MAYVILLE — For the third season in a row, the Devils Lake boys’ basketball team has won the Region 2A championship.
“It’s so awesome to three-peat,” said Firebirds sophomore Ben Brodina, who also happened to be celebrating his 16th birthday. “It’s the best feeling.”
In a year where the Firebirds had to grind through a 4-7 stretch between January and February, the Firebirds are going back to the big dance.
“Feels fantastic,” Devils Lake head coach Dustin Brodina said. “If you told me we were gonna win a region championship this year, I would have told you you’re a little crazy. But I’m standing here today, and I’m proud of the guys and their hard work that they’ve put in all year.”
No. 4 seed Devils Lake (17-7) scored 53 in the first half, rolling to an 87-64 beatdown of No. 2 seed Grafton (17-6) in Thursday’s Region 2 championship at Mayville State University. The Firebirds got 30 points from Max Palmer, 20 from Mason Palmer and 18 from Brodina.
“We’ve got our Palmers back,” B. Brodina said. “It’s good to have for me to take a break and play defense and get back to our roles.”
Devils Lake’s 87 point total was its highest of the season.
The previous best?
Eighty-two, in a 90-82 loss to Grafton on Jan. 19. Brodina set a school record of 49 points in that game despite the loss.
That pretty much sums up how Grafton’s season has gone. The Spoilers, statistically, have the best offense and worst defense in the region.
“They can put the ball in the hole really well,” Coach Brodina said. “And offensively, we just wanted to stick to our plan. Not anything that they were doing. We just wanted to still do what we do, attack the basket, hit the open shots. And our goal was to try to keep them under 50, which was impossible. But we kept them to 64, which I’m proud of. And on our end, when the ball goes in the hole, it’s always fun.”
Despite getting blown out, Grafton still got 30 points from Brody Lillemoen, who shared Region 2 Senior Athlete of the Year honors with Four Winds/Minnewaukan’s Marial Deng.
“Brody Lillemeon is a fantastic basketball player,” Coach Brodina said. “He can put the ball in the hole with the best of anybody I’ve ever seen. And you’re not gonna keep him down, right? He’s gonna get his points. You just try to limit it a little bit and do the best you can to try to force him into tough shots.”
A deep triple from Lillemoen early in the game put Grafton ahead 13-12. It was a fast-paced start on both sides.
Devils Lake rode to a 10-0 run from there. Mason Palmer scored nine in the first quarter, leading a group of six Devils Lake scorers in the opening frame.
Lillemoen had 11 of his own in the first quarter. He made a three-point play that got Grafton within three.
And that was as close as the Spoilers got.
The Firebirds had a double-digit lead by halftime. They went on another 10-0 run late in the second quarter.
“We’ve just got to move the ball,” B. Brodina said. “Coach criticized that before the game. If we all move the ball, these guys can’t play defense on us. We knew that. And we’re getting good looks, so we’re just gonna keep shooting them.”
Having already passed the 50-point mark, Kade Fee sent them into the locker room with an extra jolt. He scored a last-second basket moments after the horn had sounded, prompting frustration from the Grafton coaches and jubilation from the Firebirds.
“It’s a momentum shifter,” Coach Brodina said. “Kade, you look at him, he’s not the tallest guy, but you know what? He’s got a lot of heart. … He just works hard, and he knows his role extremely well. We talked about in the locker room, ‘Be the MVP in your role.’”
Fee led Devils Lake with 11 rebounds. His work under the basket helped create some of the open shots that allowed the big three of Palmer, Palmer and Brodina to go off.
“Kade Fee is the dirty bird on this team,” B. Brodina said. “He doesn’t get much looks because he don’t score the ball. But he is a dog in the paint. He guards the guy’s biggest player every single game, and he’s the soul of this team. He’s the soul of our rebounding.”
The game became a laugher in the third quarter. Max Palmer hit three triples to finish with six on the night. Devils Lake went 13-for-31 from three as a team.
Grafton’s Reggie Rice was limited to 13 points and three field goals.
Brodina pulled his starters with the Firebirds at 78 points, nearly five minutes still left on the clock.
Casey Brown had the bucket that got Devils Lake to 84, officially breaking the Firebirds’ season-best point total.
Brodina, the youngest of four siblings, was Devils Lake’s lone all-region selection.
“It’s awesome to show my talents,” he said. “But the job’s not finished. We’ve got three more games to go.”
This has been Brodina’s first season as a starter on varsity.
“I’m proud of Ben,” said his dad and head coach, Dustin. “He worked hard in the offseason. All those 6 a.m. workouts, they’re not easy. And in the summer, when nobody’s looking. That’s the reason he’s standing there. And for little kids that are in the future, look at that. Your hard work pays off. … I’m glad he’s there, and glad to have him for a few more years.”
The Firebirds will bring a seven-game winning streak into the state tournament.
“I think we’re gelling pretty well where we wanted to be,” Coach Brodina said. “I feel confident. I mean, we’ve got a lot of work to do, still. … Our goal, it was not to win this one. Our goal is to win one 10 days from now.”
The state tournament is being held Thursday through Saturday at the Fargodome — the same site where the Firebirds won their first championship since 1925 two years ago.
“We know we can win,” B. Brodina said. “We can compete with the best teams in the state. So it’s good to be back up there.”
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