March 18, 2009

Wolves head back to State

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Watford City will be making a return trip to the North Dakota State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament as the Wolves defeated the Mandaree Warriors 77-63 in the Region 8 title game last Thursday evening.
The Wolves, who ended the season with a 22-2 record and were ranked No. 2 in the final North Dakota Class B Poll, will take on undefeated Linton, the No. 1 ranked Class B team in the state, at 2:45 p.m. on Thursday in first day action at the Minot State Dome.

Region 8 Championship Game
Watford City 77, Mandaree 63

Watford City bent but did not break as the Wolves overcame a 33-27 halftime deficit to Mandaree 77-63 in the Region 8 championship game and earned a back-to-back berth at the State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament.
Mandaree, who had defeated the Wolves in the District 16 title game, controlled the tempo of the first half of the game as they held a slim 12-10 first quarter lead, and then led by as much as nine points, 31-22, with 1:33 remaining in the second quarter.
But the Wolves kept the game close as they cut the deficit to six points with just over a minute left in the half on a basket by Trey Jacobson.
Mandaree’s Michael DeVille would put the Warriors back on top by eight points with a pair of three throws before Justin Flatland canned a layup in the final seconds to get the Wolves back to a six-point deficit, 33-27, at halftime.
While the Warriors controlled the first half, Watford City came out of the lockers at halftime on fire as the Wolves quickly went on a 9-4 scoring spree in the opening minutes with Nick Liebel draining a three-pointer to draw the Wolves to a one-point deficit, 37-36, with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter.
With 3:30 remaining in the quarter, back-to-back baskets by Reid Johnson and Jacobson gave the Wolves a 44-41 lead and from that point on Watford City’s offense took over the game.
During the third quarter, the Wolves would outscore Mandaree 28-10 to set the stage for a Watford City win as the Wolves outscored the Warriors 22-20 in the final stanza.
Watford City had four players score in double figures in the win with Kevin Sanford netting a team high 27 points, while Trey Jacobson and Justin Flatland netted 12 points each and Christian Schulz ended the game with 10 points.
Devin Yellow Wolf paced the Warriors in scoring with a team high 27 points, while David Dobbs and Michael DeVille ended the game with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City were Nick Liebel with nine points, Casey Jore with five points and Reid Johnson with two points.
Also scoring for Mandaree was Richard Hosie with eight points, while Lane Standish and Drew Johnson netted two points each.
For the game, Watford City shot 57 percent from the field, hitting on 31 of 54 attempts and were good on 11 of 16 at the free-throw line for 68 percent. Mandaree shot 43 percent from the field, hitting on 23 of 54 attempts and was good on eight of 13 at the charity stripe.
Watford City outrebounded Mandaree 35-27.
Watford City    10    27    55    77
Mandaree        12    33    43    63


Region 8 Semifinals
Watford City 78, Tioga 69

Christian Schulz and Kevin Sanford burned the nets for 23 points each as the Wolves overpowered the Tioga Pirates 78-69 in the Region 8 semifinal game on Tuesday evening.
In an extremely close game until the end, the Wolves jumped out to a 17-12 first quarter lead, and then held off Tioga who battled back to a one-point, 33-32, deficit at the end of the first half.
Watford City again answered Tioga’s challenge in the third quarter as the Wolves went on a 24-15 scoring spree that set the stage for the win. The Wolves led the Pirates 57-47 going into the final eight minutes of play.
Also scoring in double figures for the Wolves were Justin Flatland and Trey Jacobson with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Rounding out Watford City’s scoring was Reid Johnson with five points.
For the game, Watford City shot 51 percent from the field, hitting on 27 of 53 attempts and was good on 17 of 25 at the charity stripe for 68percent.
Tioga outrebounded the Wolves 30-26.
Watford City    17    33    57    78
Tioga                 12    32    47    69


Mandaree 68, Parshall 51
Three Mandaree players scored in double figures as the Warriors upended the Parshall Braves 68-51 in Region 8 semifinal action on Tuesday.
Michael DeVille paced the Warriors in scoring with 16 points, while Devin Yellow Wolf and Richard Hosie netted 15 and 14 points, respectively in the win.
After getting off to a slow start, Mandaree found themselves trailing the Braves 14-13 at the end of the first quarter.
But the rest of the game belonged to Mandaree as the Warriors outscored Parshall 16-13 in the second stanza to hold a 29-27 halftime lead. The Warriors then slammed the door on any Parshall comeback as Mandaree outscored the Braves 18-12 and 21-12 in the final two quarters.
Rounding out the scoring for Mandaree was Lane Standish with nine points, David Dobbs with eight points and Aaron Young Bird with six points.
For the game, Mandaree shot 43 percent from the field, hitting on 25 of 58 attempts and was good on 14 of 20 at the charity stripe for 70 percent.
Mandaree outrebounded Parshall 42-32.
Mandaree    13    29    47    68
Parshall       14    27    39    51

WATFORD CITY WEATHER