North Dakota State Basketball Tournament Showdowns
Mar. 11—It has been a season of battling for many teams of Western, North Dakota. And now it all comes down to the state tournament. While Division A heads to the Fargodome, Division B will be traveling North to Minot.
Division A, Region 4, sends three teams to the state tournament, and though they are all lower seeded teams, only one takes the labeled as a true underdog.
The Killdeer Cowboys are hitting the open trail to Fargo, after defeating Stanley in a state play-in game. The Blue Jays were favorites to win the matchup, going undefeated in Region 3 during the regular season (10-0) and were runner-ups in their region tourney. The Cowboys were down at the end of the first two quarters, but a 13-11 run would set the stage for a game-winning buzzer beater, scored by sophomore stand out Jason Reese. The final result being a 61-59 marked .
Beulah, another local favorite, where the Region's runner up. They played in the championhship game against Shiloh Christian in a close match up, 75-70. Beulah were undefeat in the region during the regular season and swept through their play-in competitors Bottineau in a 68-41 ballgame, but will meet a strong competitor in the state quarterfinals against Grafton. The Spoilers were regularly listed above the Miners in the NDAPSSA basketball polls, but had their own hiccup in their region tournament, finishing as the Region 2 contenders.
Killdeer being the No. 4 seed team in their Region, it was a fight to take bronze, 63-58 in their hosted region tournament and then to continue that up by qualifying state, for the first time in 73 years.
The Cowboys obvisouly work well under pressure, especially with player like Cooper Bang, Jekori Dahlen and Reese, who will likley be top scoreres for them in the state tournament. They will also be relying of center Owen Schleppenbach on both sides of the court. However, with a 3-3 region record, 16-9 overall, the Cowboys will have a mountain to climb, as they face No. 1 seeded team Kindred in the opening round.
Information to watch the tournament from the comfort of your own home, can be found
here
on the NDHSAA website.
Bowman County have been the team to beat all season, in Division B, with a strong senior squad they are groomed with experince and a momentous desire for a state championship. The Bulldogs go into the state tourney with a revered 23-1 record and will begin by facing Our Redeemer's (18-8) in the quarterfinals. The Knights are seeded No. 7 after winning their play-in match against Garrison 57-40, but will have great difficulties continuing onto the semifinals against No. 2 Bowman County, who defeated Garrison in the Region 3 championship, 75-40.
In fact, the most likley challenge for the Region 3 champions will be the Region 2 title holders North Star. The Bearcats are the No.1 seed with a 24-1 record.
In order to meet North Star in the finals, the Bulldogs will likely face No. 3 Westhope/Newburg in the semifinals, who were the runner ups in their district, turned champions in the the Region 4 tournament. the Sioux faced Bishop Ryan in both games, who will be the likley opposition for North Star in their semifinals on their side of the bracket.
Bowman County cup runs over with shooter, including their bench, and will be led choir of seniors. The Duffield brothers, Bishop and Bohden, can score from virtually anywhere across the floor and at great quantity. Kyler Paulson and Nate Dixon are also confidence shooters from inside and outside the perimeter. What is even better is they back up their offense with solid defense, consistenly doubling their opponets score.
Information to watch the tournament from the comfort of your own home, can be found
here
on the NDHSAA website.
