BISMARCK - Thursday wasn’t the best offensive performance of the season for the Four Winds-Minnewaukan boys basketball team, however the Indians found a way to grind out a win.
The No. 1-ranked and No. 1-seeded Indians defeated Bismarck Shiloh Christian 61-55 in the quarterfinals of the North Dakota Class B state tournament at the Bismarck Event Center.
Four Winds-Minnewaukan entered state averaging 81 points per game - the most in the eight-team tournament field.
It was the Indians’ defense that had head coach Rick Smith pointing to as a big reason for his team’s win.
“We have been scoring a lot of points this season and I really think our defense is underrated,” Smith said. “Once our offense and defense were stabilized I thought we started playing very well.”
The Indians (23-2) trailed the Skyhawks (18-7) 39-34 late in the third quarter and battled back to take a 41-39 lead when sophomore Steve Redfox hit a 3-pointer with under a minute left to play.
Four Winds-Minnewaukan led 43-41 before the start of the fourth quarter after a bucket from Koltin ThreeIrons.
The Indians began the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run fueled entirely by 6-foot-1 junior guard Jason Feather.
“Our team has been in a couple of close games this season,” said Feather, who finished with nine points. “We all knew we needed to step up. We needed to get to the lane and get to the free-throw line. I wasn’t shooting well at the start of the game so I tried to do my part to help the team to a victory.”
The Indians were led by senior forward Trayvon McKay, who finished with 14 points and five rebounds.
Four Winds-Minnewaukan advances to play LaMoure-Litchville-Marion in the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. today. Shiloh Christian plays New England in the consolation semifinals at 1:45 p.m. Friday.
The Skyhawks were led by 6-foot-4 senior forward Andrew Hartman, who led all scorers with 24 points and six rebounds. Hartman was 4-for-6 from beyond the arc in the game.
“They were getting too many easy buckets,” Smith said. “I thought one we put in more of an athletic lineup to help guard their shooters we made them start to work harder for what they got. Our defense held strong.”
Redfox added 11 points for the Indians, who defeated the Skyhawks 71-55 during the regular season on Feb. 20.
Junior guard Zac Martin added 14 points for Shiloh Christian.
“(Four Winds-Minnewaukan) started attacking the basket and that was the difference,” Shiloh Christian head coach Mike Dwyer said. “We sent two guys back on defense because they like to run and I thought we did a nice job of guarding their 3-point shooters, but in the end they were able to get a little too much.”
SC 9 21 41 55
FWM 9 26 43 61
SHILOH CHRISTIAN: Martin 14, Pfaff 5, Emmel 2, Losos 10, Hartman 24
FOUR WINDS-MINNEWAUKAN: Redfox 11, Alberts 4, Feather 9, Tro. McKay 8, K. ThreeIrons 4, Fassett 5, Tra. McKay 14, D. ThreeIrons 3, Gourd 3
Oak Grove 70, May-Port-CG, 58 BISMARCK - There will be a rematch between Fargo Oak Grove and Rugby - the two boys basketball teams that needed overtime to decide the North Dakota Class B state championship game a year ago.
Oak Grove defeated May-Port-CG 70-58 in the state quarterfinals Thursday at the Bismarck Event Center to set up another meeting with the No. 1-ranked Panthers in the semifinals at 6:30 p.m. today.
Senior guard Christian Adams - Oak Grove’s all-time leading scorer - got to work early and finished with a game-high 29 points and nine rebounds to pace the Grovers (22-4).
Adams scored No. 4-ranked Oak Grove’s first 10 points.
MPCG 15 32 46 58
OG 16 35 50 70
MAY-PORT-CG: A. Chandler 6, Moore 16, Johnson 22, I. Chandler 14.
OAK GROVE: Kretchman 21, Richards 9, Adams 29, Foster 3, Olson 8.
Rugby 80, Parshall 39 BISMARCK - Rugby seniors Tanner Bernhardt and Nolan Hovland didn’t wait long to feel at home in their third straight trip to the North Dakota Class B state boys basketball tournament.
The duo combined for 20 points in first 8 minutes.
The No. 2 seed Rugby boys basketball team used the offensive kickstart from Bernhardt and Hovland to take an 80-39 win over Parshall in the quarterfinals of the state tournament on Thursday at the Bismarck Event Center.
“When you can hit your first couple of shots, you feel like you can hit everything,” said Bernhardt, who finished with 22 points, four rebounds and four assists. “We were just clicking on all cylinders. We got a good, strong start.”
At the end of the first quarter, the Panthers held a 29-6 lead.
Rugby continued to flex its offensive muscles and strong defense in the second quarter. By halftime, the Panthers extended their lead to 49-11.
The Panthers leading scorer - Brad Heidlebaugh - didn’t net a single point in the first quarter.
However, the University of North Dakota football commit drained 10 points in the second quarter. Heidlebaugh posted 18 points and 15 rebounds, seven assists and three steals, while Hovland ended with 11 points. Zach Miller rounded out Rugby’s double-digit scorers with 16 points and five rebounds.
Parshall 6 12 31 39
Rugby 29 49 67 80
P: Deyondre Simpson 19, Justin Roberts 6, Monte Good Bird 4, James Jarski 4, Jelani Foote 4, Maurico Grado 2.
R: Tanner Bernhardt 22, Brad Heidlebaugh 18, Zach Miller 16, Nolan Hovland 11, Ryan Michels 5, Landen Foster 3, Hunter Hager 2, Anders Johnson 2, Eric Hooker 1.
3-pointers: P 3 (Simpson 3), R 6 (Bernhardt 3, Heidlebaugh 2, Foster 1). Free throws: P 12-17, R 8-16. Total fouls: P 17, R 17. Rebounds: P 28 (Simpson 7), R 47 (Heidlebaugh 15). Assists: P 5 (Simpson 2), R 18 (Heidlebaugh 7). Steals: P 4 (Jarski 3), R 12 (Heidlebaugh 3). Blocks: P 14 (Simpson 9), R 3 (three tied with one). Turnovers: P 15, R 11. Records: P 17-8, R 23-2.
