If there’s any way to show why you deserve to be the No. 2 team in Division A, it’s putting up a 29-0 run.
The Four Winds/Minnewaukan Indians (9-2, 2-1) did just that in the middle of Friday’s game. It led to a 71-37 win over Turtle Mountain (2-8) to kick off the Class A Boys Shootout at Devils Lake Sports Center. It was the ninth straight victory for a team that has established itself as a force to reckon with, edging out No. 3 Devils Lake in the latest polls.
“It’s a group of kids that have been together for a long time, a group of coaches that have been together for a long time, including our junior high, fifth and sixth grade, all up to high school,” Four Winds/Minnewaukan head coach Rick Smith said. “The philosophy’s the same though, when they start fifth grade all the way up to high school. It makes a big difference when you’re not changing coaches every other year.”
And on Saturday, the Indians gelled like a group of players who knew each other’s strengths, fed off each other and came together to lead a masterful, unrelenting beating of the Braves.
A moderate start saw FW/M leading only 11-7 in the early going. The Indians’ 6-foot-4 senior forward Deng Deng made just one of his first four free throws to begin the game, and the team hadn’t taken off yet.
But once they did, there was no stopping them.
“I mean, this is a team that we haven’t played before,” Smith said. “It’s a team that we’ve seen on film only. It takes a little adjusting period in there.”
The key factor was Deng, who started finding creative ways to sneak in towards the basket and make layups. Strategic intelligence and muscle helped him land multiple layups, making three straight baskets for FW/M and the last two shots of the first quarter.
The Indians wound up finishing the first quarter on a 12-0 run, taking a 23-7 lead into the second.
A lot of teams will see a run like that stall at the start of a new quarter, or will have a temporary lapse of energy when starting back up. But the Indians just kept rolling. They continued to find ways to tip the ball in the hoop even after misses, showing a strong offensive rebounding game.
That 12-0 run gradually turned into a 29-0 run. FW/M did it all without a single three-pointer — 14 field goals and a free throw.
“Once we got going, once we forced some turnovers, we got in the open floor, we got some easy baskets,” Smith said. “And I think we pooped them out a little bit.”
About two minutes into the second quarter, Deng smashed a two-handed dunk, and a minute later he showed off his style with a one-handed dunk. He made 10 points in the 29-0 run. Although three-pointers weren’t part of his plan of attack, he showed a remarkable versatility for sneaking in layups and making the flashy dunk every so often.
“You can be a pure athlete, but Deng’s a pure athlete that works hard at being a good basketball player, being a good football player,” Smith said. “He spends a lot of time in the weight room. He spends a lot of time in the gym. And that’s what makes him special.”
The Indians led 44-11 at halftime.
Yeah, that’s what a team ranked No. 2 in the state does.
It was a coast to the finish line from there; Turtle Mountain was relatively competitive in the second half, but there’s not much any team can do about overriding a 29-0 run.
In the third quarter, Dalen Leftbear passed to Deng, who completed the alley-oop with a thundering smash. Any onlooker in the Devils Lake Sports Center gym could hear the collective “Whoa”s around the court.
The Indians out-steadied the Braves just 27-26 in the second half, but it was enough for a 30-plus margin of victory overall.
It was the kind of dominant effort FW/M will need, especially ahead of a vital matchup on Saturday with No. 1 Kindred. It’ll be the top two teams in Division A, squaring off to see which team really deserves that top honor.
“We gave up a lot of 50-50 balls tonight. We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds tonight. We do that tomorrow, it’s gonna be a long night for us,” Smith said. “Because we’re facing a Kindred team that’s experienced, they’re big, they play well together. It’s gonna be a fun game.”
The game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday.
Joseph “Mojo” Hill is a reporter covering Lake Region sports for the Devils Lake Journal. Contact him on Twitter @mojohill22 or at jhill@devilslakejournal.com for any tips, questions or story ideas.
