It didn’t take long for an upset to occur in the boys’ Division A, Region 2 basketball tournament.
Heading into the action, there was a strong chance that all three of Grafton, Four Winds/Minnewaukan and Devils Lake — ranked Nos. 2-4 in Division A — would make the state tournament.
But after Tuesday’s results, only a maximum of two of those teams can make it to state. Grafton lost 60-57 to a tough Thompson team, which is playing its best basketball lately. The Tommies played Devils Lake close recently as well.
Drew Overby had 16 points for Thompson, while Gavin Krogstad had 13 and Braden Tyce had 12. It was an entertaining and physical game that saw Grafton lead only during stretches at the beginning and end of the contest.
Thompson didn’t even score until 3:25 in the first quarter, but it quickly shrunk the gap to 10-7 with about two minutes to go, then got it to 15-15 before the end of the quarter. It led 42-40 at halftime. Grafton tied it at 50-50 with 2:20 left in the game, and the Spoilers led 53-52 with 1:54 to go. A shot put the Tommies up 58-57 with 1.6 seconds left, and they held on to win after a series of timeouts.
And so the Spoilers, who finished the season in the No. 2 spot after ending Devils Lake’s 13-game winning streak, are in danger of elimination. Either them or the Indians will be going home earlier than expected, while Thompson and Devils Lake will battle for the region title on Thursday.
Highlights
In the latest edition of the Devils Lake-Four Winds/Minnewaukan rivalry, the Firebirds took control and beat the Indians 68-58. Deng Deng put up 31 points despite a slow first quarter. Devils Lake had a lead as large as 23-11 in the first half, and FW/M got it back to 28-28 before halftime. But the Firebirds pulled away in the third quarter and didn’t look back. Parker Brodina led with 18 points. For more on this game, read here.
In the Division B, Region 2 semifinals at Devils Lake Sports Center, No. 1 North Star won 57-37 in a rematch with Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich. Dane Hagler, who’s been the star of this postseason for the Bearcats, was held relatively in check with 11 points. But Karsen Simon put up 18, while Parker Simon scored 14. It was 25-20 at halftime, but North Star stretched the gap with a 15-4 third quarter. It ended up being a much more comfortable victory than the Bearcats and Cardinals’ last meeting.
North Star is now set to play in the Region 2 championship against North Border. The winner automatically goes to the state tournament, while the loser goes to a state qualifier game.
Other scores
Division B, Region 2 boys’ basketball tournament
North Border 43, New Rockford-Sheyenne 40
Division A, Region 1 boys’ basketball tournament
Central Cass 49, No. 1 Kindred 57
Division A, Region 4 boys’ basketball tournament
Killdeer 57, No. 5 Beulah 65
College softball
Lake Region State College 0, Arizona Western College 10 (DH)
Lake Region State College 0, Arizona Western College 9 (DH)
What to watch
Wednesday will be a scheduled day off for high school basketball. But the region championships and third-place games will all commence on Thursday, which will start forming the seeding for the state tournaments. The losers of the championship games and the winners of the third-place games will all advance to state qualifier games on Saturday — that’s eight state qualifiers in each division, with the four winners of those games joining the state tournament bracket.
Lake Region State College baseball plays Century College at the RussMat Invite in Central Florida at 8:15 a.m. The softball team has another doubleheader against South Mountain Community College at 2 and 4 p.m.
