Mason Palmer (Photos by Noah Clooten)
BISMARCK — Devils Lake is heading back to the boys’ basketball title game.
The No. 2-seeded Firebirds (24-1) grinded their way to victory on Friday against Shiloh Christian (21-4), a team they’d previously beaten 67-39 on Jan. 17. The No. 3-seeded Skyhawks lost their first game since that fateful evening in Devils Lake — ending a 15-game winning streak.
It was a 68-63 affair that saw the Firebirds hang on after nearly letting their lead slip away in the fourth quarter. Mason Palmer put up 21 points in the first half and finished with 23, while Parker Brodina scored 25 in the second half to lead the team with 27 overall. Shiloh Christian got 21 points from Caden Englund, 14 from Wyatt Westin and 13 by Triston Griess.
“That was unreal,” Devils Lake head coach Dustin Brodina said. “It was a hell of a battle. Each team throwing punches back and forth the whole game. And that’s what we expect. We gave everybody a heck of a show here this afternoon.”
The Firebirds led by only one point with 1:18 left.
“That’s definitely a relief coming out of that win against a very tough team,” D. Brodina said. “And you can tell they were ramped up. They hit a lot of shots.”
Each team made 25 field goals — Devils Lake in 49 attempts and Shiloh Christian in 55. The Skyhawks went 11-of-22 from three-point range while Devils Lake went 7-of-20. The Firebirds only narrowly beat Shiloh Christian on the boards, with a margin of 29-28.
“They were just an overall better team than when we faced them before,” Palmer said. “They were aggressive. They were hard-working. We just outworked them tonight; it was awesome.”
A stagnant start offensively saw Devils Lake open in a 9-4 hole. Englund and Westin hit threes for Shiloh Christian. The Skyhawks led by five after an and-one on the Firebirds’ third team foul in the first few minutes — something they were good about avoiding in Thursday’s win.
But a three by Palmer sparked some magic into them.
Max Palmer hit a triple to get Devils Lake within one, and Mason Palmer’s second three-pointer of the game gave the Firebirds a 15-13 lead. Englund just as swiftly responded with his own go-ahead three — but then back came a locked-in Mason Palmer. He hit back-to-back threes to give him four in the quarter, roaring extra loud after the last one.
“I was feeling it,” Mason Palmer said. “Any time I get space, I’m gonna shoot it.”
The final seconds of the period came ticking down. Joel Nelson — all six feet, six inches of him — found an uncontested lane to the basket and capped the quarter with a thundering two-handed dunk.
Devils Lake led 23-16 with an 8-0 run to end the first quarter. Palmer had 14 points.
“I was proud of him for kind of putting us on the back a little bit,” D. Brodina said of Palmer. “I’m thankful that he did, because he kind of kept us in the game that first half. He’s a gamer. He’s a competitor. And we expect it out of him.”
Some of that magic wore off in the opening seconds of the second quarter. Mason Palmer missed a running layup, and a three by Westin got Shiloh Christian back within two.
Nelson made an important put-back after Brodina missed a triple. Mason Palmer missed his first three-ball attempt of the second quarter — but right there was Max Palmer, all lined up and composed as he landed his second triple of the game.
Westin’s third three-pointer of the game and second of the quarter sliced into Devils Lake’s lead once again. Englund, who led the Skyhawks with 16 first-half points, made five straight points to trim the gap to 30-29. Devils Lake didn’t capitalize on a key offensive rebound by Fausten Olson, then turned it over and allowed Englund to get back down the floor.
Mason Palmer got another one in from beyond the arc to make it 33-29. But Englund hit his fourth triple of the game — two in each quarter — to keep it a one-point game.
It was Mason Palmer, again, who had the last basket of the first half. Devils Lake got the stops it needed down the stretch and clung to a 35-32 lead at halftime.
A far cry from when the Firebirds beat this team by 28 a couple of months ago.
