March 17, 2010

Mandaree Warriors headed to State

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

For the first time since 2002, the Mandaree Warriors will be headed to the State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament. The Warriors punched their ticket to this year’s State Tournament in a very decisive manner as Mandaree swept through the Region 8 Tournament defeating Divide County 81-65 in opening round action and then knocked off Watford City 61-47 in semifinal action. In the Region 8 title game on Thursday evening, Mandaree crushed the New Town Eagles 70-56.
In opening round action of the State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament, Mandaree (21-3) will take on Carrington (24-2) in the final evening game on Thursday, March 18 at the Minot State University Dome.

Region 8 Championship Game
Mandaree 70, New Town 56

David Dobbs put on a one-man shooting clinic to open the second half of play as the Mandaree Warriors turned a once close game into a runaway win.
In the first minute and a half of the third quarter, the Mandaree senior connected for three consecutive three-pointers and then canned a pair of free throws to turn the Warriors 33-30 halftime lead into a 15-point advantage.
And that shooting display which culminated in a 24-10 third quarter scoring advantage for the Warriors was enough to set the stage for an easy 70-56 Mandaree win over the New Town Eagles and a trip to the State Class B.
Dobbs ended the game with 22 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals, while Michael DeVille also netted 22 points in the win.
In a game that saw 10 lead changes in the first half, it looked like it would be anyone’s game. Or at least it appeared that way until early in the second half. Mandaree led New Town 16-12 at the end of the first quarter and by three points, 33-30, at halftime.
Also scoring in double figures for the Warriors was Richard Hosie and Devin Yellow Wolf with 11 points each, while Aaron Young Bird ended the game with four points.
For the game, Mandaree shot 48 percent from the field, connecting on 27 of 56 from the field including seven three-pointers and were good on nine of 14 at the charity stripe.
The Warriors outrebounded New Town 37 to 27.
Mandaree      16    33    57    70
New Town     12    30    40    56


Region 8 Third Place Game
Watford City 61, Parshall 49

While Watford City was obviously disappointed after its semifinal loss to Mandaree, the Wolves came out to win third place of the Region 8 Tournament. And win it they did as Watford City easily handled the Parshall Braves 61-46 in the final game of the season.
In a game in which the outcome was never in question, Randy Cranston, Wolves’ head coach, gave all of his varsity players court time in the win.
The Wolves led the Braves 10-6 and 25-20 at the end of the first two quarters and then exploded for a 21-14 scoring spree in the third quarter to put the game on ice.
Three Watford City players scored in double figures in the contest with Reid Johnson pacing the Wolves with 14 points, while Nick Liebel and Curtis Lohse ended the game with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Also scoring for the Wolves was Dillon Langerud with nine points, Shawn Fulwider with six points and Tyler Flatland and Chans Brown with four points each.
For the game, Watford City shot 40 percent from the field hitting on 26 of 64 attempts, including nine three-pointers. At the free-throw line, the Wolves shot zero for nine.
Watford City    10    25    46    61
Parshall              6    20    34    49


Region 8 Semifinal Game
Mandaree 61, Watford City 47

The matchup against Watford City and Mandaree was predicted to be the big game of the Region 8 Tournament and it lived up to its billing as the two teams battled to the end during Tuesday night’s semifinal game.
Watford City got off to an early lead as the Wolves led the Warriors 14-10 after the first quarter of play, but Mandaree, on the back of a 21-10 scoring spree, would turn the table on Watford City in the second quarter to take a 31-24 lead into the lockers at halftime.
Mandaree would build its lead to as much as 14 points, 45-31, midway through the third quarter before the Wolves would cut the deficit to six points, 47-41, with just under five minutes remaining in the game.
But that would be as close as the Wolves would get as Watford City was forced to foul in order to get the ball back. And Mandaree proved to be deadly at the charity stripe as the Warriors were good on 11 of 14 free throws in the second half.
Four Mandaree players scored in double figures in the game with Devin Yellow Wolf posting a double double with 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Richard Hosie, Michael DeVille and David Dobbs netted 13, 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Also scoring for Mandaree was Dylan Costello with two points.
Trey Jacobson and Shawn Fulwider paced the Wolves in scoring with 10 points each, while Reid Johnson netted nine points.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Dillon Langerud, Nick Liebel and Tyler Flatland with six points each,
For the game, Mandaree shot 46 percent from the field, hitting on 19 of 41 attempts, while Watford City was good on 16 of 50 from the field for 32 percent.
At the free-throw line, Mandaree shot 85 percent, hitting on 17 of 20, while Watford City was good on nine of 12.
Mandaree          10    31    45    61
Watford City     14    24    36    47

WATFORD CITY WEATHER