Jonte Delorme dribbles down the court for the Indians. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
FORT TOTTEN — Bricker Johnson was a problem for the Indians on Saturday.
The May-Port-C-G sophomore guard scored 18 points in the third quarter alone. The Patriots erased a 17-point Four Winds/Minnewaukan lead — and the Indians only barely held on to win, 60-56, at Four Winds High School on Saturday.
“Zero intensity today,” FW/M head coach Rick Smith said. “We played back on our heels all night long on the defensive end. … They were happy with the win, but they weren’t happy with our performance, neither, because we’re better than that.”
The No. 1-ranked Indians (11-1) won their 10th straight and improved to 5-0 in region play with the two-point victory. Smith secured win No. 501.
“We know we’re going to get everyone’s best shot, and that’s just how we work,” FW/M senior Jonte Delorme said. “Every day, hard.”
The Patriots fell to 5-8 and 2-5 in region play despite the effort. Johnson totaled 30 points in the loss.
“Their young kids shot the ball extremely well,” Smith said. “When you’ve got confidence, things like that are going to happen.”
It was all Indians early on, as they cruised to a 25-8 lead. Tyler Black Jr. and Dayson Dubois, who aren’t usually at the top of the leaderboard in points for FW/M, had eight and six, respectively, at the half.
“I thought we were getting good looks on the offensive side,” Smith said.
May-Port-C-G chipped away to get within a single-digit deficit in the final three minutes of the third quarter.
“I don’t think we were ready for them, to be honest,” Delorme said. “Defensively, we kind of came in just thinking we were already going to win. You know, easy win. But May-Port came out, and they were tough all night long, especially in the third quarter. That No. 22 [Johnson], he was tough to handle.”
Johnson scored the Patriots’ first 13 points of the quarter. He hit two triples, in addition to a reverse layup and numerous breakaways.
“He’s extremely quick right-handed, and he got by us,” Smith said. “And we didn’t really have a lot of help. … We can’t let him get that first step on us, going right.”
Black Jr. got into foul trouble and didn’t score in the second half. Neither did Dubois. Even Marial Deng — the Indians’ leading scorer on the day with 15 — wasn’t making some of the shots he normally does.
Threes by Johnson and Jayd Larson got May-Port-C-G within three, 47-44, at the end of the third quarter. The Patriots wasted no time landing two more triples to open the fourth quarter, going ahead 50-47 after buckets by Wyatt Perkins and Larson.
It was an almost stunning barrage of perfect execution from the Patriots.
“They got the roll on some of the shots. But that’s what happens when you give teams confidence,” Smith said. “And we did that tonight.”
Their prowess started to dry up in the fourth quarter, though, as FW/M hung around.
Johnson was held to four points in the final quarter.
“Keyson [Littlewind] finally locked down on him a little bit, and I thought he kind of pooped him out,” Smith said. “He didn’t make no shots down the stretch, which was key for us.”
Sonny Alberts made a pair of key buckets near the rim to keep the Indians within one. He scored eight points in the second half to finish with 10.
“They were doubling him hard and being physical with him,” Smith said. “He’s just got to be more patient and kick the ball out quicker. … If he’s going to try and split the double, he’s going to have to be stronger. The one time he did, and the other time he turned the ball over. He’s a tough matchup for any post down there. But those are things we’ve got to work on.”
FW/M only had one other field goal in the quarter — a put-back by Littlewind to give the Indians the lead back, 55-54.
Free throws ultimately separated them. Deng went 3-for-4 in the fourth quarter, while Delorme went 4-for-4.
Delorme was 6-for-6 from the stripe in the second half. It was far from his best game — failing to score in the first half — but he scored eight in the second, including the Indians’ last four points of the game. He landed the free throws when FW/M needed them most.
“I’m always prepared for those,” Delorme said. “And so is Marial. Because we’re our kind of go-to guys. I think we executed, and even though it wasn’t a good win, we still came out with the win. … I’m not always going to have a good game, but that’s all right. Just a team effort.”
Delorme and Deng’s free throws accounted for more than half of FW/M’s points in the fourth quarter.
“We wanted the ball in their hands because they’ve been through the fights before,” Smith said. “And you feel confident when they go up to the free throw line, it’s going to go in.”
May-Port-C-G missed a three-ball in the final minute, already down multiple possessions. It was the last real chance for the Patriots. They got a last-second bucket from Noah Djibonon, but FW/M had already widened its lead enough to hold on.
The Indians’ No. 1 ranking would have been in serious jeopardy if they’d let the game slip away.
But they’ll live another day.
“We worked our butts off to get to the top of the mountain,” Smith said. “And teams are coming and trying to push you off. And so we’ve got to work harder than everybody. We have to. That don’t mean anything; as I said, in a split second, that could be over quick. And you don’t want it to be over at the end of the year. So we’ve got to keep improving.
“It was a late night last night [in Thompson], but I’m not going to use that as an excuse one bit. We have the talent to go out there and put teams away, and we have the talent to go out there and play hard the next day, whether we’re playing on zero days’ rest or half a day’s rest or whatever. We’ve just got to fight through that.”
The Indians’ next four games are also region contests, worth seven points.
“We’re pretty confident,” Delorme said. “We’ve got a couple tough games coming up. … And now it’s just to get back to practice, work hard and get focused in.”
