Mason Palmer corrals the ball during Devils Lake’s state quarterfinal game against Dunseith at the Fargodome. (Photo by Cameron Carlson)
FARGO — Devils Lake’s big three combined for the team’s first 32 points of the evening.
A few minutes into the second quarter, the Firebirds’ lead was already in the 20s. They went on an 18-0 run between the first and second quarter.
No. 1 seed Devils Lake (18-7) returned to the Fargodome for the first time since two years ago, when the Firebirds won their first state basketball title since 1925. Except for the football players, of course, who won the school’s first ever football championship in this arena last fall.
“We’re always up for a challenge,” said Mason Palmer, a leading player on both the basketball and football teams. “We’re gonna keep our effort high. And they gave us the No. 1 seed, so we’re gonna try to earn that one seed each and every game.”
The Firebirds rolled over No. 8 seed Dunseith (16-8) with a 68-39 win on Thursday.
“Getting a win at a state tournament is not easy, no matter who it is,” Devils Lake head coach Dustin Brodina said. “So we’re happy to be getting that first one off the belt, I would call it.”
Mason Palmer led Devils Lake with 30 points. Ben Brodina had 17, and Max Palmer had 15. The trio combined for 62 of Devils Lake’s 64 points before being pulled. Brodina also had a game-high eight rebounds.
“They can’t guard all three of us at the same time,” Mason said. “It’s hard when we’re moving back and forth.”
Dunseith’s 39 point total was its lowest of the season.
The Firebirds only went 2-for-11 from three-point range in the first half.
But they got a balanced attack from Palmer, Palmer and Brodina in the first quarter, then leaned on Mason in the second. Mason scored 15 in the second quarter and had 21 at halftime.
“Really just stick to our defense,” Mason said. “Our defense leads to our offense, and that’s what really works for us.”
Already leading 32-12, the Firebirds got their first non-Palmer-or-Brodina points with a basket from Alex Hammond.
Dunseith hit two triples in the first quarter. But the Dragons didn’t make any deuces until there was 3:19 left in the first half.
Mason hit Devils Lake’s only two triples of the half as the Firebirds rushed into the locker room with a 39-17 lead. They went 15-for-23 in two-point baskets in the half.
“When the three-ball isn’t dropping, we’ve got to just get downhill and keep moving the ball and make the defense play defense, and hopefully tire them out and get to the hoop,” Mason said.
The Firebirds had a moderate start to the second half, offensively, but still extended their lead as wide as 34 points by the early part of the fourth quarter.
“We can always rely on our defense, and that our defense is there to shut them down if our offense isn’t clicking,” Brodina said. “And I don’t think our offense honestly clicked from the tip all the way to the end. And that’s okay. We’ve got better things ahead of us, hopefully, the next two nights.”
Max Palmer hit a pair of threes in the second half, while Mason added his third of the night.
Miguel Dunn made two free throws off the bench after the starters had been pulled.
Ultimately, the big three combined for 62 of Devils Lake’s 68 points despite not playing for approximately the final five minutes.
The Firebirds shot 25-for-56 (44.6%) from the field overall.
“We moved the ball well,” Brodina said. “That’s all we want to do, is get great shots.”
They only went 5-for-21 from three-point range. But they made 57% of their two-point shots.
“It’s such a fine line between saying ‘Don’t shoot it,’ because we want confident shooters and we’re gonna let them guys rip it,” Brodina said. “But also, at the same time, we need to be able to get downhill and finish at the rim. And I thought we did a great job of mixing that up tonight.”
The Firebirds are one win away from returning to the state championship game, where they’ve been each of the last two seasons.
Interestingly enough, they weren’t the No. 1 seed in either of those tournaments.
“This is new to us,” Brodina said. “We don’t really think of it as a target; we just take it one game at a time. We knew that everybody, whoever we’re gonna play, is gonna try to give it their all. … Nothing’s easy. You’ve got to come, and you’ve got to be able to defend at a high level, and then hopefully the ball goes in.”
Devils Lake will play in the second semifinal game on Friday at 8:15 p.m. Its opponent will be the winner of Thursday night’s matchup between No. 4 seed Beulah and No. 5 seed Wahpeton.
“Either team, whoever we face, is gonna be very hard,” Brodina said. “And we’re gonna have to be ready to go. Both respectful programs, and very well-coached. So we’re gonna have to be ready to go.”
