Poet Davis (Photo by Noah Clooten)
The Lake Region State College basketball teams went over to Montana to start the week, kicking off the new year. They played Dawson Community College on Sunday and Miles Community College on Monday, with the women winning both their games and the men splitting their set. It was the opening of Mon-Dak Athletic Conference play for both teams.
The women’s squad beat Dawson 81-71 on Sunday. Arden Faulkner and Nicole Lillard had 23 and 20 points, respectively. Lara Graham added 14 off the bench. Kiara Holweger nearly had a double-double with eight points and 13 rebounds.
The Royals trailed 33-32 at halftime, but outscored the Buccaneers by 12 in the third quarter to jolt in front. The team also went 25-of-33 from the free throw line.
LRSC won again on Monday, thrashing Miles 83-59. Holweger led with 19 points, while Faulkner scored 16 and Sydney Schwabe put up 14. Jenna Tierney had nine, while Brinly Gregory added nine off the bench.
Gregory, a Devils Lake native, is now healthy for the Royals. Morgan Leas is still out after briefly returning to play in late November. Elizabeth Kisolo is out with a season-ending injury. The Royals are still getting it done with only seven active players.
But, with a 2-0 conference record, LRSC technically sits in first place in the Mon-Dak. The only other team to play a conference game is North Dakota State College of Science, which is 1-0. The Royals are 9-9 overall, which is the fifth-best record out of eight teams.
Meanwhile, the men’s team took an overtime loss against Dawson to start the road trip on Sunday. They fell 95-92.
The Royals trailed 48-39 at halftime, but outscored the Bucs by nine in the second half to send it to overtime. LRSC led 81-78 with 18 seconds to go, but Dawson tied it with a triple. Dawson won 14-11 in the overtime period.
The Royals narrowly lost to a Dawson team that sits at 16-2 overall this year. Ginuwine Tropnas led them with 20 points and 11 rebounds, giving him his third double-double of the season. Poet Davis had 14 points, and Alvin Payne had 14 off the bench. Remy Davis Warington scored 11. The Bucs outrebounded the Royals 67-43. The Royals also turned the ball over six more times and only went 12-of-22 from the free throw line.
But they won on Monday, scratching out a 104-99 win over Miles. Payne led with 19 points, while Tropnas, Bronson Chambers and And Warington had 15, 14 and 13, respectively. Josh Miller also put up 14 off the bench.
The Royals led 58-46 at halftime and did enough to hold on. Miles had it as close as 75-74.
The LRSC men, like the women, are 9-9 overall. Their 1-1 conference record puts them tied for second place in the very early iteration of the Mon-Dak standings. Their overall record gives them the fifth-best in the conference.
The LRSC teams return home this Sunday to take on Dakota College at Bottineau. The Lumberjacks are 13-3 (0-0) on the men’s side and 7-6 (0-0) on the women’s. The games are at 1 and 3 p.m. at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
