Talan Gregory locks in for a shot. (Photo by Cameron Carlson)
DEVILS LAKE — The No. 1-ranked Firebirds are in an adjustment period.
Saturday’s home game was just their second contest with Talan Gregory and Alex Hammond in the starting lineup. Both players have limited varsity experience. They were thrown into starting roles unexpectedly after Christmas break.
“We’re still trying to learn our offense a little bit with the new guys in there,” Devils Lake head coach Dustin Brodina said. “We’re working together. We’ve only had a couple practices with them.”
In their first go-round, they squeaked away in a nailbiter over then-No. 2 Beulah. But the Firebirds (6-1) couldn’t keep up with No. 5 Wahpeton (4-1) on Saturday at the Devils Lake Sports Center. They took their first loss of the season, 59-46.
“I thought defensively, if we can keep them under 45, we’d win the game,” Brodina said. “And, well, we scored 46.”
It was Devils Lake’s lowest point total since Feb. 28, 2023, when it was still part of the EDC. The squad had been averaging 73 points over its first five games this season.
The Firebirds’ offense got going in the third quarter but largely struggled in the other three.
Devils Lake had to play catch-up right away in the first quarter, after a 14-0 Wahpeton run.
The Huskies attacked inside and out. Brayden Steffens had a layup off a turnover and a three-pointer, while Cooper Koolmo and Kyler Flack each went to the free throw line for and-one opportunities.
Wahpeton had an early 16-7 lead. Devils Lake stopped the bleeding with a three off the bench by Egan Laite.
Kade Fee made a triple and a couple of gutsy layups in the first half to lead the Firebirds’ scoring. Gregory and Ben Brodina, their top scorers in the win over Beulah, were limited to three and five points, respectively, in the first half.
Devils Lake’s point total was stuck at 14 late in the second quarter. The Firebirds trailed by as many as 15 after a 14-3 run, which included a technical foul after arguing a foul call.
Gregory and Brodina each hit a triple towards the end of the period to get Devils Lake to 20 points.
Wahpeton rode a second-quarter explosion from Aiden Bontjes, who scored 13 points off the bench. With 15 overall points, he was tied with Jack Gilbertson — another bench player — for the team lead.
“They got a guy that got in in the first half and got hot. That was the trouble,” Brodina said. “I’d never seen that guy shoot like that before. But, I guess, we had to adjust our defensive strategy a little bit after they hit some of those shots. They had some role players really step up tonight.”
Down 35-20 at the half, the Firebirds came out of the locker room with a little extra spark. Gregory, Hammond and Brodina each hit a three-pointer as Devils Lake clawed the deficit down to single digits.
With a 6-0 run late in the third quarter, all of the momentum was on the Firebirds’ side. They had the gap as tight as 47-42. While Gregory led the third-quarter scoring with nine points, Exner was the glue of the run, making a layup off a turnover and fighting for defensive rebounds.
“We moved the ball better. We moved the ball as a team,” Brodina said. “And that’s what I told them. We’ve got to be a team. We’ve got to play as a team. Got to start getting some assists. When you get a little frustrated, you try to do it yourself, which I thought the guys were trying to do a little too much. And it got out of hand, and we couldn’t recover from it.”
Gregory’s hot shooting in the third quarter gave him a team-high 12 points overall. He has 34 in two games since taking over as a starter.
He was a starter on junior varsity last year.
“That’s quite the role. He gets thrown into the mix, hasn’t played a whole lot varsity,” Brodina said. “But he’s doing well. Just got to catch up to the speed of the game a little bit. And then hopefully he gets a little better defensively. That’s where we need him to get. But I’m proud of him. He’s a great kid. He’s a fighter, he’s a battler, and competitor, I guess, would be the biggest word.”
Hammond, in a similar situation as Gregory, also got going a little bit in the second half. After no points before halftime, he converted a triple and made some good moves inside. He did miss 0-of-4 free throws.
After getting within five, Devils Lake’s offensive juice ran out in the fourth quarter. A layup by Fee to make it 51-46 was the last bucket the Firebirds made.
Devils Lake ultimately struggled to offset the scoring it’s missing in its lineup right now. Wahpeton coasted through the final few minutes and locked down a 13-point win.
The Firebirds scored only four points in the fourth quarter: that layup by Fee and two free throws from Exner. They didn’t score over the final six minutes of play.
“I’ve got to understand that we’re going to have our ups and downs with those guys that are fresh, that haven’t had a lot of experience,” Brodina said. “So, how do we respond when we’re down and our backs are against the wall, is the biggest thing. And we’ll be challenged a lot, I know, in the next few weeks here, next few games. And how we respond is our biggest challenge.”
Devils Lake plays Monday in Fort Totten against No. 4 Four Winds/Minnewaukan, which took down No. 3 Central Cass on Friday.
