The Devils Lake boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were still locked in the No. 2 spots in their respective polls early this week.
Each team received the same amount of first-place votes that it did last week. No. 1 Kindred in the boys’ poll and No. 1 South Prairie-Max in the girls’ poll each got two more first-place votes than last week, as two more voters participated in the weekly ranking.
In the girls’ poll, Carrington moved up to No. 3. The Cardinals’ only loss this season was a 62-39 defeat at the hands of Devils Lake. The previous No. 3, Valley City, fell down to a tie with Thompson for No. 5 after losing to Kindred 56-44 on Jan. 14. Devils Lake also beat Valley City already this season, but only narrowly, with a 66-64 comeback win.
Kindred has been an Achilles’ heel for ranked teams. The Firebirds lost to then-unranked Kindred 60-54 on Jan. 10 — their only loss of the season thus far. The voters rewarded the Vikings this week, moving them into the top five for the first time this year at No. 4. Kindred is 10-3 overall and 5-1 in Region 1 play.
Turtle Mountain also received votes in the girls’ poll after losing 69-64 to Devils Lake last week.
This week is a big one for both Devils Lake teams. The boys and girls are hosting a doubleheader against Grafton on Tuesday, Jan. 21., then a doubleheader against Thompson on Friday, Jan. 24. Games start at 5:45 p.m. both days.
Grafton was No. 3 on the boys’ side for a while. But the Spoilers have recently taken losses to Thompson, Shiloh Christian and Thief River Falls, moving them out of the top five entirely. They didn’t even receive any votes this week. Thompson, though, has overtaken them and sits at No. 4 in the boys’ poll this week.
The Thompson girls’ team, as mentioned previously, is tied with Valley City for No. 5. Devils Lake recently beat the Tommies, taking them down 56-47. It’s one of two region losses for Thompson so far this year — the other being a 64-63 defeat to now-No. 3 Carrington.
Neither Devils Lake team has played Grafton yet this year. The Grafton girls are just 3-6 overall and 1-2 in region play. The Grafton boys might not be quite as potent this year either, but they handed Devils Lake a regular-season loss just last year. The Firebirds beat the Spoilers in the state semifinal.
In Class B, the New Rockford-Sheyenne boys rose from No. 8 to No. 6. Benson County firmly held its ground in the No. 1 spot on the girls’ side. The Wildcats are 13-0.
Class A boys’ basketball
- Kindred (14) – 90 points (Previous: 1)
- Devils Lake (5) – 80 points (Previous: 2)
- Killdeer – 57 points (Previous: 3)
- Thompson – 35 points (Previous: 5)
- Shiloh Christian – 16 points (Previous: 4)
Received votes: Beulah
Class A girls’ basketball
- South Prairie-Max (17) – 90 points (Previous: 1)
- Devils Lake (2) – 77 points (Previous: 2)
- Carrington – 56 points (Previous: 4)
- Kindred – 25 points (Previous: NR)
- Thompson – 16 points (Previous: 5)
- (T5) Valley City – 16 points (Previous: 3)
Received votes: Turtle Mountain, Des Lacs-Burlington
Class B boys’ basketball
- Wilton/Wing (16) – 187 points (Previous: 1)
- Bishop Ryan (2) – 170 points (Previous: 2)
- North Border (1) – 148 points (Previous: 3)
- Hankinson – 130 points (Previous: 4)
- Our Redeemer’s – 116 points (Previous: 5)
- New Rockford-Sheyenne – 88 points (Previous: 8)
- Westhope/Newburg – 74 points (Previous: 9)
- Midway/Minto – 55 points (Previous: 10)
- Glen Ullin/Hebron – 37 points (Previous: 7)
- Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood – 18 points (Previous: NR)
Received votes: Velva, Oakes, Central McLean
Class B girls’ basketball
- Benson County (14) – 181 points (Previous: 1)
- Kenmare/Bowbells (5) – 159 points (Previous: 2)
- Tioga – 147 points (Previous: 3)
- Central McLean – 141 points (Previous: 4)
- Berthold – 127 points (Previous: 5)
- Bowman County – 77 points (Previous: 8)
- Washburn – 56 points (Previous: 7)
- May-Port-C-G – 44 points (Previous: 6)
- Garrison – 29 points (Previous: NR)
- Linton/HMB – 26 points (Previous: NR)
Received votes: LaMoure-Litchville/Marion, Hatton/Northwood, Langdon Area/Munich, Oakes, Sargent County