It didn’t come easily, but Devils Lake boys’ basketball picked up a victory in its penultimate home game of the season Friday night.
The Firebirds (18-2, 6-2) beat Thompson (11-9), 4-5) 80-69, despite falling behind in the second quarter and trailing all the way until a fourth-quarter surge.
“It was a tough game,” head coach Dustin Brodina said. “Thompson came out; they were ready to go. They played hard. They got it down low. They exposed some of our weaknesses defensively. But we grinded it out, so it’s great to get a win.”
Wylee Delorme led with 25 points, surpassing the 1,000 career points milestone in the process. Joel Nelson had 23, and Parker Brodina had 15.
“Just manage our possessions a lot better,” Delorme said of what the Firebirds have been trying to improve on. “If the team scores, we have to come back and get the best possession as possible. We have to use as much time and get to the rim.”
Devils Lake’s offense was gelling early on, with its big three of Delorme, Brodina and Nelson all playing their games. Thompson scored first with a three, but the Firebirds were finding ways to maneuver around the Tommies’ defense, and they creeped out to a 12-7 lead.
Delorme briefly thought about dunking on one of his drives down the court, but decided better of it and settled for a layup. Shortly thereafter, he found himself in a similar situation and went all-out on a dunk this time, slamming Devils Lake into a 17-9 advantage.
“Those guys [Delorme, Brodina and Nelson] go together,” Brodina said. “And when they learn to play off of each other, yeah, they’re pretty hard to beat. Really talented players.”
But the Tommies chipped away. They scored three straight baskets to trim the lead to two, then missed a potential game-tying layup on the run. A free throw narrowed the gap to 17-16.
Nelson squeezed his arms around a guard for a layup, and Mason Palmer capped the first quarter with a three at the buzzer. At the break, the Firebirds led 24-18.
Nelson got the second quarter started with a three, but once again, the Tommies continued an athletic and versatile attack to the rim. A 9-0 run put them ahead 29-28. The teams went back and forth for the rest of the half, and Thompson led 37-36 at halftime.
“It was our defense today that got us in trouble,” Brodina said. “Just kind of allowed them to get some open shots and get some finishes towards the basket.”
Brodina said the team set a goal going into the game to allow fewer than 55 points. With Thompson already at 37 halfway through, the Firebirds were in danger of letting that goal slip by them.
“We’re scoring 36, 37 points a game in the first half, that’s fine. I’m good with that,” Brodina said, “but not giving up 36, 37 points.”
And despite a reset at halftime, and the chance to get back to playing their game, the Firebirds continued to look sluggish. Thompson scored the first seven points of the second half, and it was starting to have the look of a game that would unravel. The Tommies, like they did for much of the first half, were getting offensive rebounds and making shots under pressure.
“Our defense was slacking the first half,” Delorme said. “We knew that we had to get back into it and come together and play team defense.”
Delorme got Devils Lake back in the points column, scoring its first five of the second half. On a subsequent drive, Delorme passed the ball around before finally finding Oliver Wirth, who made a layup from under the basket. It was a 7-2 mini-run from Devils Lake to cut the deficit back to three.
Thompson maintained its slim lead for the rest of the third quarter. The Tommies continued to be a pest, making a three-pointer on the last seconds of the shot clock that extended their advantage to 56-50. But Delorme and Nelson made back-to-back shots to finish the quarter, keeping Devils Lake within 56-54 heading into the final eight minutes.
This was a similar spot the Firebirds found themselves in on Feb. 13 in their eventual loss to Grafton. But this time, they weren’t going to let the game slip away.
Beau Brodina — who tied a school record with nine three-pointers last game — opened the fourth quarter with a go-ahead three. Nelson made it back-to-back threes, and Devils Lake suddenly led 60-56.
The momentum shifted about as swiftly as it possibly could have.
“When we move the ball, we’re really hard to beat,” Brodina said. “That’s a lot of confidence when we get other guys involved. Like Beau hitting that shot; that’s huge, because it makes him play defense a little harder.”
Thompson stayed close behind with six straight points from Karter Peterson, but an eight-point quarter from Delorme helped seal the deal on a victory. The shot that got Delorme to 1,000 points put Devils Lake up 65-62, and though a three-pointer briefly tied it back up, the Firebirds outscored the Tommies 15-4 the rest of the way.
Delorme had a dunk that sent the Firebirds home with authority, prompting an eruption from the bench and the sense that this was Devils Lake’s game to win all along.
“We can’t play individual ball. We have to move the ball,” Delorme said. “We do that, I think we’ll be just fine.”
Devils Lake will play its regular season finale on Monday at 4:15 p.m. against Carrington.
