Four Winds/Minnewaukan’s Sonny Alberts lines up a three-point attempt with Devils Lake’s Egan Laite guarding him. (Photo by Cameron Carlson)
FORT TOTTEN — Devils Lake boys’ basketball had won its last four meetings with Four Winds/Minnewaukan. The teams — located about a 20-minute drive apart — are in their third year of playing in the same classification.
“Some of these guys went to school together. Some of these guys hang out together,” FW/M head coach Rick Smith said. “It’s been a rivalry in the making, because our kids have all grown up against each other. They’ve all wanted to play against each other. … It’s a lot of fun for the fans. It’s a lot of fun for the kids.”
The No. 1 Firebirds (6-2, 3-1) took a beating Monday. They lost 86-61, falling to 4-2 all-time against the cross-lake rival Indians.
“They beat us up in every facet of the game tonight,” Devils Lake head coach Dustin Brodina said. “We didn’t really do anything well.”
The No. 4 Indians (5-1, 1-0) put on a show for their hometown fans. Even with one of their best shooters out in Jonte Delorme, they got points from nine different players, including five who scored at least nine each.
“We knew it was going to be an intense game,” Smith said. “We watched that team beat Beulah. We watched that team scrap with Wahpeton. I mean, two of the best teams in the state. So these guys that Coach Brodina put on the floor are not pushovers.”
For Devils Lake, it was an improvement offensively from its 46-point showing against No. 5 Wahpeton. But the Firebirds had to work extra hard with a lineup that’s still fairly new.
Marial Deng dunked before Devils Lake had even scored.
Talan Gregory hit two triples in the first quarter. Devils Lake only had one other field goal in the period. It trailed 17-9 early in the second quarter.
“I have 100% confidence in our guys that are out there,” Brodina said. “We’ve just got to move the ball, and we’ve got to hit shots.”
Two triples by Joran Lohnes and a Deng reverse layup highlighted the Indians’ offense as they pulled their lead to double digits in the second quarter.
Lohnes was Saturday’s hero. He hit a three to beat No. 3 Central Cass. He started Monday in place of Delorme, who’s nursing a sore ankle but should be back by next week.
Lohnes totaled 16 points on Monday.
“Joran could start for us pretty easily,” Smith said. “He’s got a lot of passion for the game. He’s smart. Shoots the ball extremely well. He can also go inside. He’s a mismatch for the guards, and kind of a mismatch for the big guys when he takes them inside.”
Dayson Dubois added seven points in the second quarter. He scored 13 overall.
“There was a Dayson Dubois sighting tonight,” Smith said. “Something that we expect from him, and he just hasn’t had that confidence in his game yet. And tonight, he found it. And it just gives another bullet to our team.”
Ben Brodina got going in the second quarter for Devils Lake. He scored nine points. But the Firebirds trailed 39-26 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Indians started getting it inside to their post, the hulking 6-foot-4 sophomore Sonny Alberts. He scored 11 in the second half to finish with 17.
Alberts also hit a three. Despite his presence in the paint, he said he was more of a shooter when he was younger. Now, he can attack both ways.
Alberts later made a jump hook.
“No one can stop me,” Alberts said. “I don’t think there’s anyone in the region that can stop me, really. … There’s barely anyone in our region that’s as tall as me, and I get my shot off over pretty much anyone in our region.”
By the end of the third quarter, FW/M was already knocking on the door of a 20-point lead.
Fee broke out with 12 points in the third quarter for Devils Lake. The Firebirds only scored four other points in the period, all from Brodina. Fee took a fall early in the fourth quarter and had to sit the rest of the game.
He and Bryar Exner both gave it their all in trying to slow down an athletic FW/M team.
“Kade and Bryar, they work hard. They’re competitors. They’re going to give me 100%,” Brodina said. “But I guess, strategy-wise, we’ve got to figure some things out. Because they took advantage of the height that we were lacking. So we’ve got to go back to the drawing board.”
Before pulling their starters, the Indians only got scoring contributions from one bench player: Keyson Littlewind, who scored nine.
Smith admitted that losing Delorme “weakened our bench a little bit.” Especially with Tyler Black Jr. in foul trouble, Littlewind got the load of playing time off the bench.
Devils Lake, down 75-51, took its starters out with 4:11 on the clock.
“I think we just kind of wore ‘em down,” Smith said. “They were tired. When they’ve got to work that hard offensively and defensively, that’s a tough job.”
The Firebirds got 10 points off their bench in the fourth quarter from Miguel Dunn, Casey Brown, Domingo Engberg and Keegan Edwards.
“They’ve got that championship pedigree from the football season. They’re going to muscle you,” Smith said. “And they’re gonna keep going until the final horn blows.”
Brodina scored 18 — nine in each half — to lead Devils Lake’s scoring.
The Indians had four players with at least 13 points, led by Deng’s 18.
“It was our defense and our physicality that I thought didn’t match theirs. They played way harder, and they played way more physical,” Coach Brodina said. “And that’s the reason they won by 30.”
FW/M, already riding high off Saturday’s thriller, added another top-five win to its resume. After losing by 20 points to Wahpeton, the Indians have since beaten No. 2 Beulah, No. 3 Central Cass and No. 1 Devils Lake.
“Ever since that Wahpeton game, they just told us to pick it up,” Alberts said. “So ever since then, our confidence has shot up.”
Alberts said he thinks this team can accomplish what’s eluded them the last two years: making it to the Class A state tournament.
If their recent wins are any indication, they have a real shot.
“We have that ‘never give up’ attitude, which is kind of what we didn’t have last year,” Smith said. “We keep battling, keep battling. And we’re making plays down the stretch when we need to.”
FW/M will meet Devils Lake again on Feb. 10. Monday’s game will likely still be fresh on the Firebirds’ minds.
“I hope we’re better prepared. We’ve got a whole month to prepare for it,” Brodina said. “If not, I guess it is what it is. But they’re a great team, and they shot the ball really well.”
