The latest NDAPSSA basketball polls were released at 4 p.m. on Monday and featured multiple teams from Devils Lake and the surrounding area.
The Firebirds were ranked fourth in Division A with their 5-1 record — which was voted on before their 80-32 victory over Rugby on Monday. They collected 46 total points from the voters. Kindred High School, which hails from a small town just slightly southwest of Fargo, was ranked No. 1 with 14 of the 19 first-place votes and 87 points overall.
Right behind Kindred, with a perfect 7-0 record, three first-place votes and 71 total points, was Grafton, a team from Devils Lake’s region. The Firebirds will be taking on the vaunted Spoilers on Thursday. It’ll be each team’s third matchup against a Division A, Region 2 opponent; Grafton is 2-0, while Devils Lake is 1-1. The Firebirds’ 6-1 record places them second out of six teams in the region.
Four Winds/Minnewaukan boys’ basketball ranked third in the recent polls, directly between Grafton and Devils Lake. The Indians are 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the region. They lost their first two games of the season, but have since ridden a six-game winning streak. They received the remaining two first-place votes and 60 points overall.
Filling out the bottom slot was Beulah with 12 points. Shiloh Christian, Wahpeton and Stanley also received votes.
Devils Lake also placed in the girls’ Division A, coming in fifth with 11 points. Thompson High School received all 19 of the first-place votes with its 9-0 overall record and 4-0 in region play. Devils Lake ranks second in Thompson’s region with a 6-3 overall record and 2-1 in region play. Four Winds/Minnewaukan is in fifth place at 4-6 and 1-3, respectively.
The Devils Lake girls’ next region opponent will be fourth-place Grafton on Jan. 16, then first-place Thompson on Jan. 19.
In the Division B boys’ poll, North Star ranked second out of the top 10 teams. The Bearcats are a perfect 8-0 and recently won the Ramsey County Boys’ Basketball Tournament. They received three first-place votes. Bowman County led the way in Division B with 14 first-place votes.
North Star is 4-0 against its region, but has yet to play any teams in its district. Its first district matchup will be this Friday against Cavalier, which ranks third in District 3 — 7-2 overall, 5-1 in Region 2 and 4-1 in District 3. As North Star head coach Jesse Vote said after Saturday’s tournament win, the “second season” begins now for the Bearcats after they got through the first phase of the season without a hitch.
