Bulldogs chomp down on Central McLean
Mar. 5—BISMARCK — The quarterfinals of the Region 3 Boys Basketball Tournament are in the books, and Bowman County is currently the only District 5 team left standing after caging the Central McLean Cougars (11-10) and sending them out of the postseason with a resounding 64-29 loss. In other Region 3 action, Wilton-Wing flipped Flasher in a 67-66 nailbiter, Garrison held Hettinger-Scranton at bay in a 71-62, overtime win and Washburn topped the New England Tigers, 59-52, on Monday, March 4, 2024.
In the heaviest defeat of the day, amidst a series of other close ones, the Bowman County Bulldogs prolonged their season one game further with a thunderous, 64-29 win. With Wilton waiting in the wings for the semifinals, the 'Dawgs buried the Cougars under a 20-8 deficit in the first quarter and furthered that advantage to 37-21 at the half.
The Duffields were again on fire, as Bishop broke loose for a 3-pointer and 10 first-quarter points and Bohden poured in a pair of treys on 10 first-half points. Jackson Fischer was solid from behind the arc for a pair of baskets on his way to 8 points in the game and BCHS converted 4-of-9 from the free-throw line in the opening 16 minutes of play.
But the true tale-of-the-tape for Bowman County was defensively, where the Bulldogs bit down on the Cougars and held them to single-digits in 3-of-4 quarters. The second half was misery-inducing for Central McLean, as they were held to only a pair of field goals in the third and one 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Bowman County struck gold from beyond the arc as Bohden Duffield connected on a pair of treys in the third quarter on his way to a double-digit total of 18 and Bishop produced likewise to the tune of a game-high 22. BCHS poured in 23 points in the third quarter on their way to the win, as Central McLean was never able to come up for air in the second half, with no Cougar finding their way to double-digits in the contest.
The day's closest, regular-time matchup featured Flasher falling to a 1-point loss and ending their season at 14-9. Flasher found their way to a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and built on that lead for a 37-24 advantage at the half.
But the shooting touch disappeared for the other Bulldogs in the third quarter and the Miners (20-3) dug their way to a 25-point quarter to upend Flasher and take a 49-47 lead. While three Bulldog athletes finished in double-digits: Sophomore standout Jason Weinberger with 13, junior guard Grant Hauge dumping in 17 and senior sharpshooter Javin Friesz tying the game-high at 25, it wasn't enough to remove Flasher from that third-quarter hole.
Hettinger-Scranton has defied late-season expectations with a thrilling victory over previously ranked Glen Ullin-Hebron in the District 5 tourney, 52-49, and a 59-50 win over Grant County/Mott-Regent the game before that. But the Nighthawks' luck ran out on Monday when the Garrison Troopers (18-5) kept their fortress strong and withstood a first-half onslaught from Hettinger-Scranton while managing to take matters into overtime for the win.
The Nighthawks fell behind 14-12 after the first 8 minutes, but soared back into contention with an 18-point second quarter on their way to a slim, 30-27 halftime lead. Junior guard Chason Schumacher drained a pair of 3-pointers on his way to 8 points in the game and classmate Caden Andersen hit the first of his 4 treys in the second quarter, while Blake Larson connected on 5 field goals in the first half to pace the Nighthawks (8-14).
Hettinger-Scranton scrapped their way to a 15-point third quarter and Andersen kept piling on the pressure from 3-point range for half of his 12 points in the final 16 minutes of regular time, while Larsen scored 8 more of his team-high 22.
Maddox Pierce was deadly from beyond the arc as well, converting a pair of treys on his way to a double-digit 10 and dropping in 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
But Larson was the only Nighthawk to find the net in the overtime frame and Trooper senior guard Braxton Iglehart cut loose for 13 of his game-high 26 points in the four minutes of OT to take the win.
New England limped through the first half with a 9-point second quarter that proved to be their undoing, as Washburn poured in 32 first-half points on their way to an 11-point advantage as the teams headed to the locker rooms. While senior star Tallen Binstock clocked in with a trey and 7 points in the opening two frames, and sophomore sensation Mark Fitterer drained a trey on his way to 7 of his own, Washburn's Alex Retterath went off for 9 of his game-high 18 points to keep the Tigers at bay.
While New England held the Cards to single-digits in a 7-point third quarter and closed the gap to 39-36 heading into the final eight minutes, those last 480 seconds tipped the Tigers as Washburn converted 10-of-14 from the line and Teddy Kirschemann's brilliant 15-point second half wasn't enough to overcome the deficit.
Kirschemann ended up with a team-high 17, Fitterer filed 14 and Binstock was the third Tiger in double-figures at 12 in the losing effort.
For more information about prep basketball in North Dakota, please keep reading your Dickinson Press and/or visit the websites at
https://ndhsaanow.com/teams/basketball-boys
and
https://ndhsaanow.com/teams/basketball-girls
.
