Both Devils Lake basketball teams were ranked once again in this week’s NDAPSSA polls, with the boys moving up to No. 2 in the state.
The Firebirds provided a “statement win,” as senior guard Wylee Delorme described it, on Saturday against No. 5 Beulah. Not only did the Firebirds beat a ranked team, but they beat them by 36 points. Devils Lake, previously ranked No. 3, went up a spot with its victory.
Four Winds/Minnewaukan fell from No. 2 to No. 3 after losing a barnburner against No. 1 Kindred on Saturday. The Indians led for most of the game, but a late run by the Vikings shattered their hopes at an upset victory.
Thus, Kindred retained the top spot and FW/M came in a tough-luck third place. It was the Indians’ first loss since the second game of the season, breaking a nine-game winning streak. They are now 9-3 overall and 2-1 in Region 2.
Devils Lake’s only loss this year came at the hands of FW/M back on Dec. 21. But with the Firebirds having won seven in a row — including a win over Grafton, which was ranked No. 2 at the time — they now find themselves a spot ahead of the Indians. They even received a first-place vote from an anonymous NDAPSSA member, with the other 18 all going to Kindred. If FW/M had held on to beat Kindred, the Firebirds could very well be looking at a No. 1 ranking.
Speaking of Grafton, the Spoilers remained in the No. 4 slot for the second straight week. Ever since losing to Devils Lake, they’ve won two games in explosive fashion: an 88-34 win over Thief River Falls and a 91-34 victory against Carrington. Their 9-1 (3-1) record puts them in second place in Region 2, ahead of third-place FW/M despite being ranked lower than the Indians in the polls.
On the girls’ side, Devils Lake stayed at No. 4 after moving up from No. 5 last week. The Firebirds went 1-1 since the previous polls, beating Grafton 64-44 and losing 50-29 to No. 1 Thompson. If there’s anyone they can afford to lose to, it’s the Tommies, who are a whopping 13-0 (5-0) and received all 19 of the first-place votes. The Firebirds are 9-4 overall, 3-2 in Region 2.
Devils Lake trails Bottineau (14-1, 2-0) and South Prairie-Max (12-1, 2-0) in Division A. Nedrose (13-1, 3-1) is ranked No. 5. The girls’ rankings stayed exactly the same as last week’s.
In Division B, the North Star boys remained at No. 2. The Bearcats won all three of their games last week and are a perfect 11-0 on the season, 5-0 in Region 2 and 2-0 in District 3. They received four first-place votes compared to three in last week’s polls. They also beat a Division A team, Carrington, last week — and it wasn’t close, with a 66-28 score.
Bowman County (11-0, 4-0, 1-0) stayed at No. 1 with 15 of the 20 first-place votes. Westhope/Newburg (12-0, 7-0, 5-0) came in third place and received the remaining first-place vote.
May-Port-C-G was ranked No. 1 in the girls’ Division B, with its perfect 12-0 record and 14 of the 20 first-place votes. Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich (14-1) is No. 2 with five first-place votes. Benson County received votes but did not place in the top 10.
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.
