March 10, 2010

Wolves, Warriors advance in Region 8 tourney

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Watford City and Mandaree earning decisive wins in the first round of the Region 8 Boys Basketball Tournament on Monday afternoon to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Wolves defeated Powers Lake 49-33, while the Warriors upended Divide County 81-65.

Watford City 49, Powers Lake 33
Watford City, which entered the Region 8 Tournament as the No. 1 seed from District 15, had a hard time slamming the door shut on Powers Lake, the No. 4-seeded team from District 16 during opening round action of the tournament on Monday afternoon.
But by the time that the final buzzer sounded, the Wolves walked away with a 49-33 win in a low scoring game.
Shawn Fulwider, Watford City’s 6’3” sophomore center posted a double-double for the Wolves as he scored a game high 15 points while pulling down 10 rebounds to lead Watford City to the win.
The Wolves held a 14-8 first quarter lead, but the Ranchers kept the game close in the second quarter as Powers Lake cut Watford City’s lead to four points, 20-16, at halftime.
While Watford City definitely controlled the momentum of the game to open the second half, the Wolves could not get their shots to drop in the third quarter as they held on to a 32-26 lead going into the final eight minutes of play.
In the fourth quarter, Watford City was finally able to open the game up as the Wolves posted a 17-7 scoring advantage in the final stanza to take the win.
Joining Fulwider in double digit scoring for Watford City was Trey Jacobson who netted 10 points in the contest.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Reid Johnson and Tyler Flatland with eight points each, Nick Liebel with five points and Curtis Lohse with three points.
For the game, Watford City shot 22 of 48 from the field for 46 percent and was good on two of eight from the free-throw line.
Watford City     14    20    32    49
Powers Lake     8    16    26    33


Mandaree 81, Divide County 65
After trailing Divide County by four points, 38-35, at halftime, Mandaree turned up its offense in the second half to blow the Maroons out of the water to advance to the Region 8 semifinals.
Mandaree outgunned Divide County 22-8 in the third quarter to put the game on ice and then coasted to the easy win outscoring the Maroons 24-19 in the final stanza.
Four Mandaree players scored in double figures in the win with Michael DeVille netting 21 points to lead the Warriors in scoring. Devin Yellow Wolf had a triple-double for the Warriors as he netted 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 11 assists, while Richard Hosie and David Dobbs ended the game with 19 and 15 points, respectively.
Rounding out the scoring for Mandaree was Aaron Young Bird with four points and Dylan Costello with two points.
For the game, Mandaree shot 35 of 64 from the field for 55 percent and was good on seven of 14 from the free-throw line.
Mandaree         18    35    57    81
Divide County     9    38    46    65

WATFORD CITY WEATHER