Four Winds/Minnewaukan’s Joran Lohnes celebrates during the Indians’ win over Kindred on Saturday in the DLYA Shootout. (Photo by Cameron Carlson)
Four Winds/Minnewaukan was ranked No. 1 in Division A boys’ basketball for the second straight week.
The polls were released Wednesday, as voted on by the NDAPSSA.
A week after moving up to No. 1, the Indians are now unanimous. They received all 15 first-place votes, good for 75 points.
FW/M is 9-1, having won eight in a row. The Indians took a brief scare to their ranking in their game against No. 3 Kindred on Saturday, but their defense locked down in the fourth quarter to pull out a thrilling 64-63 win.
On Friday, FW/M begins a stretch of six straight region games worth 11 points in the standings. As of Wednesday, the Indians have only played one region game — an 86-61 thrashing of Devils Lake.
The order of Nos. 1-5 is the same in Division A as it was last week. Devils Lake is still receiving votes despite losing five of its last seven games.
No. 2 Central Cass did not receive any first-place votes this week after barely beating Turtle Mountain 62-60 on Saturday.
It’s the same order on the girls’ side, too, with South Prairie-Max leading the way as the unanimous No. 1. Carrington is still No. 5 after beating Devils Lake in overtime on Tuesday.
Over in Division B, two local teams fell in the rankings.
Benson County, which has sat at No. 1 all season, fell to No. 2. The Wildcats’ undefeated record ended at 15-0, losing 52-50 to Kenmare/Bowbells on Tuesday in a state championship rematch.
The Wildcats received two out of 14 first-place votes and 49 points. Flasher, the previous No. 2, received the remaining 12 first-place votes and 68 points. Flasher is 17-0, while Benson County now sits at 15-1.
K/M, despite beating Benson County, was not ranked. The Honkers did receive votes.
On the boys’ side, New Rockford-Sheyenne fell from the top five after sitting at No. 5 for most of the season. The Rockets’ five-game winning streak ended with a 56-52 loss to Nelson County on Monday in their district opener.
NR-S bounced back with an 80-45 win over Drake-Anamoose on Tuesday, improving to 8-2 overall.
Nelson County, despite being 9-2 and beating the No. 5-ranked team in Division B, has still not received any votes. The Chargers have already won more games than they did all of last season.
One team from District 4 that did receive votes was North Star. The Bearcats, who beat Nelson County in a close Ramsey County tournament championship, have won eight in a row to improve to 10-2.
The boys’ Division B now has three teams tied for No. 5 — Bishop Ryan, Midway/Minto and Wilton/Wing — all of whom were not ranked last week.
Division A boys’ basketball
- Four Winds/Minnewaukan (15) – 75 points (Previous: 1)
- Central Cass – 60 points (Previous: 2)
- Kindred – 39 points (Previous: 3)
- Shiloh Christian – 26 points (Previous: 4)
- Beulah – 20 points (Previous: 5)
Received votes: Grafton, Devils Lake
Division A girls’ basketball
- South Prairie-Max (15) – 85 points (Previous: 1)
- Thompson – 65 points (Previous: 2)
- Valley City – 43 points (Previous: 3)
- Hazen – 34 points (Previous: 4)
- Carrington – 18 points (Previous: 5)
Received votes: Turtle Mountain, Kindred
Division B boys’ basketball
- Central McLean (14) – 70 points (Previous: 1)
- Our Redeemer’s – 49 points (Previous: 2)
- Ray – 39 points (Previous: T3)
- Hankinson – 37 points (Previous: T3)
- (T5) Bishop Ryan – 3 points (Previous: NR)
- (T5) Midway/Minto — 3 points (Previous: NR)
- (T5) Wilton Wing — 3 points (Previous: NR)
Received votes: New Rockford-Sheyenne, North Star, Medina-Pingree/Buchanan, Mohall/Lansford/Sherwood
Division B girls’ basketball
- Flasher (12) – 68 points (Previous: 2)
- Benson County (2) – 49 points (Previous: 1)
- Central McLean – 40 points (Previous: 3)
- LaMoure-Litchville/Marion – 33 points (Previous: 4)
- Hatton/Northwood – 9 points (Previous: 5)
Received votes: Tioga, Kenmare/Bowbells, Glenburn
