Photo by Noah Clooten

Photo by Noah Clooten

For the first time this season, Devils Lake boys’ basketball is ranked No. 1.

The defending-champion Firebirds have been ranked No. 2 by the NDAPSSA all year. Kindred, which Devils Lake beat in the state championship game last March, has held steady at No. 1.

But the Vikings took their first loss of the season on Friday. They fell 85-68 to Moorhead, a team that competes in the state of Minnesota’s AAAA Section 8. The Spuds are 17-6.

Kindred bounced back with an 85-69 win over Fargo North on Saturday. Still, the voters saw enough to finally change their minds by giving Devils Lake 10 first-place votes and Kindred eight.

The Firebirds are 16-0, while the Vikings are 17-1. Both teams are undefeated in games against their respective regions.

Devils Lake, after playing two region games this week, is set for a non-region matchup with Kindred on Saturday in Kindred. As planned, it’ll be No. 1 vs. No. 2 — but with the roles reversed.

They very well could meet again in this year’s state championship game.

In the girls’ poll, Devils Lake remained at No. 3. South Prairie-Max became the unanimous No. 1, though Valley City stayed at No. 2 after finishing its regular season with a 54-44 win over Carrington.

Speaking of Carrington, the Cardinals remained unranked but did receive votes. Devils Lake went 1-1 against them in the regular season. Kindred, which beat Devils Lake on Jan. 10, took over the No. 4 spot. Thompson, which the Firebirds beat twice, settled in at No. 5.

Benson County stayed at No. 3 in the girls’ Class B poll. The Wildcats, for the first time in several weeks, did not receive any first-place votes. The voting came ahead of Monday’s District 4 championship game, in which Benson County will face No. 6 May-Port-C-G. The Wildcats are 19-1, including Saturday’s District 4 semifinal win over Griggs/Midkota.

Kenmare/Bowbells took 16 of the 18 first-place votes. No. 4 Berthold snuck in a first-place vote despite placing below Benson County. TGU, the only team to beat Benson County this season, entered the ranking at No. 10.

New Rockford-Sheyenne remained at No. 8 in the Class B boys’ poll. The Rockets are 14-2. The poll saw the exact same 1-10 as last week’s.

Class A boys’ basketball

  1. Devils Lake (10) – 82 points (Previous: 2)
  2. Kindred (8) – 80 points (Previous: 1)
  3. Shiloh Christian – 54 points (Previous: 3)
  4. Killdeer – 32 points (Previous: 4)
  5. Thompson – 18 points (Previous: 5)

Received votes: Four Winds/Minnewaukan, Beulah

Class A girls’ basketball

  1. South Prairie-Max (18) – 90 points (Previous: 1)
  2. Valley City – 71 points (Previous: 2)
  3. Devils Lake – 47 points (Previous: 3)
  4. Kindred – 33 points (Previous: T-4)
  5. Thompson – 26 points (Previous: T-4)

Received votes: Carrington, Turtle Mountain

Class B boys’ basketball

  1. Wilton/Wing (16) – 178 points (Previous: 1)
  2. North Border (1) – 146 points (Previous: 2)
  3. Westhope/Newburg (1) – 141 points (Previous: 3)
  4. Bishop Ryan – 136 points (Previous: 4)
  5. Our Redeemer’s – 106 points (Previous: 5)
  6. Hankinson – 85 points (Previous: 6)
  7. Midway/Minto – 75 points (Previous: 7)
  8. New Rockford-Sheyenne – 48 points (Previous: 8)
  9. Oakes – 42 points (Previous: 9)
  10. Velva – 31 points (Previous: 10)

Received votes: Central McLean, Glen Ullin/Hebron

Class B girls’ basketball

  1. Kenmare/Bowbells (16) – 175 points (Previous: 1)
  2. Central McLean (1) – 159 points (Previous: 2)
  3. Benson County – 137 points (Previous: 3)
  4. Berthold (1) – 135 points (Previous: 4)
  5. Bowman County – 96 points (Previous: 5)
  6. May-Port-C-G – 87 points (Previous: 7)
  7. LaMoure-Litchville/Marion – 69 points (Previous: 8)
  8. Tioga – 56 points (Previous: 6)
  9. Washburn – 27 points (Previous: 9)
  10. TGU – 14 points (Previous: NR)

Received votes: Langdon Area/Munich, Linton/HMB, Maple River, Hatton/Northwood

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