FARGO — Devils Lake boys’ basketball hasn’t been in this position since before the turn of the century.
The Firebirds spoiled Grafton’s impressive season with a gutsy victory on Friday at the Fargodome. It advanced them to their first state title game in 25 years — but they have their sights set on ending an even longer drought, one that will reach triple digits if they don’t take care of business on Saturday. The last Devils Lake boys’ basketball team to win it all came in 1925.
“I’m proud of these guys. These guys deserve all the effort,” head coach Dustin Brodina said. “But we’re not done yet. We’ve got one more to go. And we’re gonna give it all we got tomorrow night.”
Devils Lake (24-2) beat Grafton (21-5) in a 64-53 thriller that came down to the fourth quarter. The Firebirds battled against a tough Spoilers team they’d already dealt with twice this season. They overcame a slow start to take a commanding lead in the first half, but Grafton managed to tie it by the end of the third quarter.
It was a win that tested Devils Lake’s resiliency.
“That’s a gritty team, man,” said Wylee Delorme, who scored 20 points in the second half. “They’re scrappy. They hit threes. They make you work hard. It’s very tough to defend them.”
Parker Brodina led the Firebirds with 22 points overall, while Delorme did all his damage in the second half. Each team shot 33.9%, while Devils Lake outrebounded Grafton 46-36.
The Spoilers won the tip-off, but they didn’t take advantage of their first possession as Kyler Droog missed a layup. P. Brodina scored on Devils Lake’s opposing drive.
But the next three baskets went to Grafton. Delorme missed the same type of ambitious three-point attempts he landed early in Thursday’s game, and Droog was able to get to the rim on his second try.
Three more points made it a 9-3 Grafton lead. Roughly halfway into the first quarter, Devils Lake had only made one field goal. The Firebirds were getting blocked at the rim, and weren’t making shots when they decided to go for something bigger.
But back-to-back P. Brodina layups got something going for Devils Lake. Joel Nelson tied the game with another good route. The Firebirds were more efficient in getting to the basket.
“We just let the game come to us, and we got the first jitters out,” P. Brodina said. “We were strong defensively, and we moved the ball and played as a team.”
Then began the onslaught of threes. Mason Palmer landed one off the bench to put Devils Lake ahead, and Nelson hit one right before the buzzer of the first quarter. It was suddenly a 15-9 Firebirds lead.
Drew Hofstad opened the second quarter with yet another three. It capped a 15-0 run that switched the game in the moment, lifting Devils Lake from a six-point hole to a nine-point advantage.
Palmer and Hofstad each put up buckets, and the Firebirds led 22-13.
But the Spoilers weren’t done.
Reggie Rice hit a three, and Devils Lake’s scoring slowed down. Grafton got it back to 22-20 with 2:03 left in the first half. The Firebirds held a timeout.
“They can light it up from the three-point line any single time,” P. Brodina said. “So we just had to try to contain them and play the best defense we could.”
The Brodina brothers got Devils Lake back in the points column — first Parker, then Beau. But Braylon Baldwin made four straight free throws down the stretch to bring the gap back to two, and B. Brodina airballed a three from the corner at the buzzer of the first half.
Through all the ups and downs, it was a 26-24 Devils Lake lead.
“They were the No. 2 team in the state all year for a reason,” D. Brodina said of the Spoilers. “They’re a hell of a team.”
Both teams struggled to score for more than the first minute of play in the third quarter. After multiple steals and runs down the court, P. Brodina finally found an open shot. He calmly swished his first successful three-pointer of the night to start the second half’s scoring.
Then Delorme rejoined the party.
After being held pointless in the first half on 0-of-7 shooting, Delorme went back-to-back with Brodina. His three-pointer put Devils Lake ahead 32-24.
“I just had to let the game come to me,” Delorme said. “I had to stay confident with myself. I knew my teammates would find me.”
But Grafton kept chipping away. Baldwin recorded two straight baskets, then later hit a three that narrowed the lead to 36-33 with 2:31 left in the third quarter.
Two free throws made it a one-point game. P. Brodina hit another three — right when his team needed it most. But Grafton made two baskets to finish off the third quarter, and it was tied at 39-39 with eight minutes to play.
The Spoilers just kept clawing their way back into it.
“The game’s 0-0. Who’s gonna fight harder?” D. Brodina said. “Who’s gonna make the plays? Who’s gonna step up? Who’s gonna be the most confident player right now? It’s 0-0; you’ve got an eight-minute game. Short game. We do it in practice all the time.”
The Grafton announcers on the sideline were saying the same thing. It was an eight-minute game.
Eight minutes to decide which of these teams — both of whom spent time ranked No. 2 in Division A this year — would be heading to the state championship.
Delorme started the scoring in the fourth quarter with a put-back. Then something clicked within him — some light bulb went off. He made two quick three-pointers, and Devils Lake could breathe a little with a 47-41 lead.
“I said, ‘Gee, Wylee, you haven’t even scored and we’re still up two [at halftime],’” D. Brodina said. “‘You start hitting, it’s gonna be a long night for them.”
Hofstad grabbed an offensive rebound and put Devils Lake back up by nine. Grafton only scored one field goal during the first 6:39 of the fourth quarter. Delorme converted seven of the team’s 15 free throws down the stretch.
Grafton still fought hard during those final 81 seconds of play. The Spoilers made four three-pointers in that span. But it was too little, too late at that point, as the lead never shrunk to less than seven.
“We were just lucky to come out with a win. They’ve outplayed us in some games,” D. Brodina said. “We were just lucky to hit some shots down the stretch. And I thought our defense is what got us where we’re at today. Defense wins championships.”
The current iteration of Devils Lake’s defense is one game away from a championship — which would be the program’s first title since the majority of humans on the planet today were alive.
Regardless of Saturday’s result, this win held its own historical significance as the first state championship game the boys have reached since 1999. It was a fact that Delorme didn’t even realize — it dawned on him after the game that he’s pretty sure his uncle Greg played on that team.
“It feels great that the bloodline is still in there,” Delorme said.
And the boys, of course, have a big act to follow, one that they’re just one step short of completing. Two weeks ago, the girls took home their first championship since 1987. And Tylie Brodina — daughter of Dustin, sister of Parker and Beau — won state tournament MVP.
“I can’t let my sister show me up,” Parker said with a chuckle.
Devils Lake will face the winner of No. 1 Kindred vs. Shiloh Christian on Saturday at 5 p.m.
“Whatever team works the hardest is the team that’s gonna win the game,” Delorme said.
