PHD Playoff Central: Grandy & Reid Star in Big Region Performances
North Dakota’s Class B level had 24 Region games last night played across the state. Standouts? Upsets? PHD Playoff Central!
Grandy Leads DLB. Five-foot-9 senior guard Arron Grandy put up 24 points and led Des Lacs-Burlington over Bottineau 61-58 in the game of the evening. Bottineau gave DLB some fits with their ball pressure and full court active trapping play but once Grandy was able navigate the pressure and points on the board it became a huge win for the Lakers. Sophomore wing Dante Gunville also played a key part scoring a dozen.
Tayten Reid Moves the Knights Forward. Six-foot-2 senior guard/wing Tayten Reid made every shot he took at the arc – five of them. Reid made 10 of 12 field goals. Add that up and you get 25 points on a big game stage. It was the type of memorable performance that people from Our Redeemer’s will talk about for a long time. Velva was a tough opponent and no matter what they tried to do against Reid, Tayten finished over the top of the length in front of him. Reid didn’t just score a lot, he was also efficient. Reid forced nothing offensively and helped get senior Noah Able good looks (had 15) and 6-foot-4 senior Leyton Lang missed a double-double by a board with 11 and 9.
The Big Stage (Bismarck Civic Center). The Bismarck Civic Center is a place that kids love to compete at and with good reason. Big games are often played there. Last night Shiloh Christian opened the day beating Washburn 65-46 led by 22 points on 11 of 17 shooting from Macauley Young. The 6-foot-9 junior also had 11 rebounds and a couple blocks. Jaden Mitzel worked perfectly with Young scoring his 20 points on efficient 8 of 12 shooting. Add in eight rebounds and seven assists (many on the high-low combo with Young) and the Jaden-Macauley Combo blew away the competition. Add in the 15 from Jonas Mitzel and it was a convincing win.
The 24 points on 9 of 19 shooting from Trapper Jacobs pushed the TLMM Trojans on in the playoffs defeating New Salem. The 6-foot-2 guard went at the rim to score most of his 24 and then six foot senior wing Seth Laframboise was likely the all around MVP by putting up 18 points with 11 rebounds and five assists. The TLMM defense held New Salem to under 40 percent shooting for the game.
Also at the Civic Center the Warriors of Standing Rock took care of business quickly earning a 73-47 win. Senior guard Andrew Brown made 8 of 11 shots for a game high 18 with five assists and 6-foot-4 center Trevor Kuntz had 12 points with nine rebounds. Add in five scores from sophomore Riley Hodgkiss and Standing Rock had three in double figures when they sat down to rest for the night.
What’s Next? Nothing tonight but Thursday it gets wild. The Class A State Tournament begins in Fargo while 20 Regional games will be played in Class B. The amount of big games can’t be captured in a sentence but here’s a quick Thursday sampling: Four Winds vs St. John, Our Redeemer vs Bishop Ryan, Thompson vs Grafton/St. Thomas, DLB vs Rugby, Shiloh Christian vs TLMM, Ellendale vs Carrington, and more.