North Dakota Class A State Tournament Preview
The Class A State Tournament in North Dakota tips off Thursday as eight teams remain in pursuit of a state title. With the WDA and EDC tournaments wrapping up last weekend, it’s time to turn our attention to the final…
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Continue ReadingThe Class A State Tournament in North Dakota tips off Thursday as eight teams remain in pursuit of a state title.
With the WDA and EDC tournaments wrapping up last weekend, it’s time to turn our attention to the final three days of the basketball season.
Here’s what you need to know:
Favorite: Jamestown
Jamestown’s been the best team in the state by a fairly wide margin pretty much the entire season. The Bluejays are undefeated after running the table in the WDA regular season and the conference tournament. With a combined 10 wins over the teams that finished 2-5 in the WDA standings, Jamestown’s been tested throughout the year.
If there is one thing to watch, it’s that things have gotten tighter though as the season’s gone on. The Bluejays were absolutely dominant in wins over top teams like Century, Mandan and others early in the year. In the WDA tournament, they beat Minot by sx in the semifinals before beating Mandan by eight.
Expecting the Blujays to simply waltz through this tournament would be foolish even if they do have overwhelming talent in junior guard Boden Skunberg and senior big man Mason Walters.
Next Up: Fargo Davies, West Fargo
Fargo Davies avenged a pair of regular season losses to the Packers with a 74-70 win in the EDC tournament title game. With that, the Eagles will face the lowest seed out of the WDA – Bismarck Legacy – in the first round of the state tournament.
Davies is arguably the most talented team in the state as its got a plethora of upperclassmen who can change any given game on any given night. Braeton Motschenbacher has been fabulous all year at the point guard spot and his ability to make big shots late in games gives the Eagles an edge. He’s a terrific long range shooter but also does a great job picking his spots and getting to the rim.
Cole Hage, Jaden Klabo and Cam VanDam give them three more double figure scorers and in Harrison Thom and Ty Slatter, the Eagles have two solid shooting, hard defending guards.
West Fargo has a significantly more difficult road to pave in the state tournament as the Packers will face Bismarck Century in the first round and likely Jamestown after if they advance. But the Packers have been arguably the best team in the state aside from the Bluejays since about the midway point of the season.
Luke Lennon has been a monster all year for West Fargo, averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds and he’s got a terrific supporting cast in junior big man Hunter Lyman, junior guard Matt Miller and senior guard Braxton Bruer.
Dangerous: Mandan, Bismarck Century
Mandan was the No. 3 seed in the WDA after winning 14 games in the regular season and the Braves reached the tournament championship game, losing to Jamestown for the third time on the season. Elijah Klein and Trey Weist form one of the best inside-outside duos in the state though and with the pace they play at, the Braves have the talent and component pieces to pose a problem for any team they play.
Bismarck Century lost its first game in the WDA tournament but won its next two including a thrilling win over Bismarck to punch a ticket to state. The defending state champs don’t have the same kind of juice they had last year but with Treyton Mattern and Cade Feeney, they’ve still got two of the best guards in the state. The Patriots are well-coached and play tough defense. They’ll never be an easy team to play against and with the collective experience they’ve got throughout the roster, this team can beat anybody.
Surprise Teams in the Field: Bismarck Legacy, Wahpeton, Grand Forks Red River
Bismarck Legacy was the No. 6 seed in the WDA but beat Minot to secure a spot in the state field. The Sabers were one of the surprise teams early in the year, then went through some tough times but have come out ahead of things at 14-11 on the year now. Rhett Clements is a good inside player averaging 14.6 points and 7.2 rebounds and sophomore guard Nick Kupfer had one of his best games of the season in the state play-in game against Minot, scoring 26 points.
Wahpeton and Grand Forks Red River were supposed to be fighting each other for a state bid but with Devils Lake upsetting West Fargo Sheyenne, both clubs had a chance to reach to state field. Wahpeton beat Devils Lake in the tournament third-place game while the Roughriders knocked out the Mustangs in overtime to secure tournament spots.
Bryce Rader leads the Huskies in scoring and rebounding and he’s got a solid supporting cast in Josh Darwin, Corbin Cornelius and Jared Bartels. The Huskies have a big, upperclass-laden group that will grind teams down on both ends of the floor.
Grand Forks Red River has a really good crop of young talent. Brady Dvorak is one of the best guards in the state and Bryce Enerson and Will Obioha form a really good tandem up front. The Roughriders have a lot of experience even with all their youth given they went to state a year ago with a number of these guys playing complementary roles.