McKenzie County Farmer - Sports

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

The Watford City varsity boys basketball team split in cage action this past week as they suffered their first loss of the season falling to Minot Ryan 57-39 on Thursday before rebounding to knock off Beach 58-50 on Saturday.
Minot Ryan 57, Watford City 39
With 6’3” center Shawn Fulwider sidelined for the majority of the second half with a sprained ankle, Watford City could not match up with the Minot Ryan’s size as the Wolves dropped their first game of the season to the Ryan Lions 57-39 last Thursday.
The lack of an inside presence along with ice cold shooting by the Wolves weighed heavily in the game’s outcome.
The Wolves held a slim 13-11 first quarter lead before the Lions outscored Watford City 10-7 in the second quarter to take a 21-20 halftime lead.
The third quarter proved Watford City’s undoing as the Lions took advantage of their size advantage to outscore the Wolves 24-8 to put the game out of reach.
Watford City was led in scoring by Trey Jacobson with 10 points while Nick Liebel ended the game with nine points. Also scoring for the Wolves was Reid Johnson with eight points, Tyler Flatland with seven points, Shawn Fulwider with three points and Dillon Langerud with two points.
For the game, the Wolves shot 15 of 51 from the field for 29 percent and were good on seven of 19 at the charity stripe for 37 percent.
Watford City    13    20    28    39
Minot Ryan      11    21    45    57

Watford City 58, Beach 50
After building a 20 point lead midway through the third quarter against the Beach Bucs last Saturday, Watford City saw its margin drop to just three points late in the fourth quarter. But the Wolves answered the challenge to the Bucs 58-50.
While both teams got off to a slow start with the Wolves holding an 11-7 first quarter lead, Watford City went on a 22-9 scoring spree in the second quarter to blow the game wide open.
The Wolves again played without the services of center Shawn Fulwider, but with a change in their offense, Watford City used their speed to keep Beach at bay.
Three Watford City players hit double figures in the game with Reid Johnson pacing the Wolves in scoring with 16 points, while Nick Liebel and Trey Jacobson netted 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Also scoring for Watford City was Tyler Flatland with six points, Dillon Langerud with five points, Chans Brown and Curtis Lohse with three points each and Tyler Bates with two points.
For the game, the Wolves shot 24 of 47 from the field for 51 percent and were good on six of 16 at the charity stripe for 37 percent.
Watford City    11    33    45    58
Beach                7    16    27    50