought for 32 minutes, and we just made more plays late in the game."
Trinity held a one-point lead, 15-14, after the opening quarter, and led by two at the break, 30-28. Beulah (3-2, 0-1 Region 7), outscored the Titans 16-14 in the third to send the game to the fourth tied at 44.
"(Reece) Hoherz is a guy that leads them, and Derek Ferebee really played well," Grinsteinner said. "They attacked the basket, and we at times just gave up easy shots. In the fourth quarter, we defended well."
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Ferebee led all players with 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting, and Hoherz tallied seven points. Logan Miller was Beulah's second-leading scorer with 10.
Trinity (6-1, 1-0) countered with Noah Sickler's 14 points and Shawn Stoltz's strong game: 17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block.
Elsewhere, with Lucas Jones shooting 3 of 12 for eight points and racking up four fouls, Grinsteinner was pleased with the play of his other guards.
"We had some really good guard play come off the bench once Lucas got in foul trouble," he said. "Keagan Jacobson, Kendall Jones and Alec Sickler, we just rotated those guys in and kept pressuring the ball."
Easton Walby added seven points and seven rebounds for Trinity, and Alex Scherr supplied nine points. Aric Knopik scored five.
"We still have to do a good job protecting the paint," Grinsteinner said, "but that's a good way to start of the region season."
On the horizon, Trinity has games against Our Redeemer's and Oak Grove in Bismarck on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Grinsteinner said this weekend will be quite telling.
"We'll find out a lot about ourselves this week," he said. "Those two games this weekend, we'll see how far we've come since Christmas."
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Dickinson Trinity 61, Beulah 54
B 14 14 16 10
DT 15 15 14 17
B: Derek Ferebee 19, Logan Miller 10, Jacob Weigel 7, Reece Hoherz 7, Chad Morsette 7, Matthew Schnabel 2, Aaron Vallejo 2.
DT: Shawn Stoltz 17, Noah Sickler 14, Alex Scherr 9, Lucas Jones 8, Easton Walby 7, Aric Knopik 5, Kendall Jones 1.
