Ben Brodina (Photo by Noah Clooten)
DEVILS LAKE — Devils Lake JV is headed back to the Ramsey County final.
A year after losing to North Star in the title game, the Firebirds (4-2) earned another trip to the contest with a 73-61 win over Warwick (3-2) on Friday at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
The Warriors, led by 19 points from each of Anthony Touche and Elijah Feather Jr., stayed within a three-point margin deep into the second quarter. But Devils Lake built a double-digit lead by halftime and didn’t let up. Ben Brodina had another big game, scoring 24 points. He made six three-pointers a day after making five of them. Max Palmer nearly matched him with 22 points, while Will Heilman added 15.
“We knew it was gonna be a tough game,” Firebirds JV head coach Patrick Thomas said. “They played hard. They’ve got a couple guys that can really score the ball. So we wanted to be physical.”
The Firebirds came right out in a 4-0 hole. Palmer got them on the board with a free throw at 6:32, and then tied it up in a flash with a three-pointer.
Down 6-4, Devils Lake cruised to a 10-0 run. Heilman, who had airballed a three earlier, found the net to put the Firebirds on top. Brodina’s first shot attempt was also a three. Devils Lake’s first three field goals were triples from three different players.
“Will’s been awesome,” Thomas said. “I expected that coming into the year, for him to be aggressive, and can score the ball. He was great as a freshman last year… I think I have more confidence in him than he does in himself.”
Warwick still kept it close with an 8-2 mini-run. Brodina hit his second three shortly before the end of the first quarter, keeping Devils Lake ahead 19-16 at the break.
Warwick continued to keep pace, staying within 19-18 and 22-21 margins in the second quarter. Free throws from Palmer and Heilman stretched the lead to 26-21, but a Brodina turnover led to a Warwick bucket.
Brodina then landed his fourth triple of the first half. Runs of 5-0 and 6-0 gave Devils Lake some breathing room, and the Warriors failed to respond the way they had previously. The lead was 11 by the end of the third quarter. Palmer and Heilman each scored nine in the second quarter to finish with 13 in the half. Brodina’s explosion of threes gave him 14.
“He’s got supreme confidence,” Thomas said of Brodina. “And that’s what we want him to have. He’s a got a lot to live up to with his siblings, but he does not lack confidence. And I love that. As a point guard, I want him to be the leader.”
Devils Lake maintained a double-digit lead for the entire third quarter. Brodina scored five more points, while Bryar Exner had four. Brodina had a rare missed layup but shot a three on the next play to give the Firebirds a 59-46 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Warwick had one last little sparkle of hope, going on a 7-0 run to make it 63-56 with less than four minutes left. But threes from Palmer and Brodina put the game away. Brodina had at least one triple in every quarter.
Devils Lake plays the winner of Carrington vs. Griggs/Midkota on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Carrington is a region foe of the varsity team, but came in last place in Region 2 last year.
“We have a lot of confidence in our guys,” Thomas said. “It’s gonna be a good test, whoever wins. We’ve got two good teams playing. So we’ll watch and see who we’re gonna go up against, and watch a bit of film. But yeah, we’re confident against anyone we play.”
