The seeding for the Division A, Region 2 boys’ basketball tournament was finalized after Saturday’s state play-in games.
Devils Lake is the No. 2 seed. The Firebirds were ranked fourth in the final regular season polls, though they spent much of the season in the No. 2 spot. They won the Region 2 tournament after beating No. 3 Four Winds/Minnewaukan and Thompson.
The Tommies lost on Saturday, so they’re not in the bracket. The only other participant from Region 2 is No. 2 Grafton, which earned the No. 3 seed after winning its play-in game on Saturday.
Devils Lake is set to kick off the tournament with a matchup against No. 7-seeded Valley City on Thursday. Grafton will play in the second game of the tournament against No. 6-seeded Beulah (which was ranked No. 5 in the regular season and won its play-in game on Saturday).
If both the Firebirds and Spoilers win, they’ll face off in the semifinals. They went 1-1 against each other during the regular season. If Devils Lake makes it to the final, there’s a strong chance it will face undefeated No. 1 Kindred.
Highlights
Grafton beat Wahpeton 48-36 in the first state play-in game at Scheels Center in Fargo on Saturday. The Spoilers trailed 12-7 at the end of the first quarter but got it going with a 21-point second quarter.
Thompson lost in the second game of the day, 77-69 in overtime to Valley City. Karter Peterson had 31 points for Thompson, including 14 in the fourth quarter. The Tommies led 59-57 with less than 30 seconds left, but Carson Eggert tied it, and Thompson missed a three-point attempt to send it to overtime. The Hi-Liners outscored the Tommies 18-10 the rest of the way.
Thus ends an impressive run for an underdog Thompson team that beat Grafton and played Devils Lake close on two occasions. The Tommies went 13-12 overall.
Other scores
Division A boys’ basketball state qualifiers
Stanley 59, Killdeer 61
No. 5 Beulah 68, Bottineau 48
Division B boys’ basketball state qualifiers
LaMoure-Litchville/Marion 50, New Rockford-Sheyenne 38
North Border 57, Edgeley/Kulm/Montpelier 61
Garrison 40, Our Redeemer’s 57
Bishop Ryan 58, Washburn 37
Division AA boys’ basketball state tournament
Fargo North 62, West Fargo Sheyenne 78 (tournament championship)
What to watch
It’ll be a quiet week until the Division A boys’ basketball tournament gets going at the Fargodome on Thursday. Devils Lake and Valley City will play at 1 p.m., while Grafton and Beulah will get going around 2:45 p.m.
The Division B state basketball tournament, which begins Thursday at the Minot State Dome, also had its seeding finalized. North Star, unsurprisingly, is the No. 1 seed after going 24-1 and winning both the district and region tournaments.
The Bearcats have the third game on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against No. 8-seeded LaMoure-Litchville/Marion. The winner faces the winner of Bishop Ryan vs. Sargent County.
