FARGO — In an up-and-down season that saw Devils Lake enter the state tournament as the No. 1 seed, the Firebirds’ state title hopes ended with a loss to Beulah.
Devils Lake (18-8) had won eight in a row entering Friday.
For the first time in the three-year history of Division A, the Firebirds won’t be playing in the state championship game.
“We can’t point fingers and make excuses,” Devils Lake head coach Dustin Brodina said. “We’ve got to hold our heads up high. Nobody wants to lose a game. But this is just a game. There’s a lot more important things in life than just a basketball game. And these guys are going to have failures in life, and they’ve got to learn from it.”
The Firebirds had won their previous matchup with No. 4 seed Beulah (24-3). It was a 55-51 victory on Dec. 29 — the first game without the Palmers.
No. 2 seed Central Cass, a team Devils Lake beat in February, was waiting in the wings for Saturday’s championship game.
But the Firebirds struggled to land shots and were outrebounded by a wide margin on Friday. They fell 60-51 to a gritty Miners group in the Division A state semifinals at the Fargodome.
“They’ve only lost three games because they’re a great team,” Brodina said. “They executed a little bit better than us.”
Devils Lake’s shooting woes were dire to open the game.
The Firebirds didn’t score for the first four minutes and 29 seconds. They missed long-range shots on their first seven possessions of the game.
Bensyn Schirado had eight of the Miners’ first nine as they took a 9-0 lead. They had the Beulah fan section in a tizzy.
“We got a little rushed, and we weren’t disciplined enough,” Brodina said. “Just not disciplined enough.”
Devils Lake finally scored on a drive from Ben Brodina with 3:31 left in the first quarter.
A Mason Palmer three allowed them to breathe a little. Alex Hammond hit two key shots off the bench, and Max Palmer knocked down his first triple of the game to tie it up.
Exner and Max Palmer each hit a go-ahead three down the stretch of the first half. But Beulah stayed steady. Braylen Schirado and Bennett Larson scored seven and five, respectively, in the second quarter.
Kade Fee made a go-ahead three in the final minute to give Devils Lake a 30-27 lead at halftime.
Despite a brutal start, it was looking like Devils Lake’s game to lose.
The second half started much like the first, though, in an eventually triumphant 16 minutes for Beulah.
The Miners opened on a 10-0 run, with Devils Lake not scoring for nearly three minutes.
The drought ended in a similar way that the first-half drought did: with a drive from Brodina.
He completed a three-point play. Hammond and Fee hit massive triples to jolt the Firebirds back in front, 38-37.
Beulah’s 6-foot-7 senior center, Larson, burned them in the third quarter. He scored eight of his 14 points in the period.
Brodina hit a corner three in the final minute of the quarter to keep Devils Lake within two, down 45-43. The Firebirds were still in it despite zero points from Mason or Max Palmer in the quarter.
Max did not end up scoring in the second half. He scored all eight of his points in the second quarter.
An 8-0 run separated the Miners in the fourth quarter. Freshman Philip Weidner ignited the stretch with a put-back. He had 16 rebounds on the night, nearly matching Devils Lake’s entire team total of 21.
Beulah had 36 rebounds as a team.
“They pretty much kicked our butt in the rebounding battle,” Brodina said. “If you don’t win that category, you’re gonna lose a lot of games.”
Braylen Schirado knocked down two triples in the final period to sink Devils Lake. He went 4-for-6 from three-point range on the night. He scored a game-high 23 points.
The Firebirds shot 10-for-37 (27%) from beyond the arc.
“They plugged their two guys in the lane, which took all our driving lanes away. We tried to set some back-screens and some other stuff,” Brodina said. “But yeah, when the shots don’t fall, you’ve got to be able to rely on your defense and rebounding. That wasn’t there. We weren’t able to stop them at key possessions.”
Mason Palmer connected on two triples to keep them within striking distance. The luck ran out there, as Devils Lake flung up a string of desperation three-ball attempts and couldn’t land anything in the final minute.
“It came down to three or four possessions — they executed, and we missed shots,” Brodina said. “And that’s part of the game. You’ve got to be able to be disciplined and execute when it matters.”
Mason led the Firebirds with 15 points and seven rebounds. Brodina finished with 10 points. Hammond had nine off the bench; had the Firebirds won, his efforts would have been a key part of the story.
Devils Lake will have to wipe this one away and come back out at 3 p.m. Saturday for the final game of its season. The Firebirds will play for third place against Shiloh Christian, a team they beat 80-56 in February.
“I want them to be proud of who they are and what they’ve accomplished already,” Brodina said. “They’re still gonna go put on that jersey, especially the seniors, are gonna put on that jersey and represent Devils Lake for the last time. And make their team proud, and make their city proud. All the fans that came here to support them, they’re gonna want a good effort. And I know these guys will give a good effort.
“There’s a lot of teams that would be really happy to be playing for third place. So they’ve got nothing to hang their heads about. I mean, we lost this game. We wanted to be playing in the championship game. But they still need to be proud and be grateful for where they’re at tomorrow.”
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