March 24, 2010

Mandaree Warriors claim State Class B Consolation championship

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

The Mandaree boys basketball team capped off a very impressive 2009-2010 season on Saturday afternoon as the Warriors defeated Oak Grove 90-85 to win the Consolation championship of the 2010 North Dakota State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament at the Minot State University Dome. With the win, the Warriors finished their season with a 22-5 season record.
The Warriors opened the State Class B Tournament action falling to Carrington 62-54 on Thursday afternoon and then came back to defeat Beulah 71-60 on Friday afternoon.

State Class B Consolation Championship
Mandaree 90, Oak Grove 85

After Mandaree’s 90-85 win over Fargo Oak Grove in the Consolation championship game of the North Dakota State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament, Kevin Finley, Warriors’ head coach, is not going to have a hard time convincing players that the long hours that they spend practicing free throws can make the difference whether a game is won or lost.
And boy, oh boy, did Mandaree shoot their free throws. The Warriors connected for six of six at the charity stripe in the first half against the Grovers and then went an impressive 17 of 19 at the free-throw line in the second half en route to the win.
Devin Yellow Wolf, who was named to the All Tournament Team, had a double-double as he led both teams in scoring as he paced Mandaree with 32 points, including three three-pointers and connected on 19 of 19 attempts at the free-throw line, while grabbing 14 rebounds.
Also joining Yellow Wolf in double digit scoring for Mandaree was Michael DeVille with 22 points, Richard Hosie with 18 points and David Dobbs with 11 points.
Rounding out the scoring for Mandaree was Aaron Young Bird with seven points.
In a hard fought first quarter, Oak Grove drew first blood against the Warriors before Mandaree would battle back with Michael DeVille hitting a buzzer-beater to put the Warriors on top 19-14 to end the first quarter of play.
Mandaree opened the second quarter with a 5-1 scoring run and then built a 10-point lead, 28-10 with 4:27 left in the first half when Aaron Young Bird took a long pass from Devin Yellow Wolf in for a layup.
Mandaree led the Grovers 40-33 at halftime and controlled the tempo of the game for much of the first half of the third quarter. But Oak Grove  would make a run in the final minutes of the quarter to pull ahead of the Warriors 62-60 going into the final eight minutes of play.
In a very close fourth quarter, both teams exchanged leads until Mandaree took the lead for good, 78-76, with 2:52 remaining on the clock.
Oak Grove would get as close as one point, 83-82, with 22.2 seconds left on the clock, but solid free-throw shooting by the Warriors secured the win.
For the game, Mandaree shot 52  percent from the field, connecting on 26 of 50 from the field, including five  three-pointers, and was good on 33 of 35 at the charity stripe.
Mandaree      19    40    60    90
Oak Grove     14    33    62    85


State Class B Semifinal Game
Mandaree 71, Beulah 60

Mandaree rebounded well from their opening loss to Carrington by coming back on Friday afternoon and defeating the Beulah Miners 71-60.
After struggling on Thursday, Mandaree’s offense was back on track on Friday as the Warriors shot 49 percent from the field to earn the win.
Devin Yellow Wolf turned in a very solid performance for the Warriors as he posted a double-double scoring a game high 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
In a game in which the Warriors were never really challenged, Mandaree jumped out to a 26-18 first-quarter lead before Beulah would draw to within four points, 38-34, at halftime.
The Warriors would control the third quarter and then ice the game in the fourth quarter outscoring the Miners 19-15 to take the win.
Also scoring in double figures for Mandaree was David Dobbs with 17 and Michael DeVille with 16 points, respectively. Rounding out the scoring for the Warriors was Aaron Young Bird with eight points, Richard Hosie with six points, while Dylan Costello and Colby Beston ended the game with two points each.
For the game, Mandaree shot 49 percent from the field hitting on 28 of 57 attempts, including three three-pointers, and was good on 12 of 14 at the charity stripe.
Mandaree    26    38    52    71
Beulah          18    34    45    60


State Class B Opening Round Game
Carrington 62, Mandaree 54

A very sluggish start by Mandaree  proved very costly as the Warriors fell to the Carrington Cardinals 62-54 in opening round action of the State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament on Thursday evening.
Plagued by poor shooting and turnovers in the first five minutes of play, the Warriors, who had a difficult time adjusting to the size and defensive hustle by the Cardinals, found themselves trailing Carrington 10-4. But the Warriors would battle back early in the second quarter to deadlock the game at 16-16 on a Richard Hosie basket.
Both teams would continue to exchange baskets until Yellow Wolf put the Warriors on top 25-24 on a pair of free throws. But Mandaree’s lead would be short-lived as Carrington would reel off the next seven points before Yellow Wolf would drain a three-pointer to draw the Warriors to within three points, 31-28, at halftime.
Mandaree would stay close to Carrington throughout the third quarter and end up trailing by five points, 43-38, at the buzzer.
Carrington would begin to open their lead in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals led 48-38 with just over 6:30 left in the quarter. David Dobbs would get the Warriors back to a six-point deficit, 50-44, with 5:08 left in the game. But that would be as close as the Warriors would get.
Devin Yellow Wolf had a game high 27 points to lead both teams in scoring, while Richard Hosie netted 11 points for the Warriors.
Also scoring for Mandaree was David Dobbs with nine points and Michael DeVille with seven points.
For the game, Mandaree shot 38  percent from the field, connecting on 21 of 56 from the field, including four  three-pointers, and was good on eight of 10 at the charity stripe.
Carrington    16    31    43    62
Mandaree     12    28    38    54

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