Sophomore guard Ben Brodina led Devils Lake with 28 points on Thursday. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
DEVILS LAKE — Just about nothing was going right for the Firebirds.
They were down eight to Valley City, late in the first half. One of their starters was laying flat on the floor, in pain. They came out slow and sluggish, struggling to finish drives, with Valley City’s Miken Mattson carving them up a little bit.
They took over control of the game in the second half.
After trailing 31-25 at halftime, Devils Lake (9-5) broke out for 30 points in the third quarter, then cruised to a 67-53 win over Valley City (3-10) at the Devils Lake Sports Center. The Firebirds handed the Hi-Liners their eighth straight loss, while winning their second straight of their own.
“I think our biggest thing is consistency,” Devils Lake head coach Dustin Brodina said. “You’ve seen it in the second half here, and the first half of Dunseith. Our guys can play at a high level. We’ve just got to put it together for 32 minutes.”
The Firebirds had to make due with what they had Thursday night. They were already down starter Talan Gregory, who was out with influenza.
Miguel Dunn started in his place. He promptly left the game with an ankle injury early in the second half. He limped off the court and had ice on his ankle afterward, but he was able to come back into the game.
“He’s not doing too bad,” Brodina said. “Hopefully he can come back and he can play a role. He’s a guy that we expect to step up. And I know he can do it. He’s just got to catch up to the speed of the game right now.”
The first half had six lead changes, with Valley City ending it on a 14-4 run.
The second quarter was particularly rough on the Firebirds. They got just one field goal from their starters. Ben Brodina scored 10 in the first half, but even he only had one field goal in the second quarter. No other Firebird scored more than four in the half.
“We just need to focus. It was a lack of focus,” Coach Brodina said. “I don’t know how many layups we missed the first half, finishes at the rim, which led to their offense. And then we were out of position defensively a lot. I thought our effort wasn’t 100% where it needed to be.”
Mattson hit two triples to lead Valley City with 14 points at halftime. After Devils Lake limited the Hi-Liners to 12 points in the first quarter, they scored 19 in the second. Valley City added 9-of-10 free throw shooting.
“Our defense was terrible in the first half,” B. Brodina said. “We knew that we had to pick up the defensive intensity.”
Kade Fee went down late in the half, prompting a brief injury timeout, but he was back on his feet fairly quickly.
When the Firebirds retook the court in the second half, it didn’t take long for them to flip the script.
“I challenged the guys at halftime, challenged them and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to make sure that we are solid every possession,’” Coach Brodina said. “‘You guys got to step it up. I know you can play harder. I know you can play better.’”
Brodina hit a long deuce, and Fee made a three. Down 33-30, the Firebirds got another three from Brodina that started a 20-0 run. They forced turnovers to take over complete control of the ball in the third quarter.
Brodina hit three consecutive triples as Devils Lake ballooned its advantage.
“I know I have to step up with some guys out,” Brodina said. “So when it’s my time, I know I’ve got to step up, and I’m confident in myself in making those shots.”
He scored 16 in the quarter and finished with a game-high 28.
“I was proud of Ben. He’s a leader,” Coach Brodina said. “We need some of that right now, guys that want to step up and lead us a little bit.”
Brodina’s three-point barrage in the second half came after a first half where he got inside more.
“Can’t settle too much,” Brodina said. “My dad always stresses to get downhill first. So that’s where I try and base my offense off. … And then I open up my three-point game.”
Not only did Brodina not hit any threes in the first half, but neither did anyone else on the team.
The Firebirds totaled eight triples in the second half.
“I just know we’re capable of it,” Coach Brodina said. “It’s just a matter of, we need to try to be like that all the time. … I thought we were kind of just playing with them, just going through the motions.”
Fee scored nine in the second half to finish with 11. Egan Laite had 10 off the bench. Alex Hammond scored eight and was solid defensively and on the boards.
“[Ben]’s shooting the ball pretty well, too, but I also challenged him to either get to the rim or to include his teammates,” Coach Brodina said. “To be the guy that can handle the ball and be a facilitator. If they double-team, then you kick it to the next guy.”
The Firebirds put together a well-rounded offensive game in the second half.
“I thought we did move the ball extremely well that third quarter,” Coach Brodina said. “When you move the ball at a high level, you’re quick with it, guys are shooting open shots, it’s hard to guard.”
Valley City ended the game on a 12-0 run while Devils Lake’s backups were in. The Firebirds had been leading by 26.
Domingo Engberg got hurt in the final few minutes and had to be helped off the court.
The Firebirds were also down a coach Thursday — but not for anything injury or sickness related. Brodina got a call Thursday morning that assistant coach Patrick Thomas’s wife was in labor. He could have been welcoming a kid into the world at any second.
“Hopefully he’s blessed with a beautiful child,” Brodina said.
Brodina added that he hopes to have Gregory back by next week for a big region game against Hillsboro/Central Valley next Thursday.
The Burros played Devils Lake close on Dec. 19, a 75-67 Firebird win.
“They played great,” B. Brodina said. “They aren’t very talented offensively, but they work hard. So we know we’ve got to bring it.”