“They were more disciplined,” D. Brodina said of the Skyhawks. “And they were just better defensively. They were better offensively. They were better everything. So we knew it wasn’t gonna be a layover like when they came to play us earlier in the year… They had a lot of confidence. I couldn’t believe they had that much confidence.”
Palmer’s 21 points led Devils Lake in the first half. Second on the team at the half was his twin brother, Max, with six. The rest of the team combined for just eight points.
But Brodina, who had only one basket in the first half, scored the first six Devils Lake points out of the halftime break.
“We talked about it halftime; we’re pretty team-oriented, but we’ve gotta lean on him to kind of carry us home a little bit,” D. Brodina said of his son, the Region 2 Senior Athlete of the Year. “When he gets involved, that kind of opens everybody up, because he’s gonna make that extra pass.”
The Firebirds leading by five, Shiloh Christian rapidly tied it up on a basket by Carson Quam and a triple by Triston Griess. Nelson found the rim to give Devils Lake the lead back and prevent the Firebirds from trailing for the first time since early in the first quarter.
Brodina got inside the paint and came up with a massive and-one to give Devils Lake a hint of breathing room. With the lead at three points, Brodina missed a reverse layup, then grabbed his own rebound and missed the second chance — but got fouled in the process.
He went 1-of-2 from the line, scoring 10 of Devils Lake’s first 12 points of the half. Nelson had another massive move to keep the Firebirds up by multiple possessions. Dawson Davis hit a three to cut the lead in half, but it was Brodina yet again who padded the Firebirds’ advantage with 2-of-2 free throws and another basket.
“At halftime, Coach said, ‘We’ve just gotta get you and Joel going,’” P. Brodina said. “And we ran a couple sets, and then I just kept taking it to the rim and finishing strong at the hoop. It made a big difference, and I think it got us the win.”
Devils Lake finished the third quarter on a 9-0 run, all of Brodina’s doing. He went 5-of-6 from the free throw line and shot 7-of-9 from the floor in the period. The Firebirds were up 58-46 — seemingly on the precipice of, finally, putting this game away.
That didn’t happen. Not yet. Shiloh Christian scored the first two baskets after the quarter break, then got within two possessions after Westin’s fourth triple of the game.
Devils Lake’s lead was back to as many as six after a Brodina basket. Englund, after being held blank in the third quarter, scored five straight points for the Skyhawks to make it a one-point game in a flash.
With 1:18 on the clock, the Firebirds held a timeout.
“We’ve been here before,” P. Brodina said. “I mean, this is what we’re built for.”
Brodina drew a foul. He made both free throws, and the defense came up with a huge stop to hold a three-point lead. Brodina hit two more free throws down the stretch — greeted with appropriate chants of “Automatic!” from the student section — to put the game away.
Brodina went 9-of-10 from the line overall — a massive boost that could have swayed the game in the other direction had he not come through. A game in which he only had two first-half points turned into one of the best performances he’s had all season.
“It was great,” P. Brodina said. “I mean, we had to fix some things at halftime because they were hitting some shots. We came up big in the second half.”
It turns out that getting a huge half from two players — Palmer in the first and Brodina in the second — is a good recipe to winning a game.
“I think we really feed off each other,” Palmer said. “I just try to create for my teammates, and that’s what I did tonight. And Parker had an amazing night.”
But the mission isn’t accomplished yet. Devils Lake is back in the title game, where it beat Kindred in a battle last year. This year’s Vikings squad is the only team seeded ahead of the Firebirds, and the only team to beat Devils Lake this season. Kindred won a 52-47 battle in Kindred on Feb. 22.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Palmer said. “Back-to-back is always awesome. To make the state championship game is great. Really excited for tomorrow, and hopefully we can come out on top.”
Kindred beat Thompson 66-53 in the second semifinal game Friday night. The championship game is scheduled for roughly 5 p.m. on Saturday, following the 3 p.m. third-place game.
“I can’t wait. It’s gonna be fantastic,” D. Brodina said. “There’s two awesome teams, two powerhouses. You’ve got a lot of dudes, and hopefully we can have a show tomorrow night again.”
