In a showdown between two of North Dakota’s best basketball teams, No. 2 Devils Lake kept its winning ways going against No. 3 Four Winds/Minnewaukan last Tuesday. It brought all the theatrics one would expect: the largest crowd Devils Lake Sports Center has seen this year, numerous lead changes and exciting buzzer-beating threes. But the Firebirds outlasted the Indians, narrowly edging them out by a score of 70-69.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Devils Lake’s 12th straight win.
They were able to (relatively) control Deng Deng
Deng Deng was by far the biggest force standing in the way of a luxurious victory for the Firebirds.
Just two games previously, Deng tied an FW/M boys school record with 47 points in a game. He followed that up with a 30-point performance. Deng, who’s a University of North Dakota football commit, has an athletic, hulky presence that allows him to constantly get to the rim. And he dunks in thundering fashion. He can shoot from deep, too, when he needs to.
He still had flashes of that greatness, no doubt, but Devils Lake was able to hold him relatively in check. He scored 24 points, which is a great game for most players but modest by Deng’s standards. He never had more than three field goals in a given quarter, which Devils Lake should consider a victory.
Firebirds head coach Dustin Brodina acknowledged that Deng had more three-pointers than he would have liked — he had three, one of which gave FW/M the lead at the buzzer of the first half — but that there’s only so much you can do to contain one of the best players in the state. And considering what Deng had done in his previous two games, limiting him was a key to victory.
Devils Lake continues to showcase its depth and versatility
Perhaps another reason why the Firebirds won was their less pressing need for a star player to carry them. Without Deng, the Firebirds are a significantly worse team — as evidenced by their first two games of the season, both of which they lost while Deng was sidelined with an injury. They still have some slick, under-the-radar players like Marial Deng and Dalen Leftbear, but nobody comes close to making the impact that Deng does.
Devils Lake’s best player is Wylee Delorme, but it doesn’t need to rely on Delorme like FW/M needs to rely on Deng. Delorme didn’t put up his best performance on Tuesday, but the Firebirds have so many options that they were still able to overwhelm the Indians. The depth of their roster is something they’ve proven time and time again.
Delorme had a three-pointer in each of the first and fourth quarters, but only two baskets in between. Parker Brodina was the main Firebird to step up; Brodina has been one of the team’s best and most consistent players all season anyway, and he led the team with 18 points. He utilized Devils Lake’s dribble-drive style for most of the game, until joining a three-point party in the fourth quarter.
The Firebirds are even versatile in their style of play, not just their players; they took advantage of wide-open threes in the fourth quarter despite favoring a smaller approach for most of the game. They can adapt mid-game and do what the situation calls for.
Also making big threes in that fourth quarter was Drew Hofstad, who usually isn’t one of the team’s top scorers but had a trio of three-pointers in the second half. Oliver Wirth, a bench player, also came up big on two separate occasions: a go-ahead three in the second quarter and a dunk at the end of the third quarter.
Mason Palmer quietly contributed 10 points off the bench too. Brodina conceded that Palmer would be starting on 95% of teams in the state, but the current iteration of this Devils Lake team is so deep that there’s not much room for him. Palmer, a sophomore, is a strong shooter who will almost certainly be a starter on next year’s varsity team.
There’s also no leaving out Joel Nelson, who was second on the team in points with 13. Nelson has grown more consistent over the course of the season, and has taken strides in reducing his fouls.
The Firebirds just have so many options that they can afford “only” 10 points from Delorme. FW/M, as seen in Tuesday’s game, can’t even afford a mere 24-point game from Deng. The Indians are more top-heavy, but the Firebirds’ array of options has helped carry them to a 12-game win streak.
Devils Lake still has a big test coming up in No. 4 Grafton
As crucial as Tuesday’s victory was, it’s not time to do a victory lap quite yet. Devils Lake still has a tough rematch with No. 4 Grafton coming up on the road.
The last time these teams faced off, it came down to the final seconds of regulation. For those who need a refresher, P. Brodina missed two free throws with the game tied at 66-66. Grafton had the ball, but Hofstad nabbed a steal on the inbound pass, and Brodina scored the go-ahead layup as the final seconds ticked down on the clock.
At the time, Grafton was ranked No. 2. Now, of course, Devils Lake is ranked No. 2. The Spoilers have since fallen to the No. 4 spot. But they’ve still proven they can compete with the top three teams; in fact, all three of their losses this year came to the top three teams in Division A, and all were decided by six points or less. Grafton is right there and just hasn’t been able to get over the hump. But Devils Lake should expect another competitive contest on Tuesday.
A loss to Grafton could hamper what’s been a special run for Devils Lake. It could have bearings on the polls, too, with the Spoilers being ranked two spots lower despite proving themselves nearly equal in their last head-to-head matchup.
But Devils Lake should still be the better team, and should still be able to crank out another close victory. After all, the Firebirds are playing better than they have all season. There’s no reason to suggest that they’ll be slowing down anytime soon. But they do have another hurdle to cross on Tuesday before they can comfortably secure both the top spot in Region 2 and a one-loss season.
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.
