Marial Deng rushes down the court while keeping his eye on where the ball is during Four Winds/Minnewaukan’s win over Carrington. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
MINNEWAUKAN — The unanimous No. 1 team in Division A trailed late in the first quarter against a team that hasn’t won a region game in the three-year history of the three-class system.
Not much has gone wrong for Four Winds/Minnewaukan lately. The Indians entered Thursday with a 13-game winning streak, about to play their last of a six-game stretch of region games.
FW/M (15-1, 12-0) won its 14th consecutive game, 60-30, against last-place Carrington (5-13, 0-10). It was the final game played in Minnewaukan as part of the FW/M co-op, which has existed since 2010.
But the Indians didn’t score until more than two and a half minutes in. Carrington came out with defensive intensity that FW/M didn’t immediately handle.
“They play a really good man defense,” Indians guard Joran Lohnes said. “They shell pretty good.”
FW/M only made one field goal in the first 5:15 of game time.
“They’re physical. They’ve got length,” Indians head coach Smith said of the Cardinals. “They’re strong. We couldn’t get down. I thought we got good, open looks right away. … The last few games, we’ve been knocking those shots down. Tonight, we weren’t even coming close.”
Threes from Tate Wolsky and Maddox McIlonie had Carrington up 10-6. The Indians took a timeout at 10-8, with 1:48 left in the quarter.
Successive layups by Tyler Black Jr. put FW/M ahead. The Indians got a game-separating three from Dion Jackson Jr. — the first of three on the night for the senior guard off the bench.
In the second quarter, Lohnes offered his own services off the bench. Despite uncharacteristically missing four of his first five free throws, he got to the rim for seven points in the second quarter.
Wambli Yankton also got some time on the floor with Keyson Littlewind out due to a six-week suspension.
“When one or two guys aren’t playing extremely well, Joran and Dion have played well all year,” Smith said. “I thought [Yankton] had good minutes for us tonight. He’s long; he’s athletic; he likes to defend. … Our bench is coming in and giving us the spark that we need.”
Outside of Lohnes, the Indians only had two field goals in the second quarter.
But they went on an 8-0 run, extending their lead to 27-15 with a 21-5 stretch going back to the first quarter. The run was interrupted only by Wolsky’s second three of the game. Wolsky had come into the night with just two triples on the season. He led Carrington with 11 points.
Lohnes and Jackson Jr. accounted for 20 of FW/M’s points on the night. Lohnes was the leading scorer with 11 after knocking down his final two free throws.
“We came out kind of flat, and me and Dion, we kind of brought that energy,” Lohnes said. “And I think that’s what kind of got us going.”
Meanwhile Carrington, after hitting a few shots early on, saw its offense dry up direly. The Cardinals didn’t score in the second half until nearly five minutes in. They made just five field goals in the half.
“When you’re not shooting the ball well, your defense has to take over,” Smith said. “And I thought for the most part, it did.”
FW/M outscored 23-5 over a stretch that extended into the fourth quarter. The team’s defensive effort led the way, with the offense doing just enough along the way.
Sonny Alberts, after missing a few triples in the first half, hit two in the third. He scored eight points in the third quarter after none in the first half.
Alberts, the Indians’ big post player, did not make any deuces on Thursday.
“Sonny can shoot that [three-point] shot; it’s not exactly where we want him to start the dang game,” Smith said. “We were trying to get him in the blocks, and they were physical. They were bringing the double-team over. But I’d still like to see him get a touch with the double-team because he’s such a good passer. … Sonny can pass out of that, but we didn’t get it there. … At the same time, Sonny can’t be getting pushed out of there. He’s got to hold his ground because he’s a big, strong kid.”
Dayson Dubois, who controls the floor as the point guard, added six second-half points. Jonte Delorme quietly had 10, scoring five in each half despite not making a field goal in the second or third quarter.
Marial Deng scored seven, three of which came on a triple in the first quarter.
Ultimately, no single Indian player ever really went off. They had to scrape and claw to generate their offense.
“We just didn’t play well offensively,” Smith said. “I think if we shoot the ball well, it’s a different story.”
Shots or no shots, the Indians are on the verge of a 15-game win streak. They’re only a few away from matching an 18-game win streak from the 2022-23 season.
FW/M travels to Dunseith on Monday for the first of three consecutive non-region games.
