No. 3 Four Winds/Minnewaukan boys’ basketball had a relatively tough task at its hands Saturday night, playing a Shiloh Christian team that is bubbling just under the top-five rankings. The Indians (14-4, 6-2) handled the Skyhawks (14-6, 4-1) with little problem, beating them 78-61 at Four Winds High School.
“They’ve got so many weapons, and they’ve got so many shooters,” head coach Rick Smith said. “I thought it was a good overall performance because you just don’t come in and beat Shiloh by 17. You just don’t.”
FW/M won the tip-off, and Marial Deng almost immediately took a three-point shot. He missed, but Smith noted that taking a bold shot so early was a sign of increased confidence for Deng, the younger brother of dynamic superstar Deng Deng.
After Dalen Leftbear got a steal, M. Deng made the Indians’ first basket of the game with a simple layup. The Indians went back and forth with Shiloh’s 6-foot-6 center, Atticus Wilkinson, but then went on a 12-3 run fueled by eight points from D. Deng. Shiloh had kept FW/M’s lead at 8-7 before the Indians scored eight straight points — which included dunks by both Dengs.
“We just gotta turn our defense into offense, like with fast-break steals,” D. Deng said. “Just picking their pocket when they try to bring it up. Just rebound. Just push, push. At the end of the day, if we just keep pushing, then we’re gonna get easy baskets and fast baskets.”
With the Indians leading 16-7, the Skyhawks scored three quick baskets of their own to keep it close. The Indians got a little sloppy with their passing and sending the ball out of bounds. They had seven turnovers in the first half.
Smith could be heard shouting “Get it together!” at his players, followed by “Who are you throwing to?” A brief glitch in FW/M’s system had made it a 16-13 game.
“The turnovers we did have in the first half were just unforced,” Smith said. “Just some bad passes. And I just thought we didn’t take care of the ball very well in a stretch. You allow a team like Shiloh to get those opportunities, they’re gonna capitalize on you.”
Dorvan McKay made five points towards the end of the first quarter, helping FW/M hold a 24-17 lead going into the second. D. Deng had 11 points.
Deng then started off the second quarter by maneuvering through the press and making another dunk. He scored the first 12 points of the quarter for FW/M. It wasn’t until the 1:25 mark that somebody not named Deng Deng scored a basket for the Indians.
“I was able to penetrate pretty good and get to the rack,” Deng said. “I feel like that’s when I’m at my best, so I thought I did pretty good at that today.”
Ronald McKay and Wade Nestell contributed baskets to complete a strong first half. Shiloh only scored eight points in the second quarter, and FW/M led 40-25 at halftime.
“Our guards, I’d say, were players of the game,” Deng said. “Because they just hound it, hound it; sometimes it takes like nine seconds for them to even bring it past half-court. I just feel like our guards do a great job of making them rush around and stuff, and then I thought our wings and posts did a good job of cleaning it up.”
Deng made the first two baskets of the second half, and helped on defense too by blocking Wilkinson from making a layup.
Deng, who scored 23 points in the first half, was quiet for the rest of the third quarter. But Dalen Leftbear, after being held scoreless in the first half, chipped in with six points, while M. Deng had six more of his own. The sophomore Deng had eight points in the second half and 12 total in the game, four of which came from free throws. He also had a layup that came after multiple rebounds.
“I try to stay consistent and attack the rim so I can get to the free throw line,” Deng said.
The Skyhawks woke back up a little bit in the third quarter, scoring 20 points and staying mostly even with the Indians. At one point, they narrowed the deficit down to 54-41 — still plenty comfortable, but FW/M wasn’t able to run away with it. It was 61-45 at the end of the third quarter.
“We weren’t coming and taking quick shots,” Smith said. “They were taking the ball out of Deng’s hands. We just had to be patient. We were telling our guys to find the gap. The gap’s open; I mean, you’ve got two guys on Deng all the time, so the gaps are gonna be open.”
Shiloh opened the fourth quarter with five quick points, making it an 11-point game. Leftbear made back-to-back baskets to keep the lead in double digits, but Shiloh’s Wyatt Westin made a three and Wilkinson made a two, bringing it within 10 points of FW/M.
The Skyhawks made two more three-pointers down the stretch, but that was all they got as the Indians pulled away with the win. D. Deng got back in the points column with an emphatic dunk. He made eight points in the fourth quarter, finishing with 35 overall. Just another day at the office.
So it was a 17-point win in the end, with Shiloh never trimming the gap to less than double digits from the second quarter on.
The Indians will play their home finale against Oak Grove on Thursday, then will complete the regular season with a pair of road rematches against region opponents Hillsboro/Central Valley and Thompson.
“You just don’t go against them the second time and think it’s gonna be any easier, because it’s not,” Smith said. “They’re gonna be prepared. They’re gonna be throwing some defenses at you. They’re gonna be physical. They’re gonna shoot the ball well in their own gym.”
