After last week’s battle with No. 3 Four Winds/Minnewaukan, No. 2 Devils Lake boys’ basketball will reunite with one of the best teams in Division A on Tuesday.
The Firebirds have a trip up to Grafton, where they’ll play the No. 4 Spoilers. Last time these teams met, Devils Lake won 68-66 on a buzzer beater. Parker Brodina missed both his free throws with the game tied, but Drew Hofstad stole the inbound pass and got it back to Brodina, who redeemed himself with the game-winning shot. It was a victory that prompted an explosion of joy from the Devils Lake bench.
At the time, Grafton was ranked No. 2 and Devils Lake was No. 4. The Spoilers have lost three games this year — one to each of the top three teams in Division A. The Firebirds’ win over Grafton was their fourth in a row; that winning streak is now at 13 with four games left in the regular season.
Grafton’s last two wins have both been narrow victories over unranked opponents. It beat Thompson 73-69 and Shiloh Christian 80-79.
The game will commence at 7 p.m. at Grafton High School.
Highlights
Four Winds/Minnewaukan girls’ basketball beat Carrington 60-56. The Indians led by as many as 13 in the second quarter, which got narrowed to two points with 9.8 seconds to go. But they held on to secure a region win. FW/M is now 10-10 overall and 4-6 in region play with one game left in the regular season.
In the boys’ basketball polls released Monday, Devils Lake stayed at No. 2 and FW/M remained at No. 3. Devils Lake girls’ basketball rose from No. 5 to No. 4 with one game left. For more on this week’s polls, read here.
No. 1 Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich won the Division B, District 3 Girls Basketball Tournament. It beat St. John 66-63 in the final on Monday. No. 2 May-Port-C-G won the District 4 tournament with a 56-38 win over Benson County. Both teams will now compete in the Region 2 quarterfinals on Monday. Benson County and New Rockford-Sheyenne will also compete after coming in second and third place, respectively, in District 4.
Other scores
Boys’ basketball
Killdeer 63, No. 5 Beulah 77
Thompson 71, South Border 45
Girls’ basketball
Griggs-Midkota 40, Hatton/Northwood 54
North Prairie 42, North Border 39
New Rockford-Sheyenne 48, Larimore 37
Midway/Minto 22, Park River/Fordivlle-Lankin 30
Central Cass 48, Grafton 59
What to watch
While Devils Lake boys’ basketball takes on Grafton, Devils Lake boys’ hockey will be playing an important game in Grand Forks. The Firebirds have a quarterfinal matchup against No. 1 Grand Forks Red River.
Devils Lake girls’ hockey plays Jamestown on the road at 7 p.m. This is the final week of regular season games for the Firebirds before the state tournament, in which they’d currently be No. 6 out of eight seeds. They’ll return home for games on Friday and Saturday.
No. 3 Four Winds/Minnewaukan boys’ basketball also plays on the road Tuesday, taking on Carrington at 6 p.m.
North Star boys’ basketball, fresh off its No. 1 ranking, will play its penultimate game of the regular season on the road against North Border at 4:30 p.m.
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.
