Surprising Belfield improves to 6-2 with win over Trenton
Jan. 2—BELFIELD — The upstart Belfield Bantams have struck out on their own after flying the co-op with South Heart and are a surprising 6-2 on the 2023-24 season after tripping up Trenton, 55-43, after a dominant first-half that created all the distance they would need through the rest of the New Year's Eve-eve home game. The Tigers came into the game at a solid 7-1, but a suffocating defense created problems for the visitors during the first half as Belfield kept them at bay.
The Bantams smothered the Tigers in the opening 16 minutes, holding the visitors to only 3 first-quarter points and 11 over the stretch, as senior guard Sage Froelich scored 8 of her 16 points on the night and BHS opened up a 24-11 halftime lead. Sage's sophomore sister Sydney Froelich shot 4-of-6 from the free-throw line in the second quarter on her way to 9 points in the game, while the team was outstanding from the charity-stripe on 16-of-27 shooting for the team.
Trenton clawed their way to 18 points in the third quarter in a comeback attempt, but Bantams senior forward Abby Talkington provided some cushion with 8 of her 16 points as the home-team held onto a 39-29 lead heading into the final eight minutes. Belfield feathered their nest further through the final frame with solid, 8-of-10 free-throw shooting as Sage Froelich finished off the night with 6 more points and Talkington poured in 5 more the rest of the way.
Trenton's Megan Clarys led her team with 13 points in the game, but no other Tiger ended up in double-digits, while Belfieldsenior center Jamie Buckman came close with 8.
Next-up for Belfield's girls will be a Division B/Region 3-District 5 away game on Thursday, Jan. 4 at Richardton-Taylor (3-4) at 7 p.m.
Not to be outdone, the Bantams' boys team also is pecking their way to a solid start to 2023-24, rolling to a 3-1 record and closing out last year with a 64-48 win over visiting Trenton on Dec. 30.
After a razor-thin first-half of basketball, the Bantams' boys team came out scratching and soared to 35 points the rest of the way while holding the Tigers (2-6) to single digits in both the third and fourth quarters en route to the win. Trenton had managed to open up a 31-29 halftime lead on the strength of a massive first-half haul for Grant Overy, who scored 15 points in the first 16 minutes, but Belfield clamped down on him in the final two quarters and limited the senior forward to only 5 points the rest of the way in an amazing turn-of-events.
Belfield kept matters close throughout the first half with 7 points each from junior guard Mason Kessel and forward Kaden Zacher, while Kessel went on to score 5 more of his team-high 19 in the second quarter as the teams headed into the locker rooms.
After the break, Kessel kept up the pressure with 5 more points in the third quarter, while five more BHS players notched field goals for the home team — including tres from Zacher and eighth-grader Sutton Johnson — to take a significant 50-40 lead into the final period.
Bantam senior forward Luke Obrigewitsch was a terror against Trenton in the final quarter, drilling a pair of shots from behind the arc and scoring 10 of his double-digit 18 points, as Belfield held off a late Tiger charge to take the victory.
Next-up for Belfield will be a trip to face Division B/Region 3-District 5 Grant County/Mott-Regent on Friday, Dec. 5 at 5:30 p.m.
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
.
