Class B Power Rankings: Update
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The end of the regular season will be here once we finish this last week of games. Some teams have already wrapped up their regular season and they are preparing for the playoffs. Other teams have important games coming up…
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Continue ReadingThe end of the regular season will be here once we finish this last week of games. Some teams have already wrapped up their regular season and they are preparing for the playoffs. Other teams have important games coming up this week. It has been a crazy winter with weather cancelations and postponements. The playoffs are nearly here and it is the best time of the year for basketball fans! Read below for our updated Class B Power Rankings. We only have a few weeks left for Power Rankings and the State Tournament is not very far away.
CLASS B POWER RANKINGS
#1 Four Winds/Minnewaukan (18-0)
The Indians are the clear favorites and the undisputed top team in Class B basketball. They have played a stacked schedule this season and they have taken care of business in every game so far. This week FWM walloped Warwick by a score of 82-25. Last night, they beat #8 Shiloh Christian 75-55. It was close for most of the game vs. the Skyhawks, but 4 Winds ran away with it in the fourth quarter. FWM has one game left in the regular season and they play at Dunseith on Wednesday the 23rd. I am going to predict that FWM finishes the regular season with a perfect 19-0 record. Stat leaders for 4 Winds: Jayden Yankton Jayden Yankton 6'1" | SG Four Winds/Minnewaukan | 2022 State ND 27.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.8 apg, 3.4 spg, Deng Deng Deng Deng 6'5" | SF Four Winds/Minnewaukan | 2024 ND 16.9 ppg, 7 rpg, 2 apg, 3.1 spg, Jacolby Pearson Jacolby Pearson 6'4" | SG Four Winds/Minnewaukan | 2022 State ND 15.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.9 apg, 3.6 spg, Dalen Leftbear Dalen Leftbear 6'3" | SF FourWinds/Minnewaukan | 2024 State ND 12 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.2 spg, Kelson Keja Kelson Keja 5'7" | PG Four Winds/Minnewaukan | 2023 State ND 5.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.9 spg.
#2 Enderlin (14-4)
The high-flying Eagles played only one game this past week and they beat up on Hankinson by a score of 80-51. Enderlin has two games left in the regular season. On Wednesday the Eagles play Tri-Stae, which should be a win for Enderlin. On Friday they play rival and Region 1 foe, the Kindred Vikings. This one has been circled on each team’s calendar since it was scheduled last year. This game will not make or break either team’s season, but it will be a great momentum game for whoever wins heading into the post-season. With the close proximity of the two schools, it is also a bragging rights game (Big School vs. Small School). Stat leaders for Enderlin: Joe Hurlburt Joe Hurlburt 6'10" | PF Enderlin | 2022 State #147 Nation MN 25.2 ppg, 14.4 rpg, 4.9 apg, Gus Hurlburt Gus Hurlburt 6'9" | PF Enderlin | 2022 State ND 17.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, Carson Bartholomay Carson Bartholomay 6'6" | PF Enderlin | 2023 State ND 13.9 ppg, 5 rpg, 2.7 apg, Alijah Dixson Alijah Dixson 5'11" | PG Enderlin | 2022 State ND 9.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.8 apg.
#3 Central Cass (15-2)
The Squirrels played two games this past week and they had two comfortable wins. They beat Richland 67-48 and Tri-State 84-50. Central Cass has three games left in the regular season. They are supposed to play at Grafton tomorrow (Monday), who knows if they will get that game in with the weather coming into the Red River Valley tonight. On Friday, CC plays their last Region 1 game at Sargent County. On Saturday, Central Cass will head towards Canada and play at North Border for a Top 10 clash. This will be a fun game for both teams. Sophomores Cole Holzer Cole Holzer 6'7" | PF Central Cass | 2024 State ND and Carter Vrchota Carter Vrchota 6'1" | SG Central Cass | 2024 State ND were the stand-out players this week for the Squirrels.
#4 Powers Lake (19-0)
The Ranchers finished off their regular season with a perfect record! Now they need to put their focus on winning one game at a time and they will have a good chance to get back to the State Tournament. This past week, Powers Lake picked up three more victories. First, they gashed Glenburn 65-40. Secondly, the Ranchers downed Divide County by a score of 56-41, and in their last game, they out-performed Parshall by a score of 67-53. Now, Powers Lake will start preparing for post-season play. In the 3 wins this week, the Rancher star guard Tyson Enget Tyson Enget 5'11" | PG Powers Lake-Burke Central | 2023 State ND averaged 26.6 ppg 4.3 apg 7.6 rpg, and 5 spg.
#5 North Border (17-1)
The Eagles had a quality week by picking up three wins. They took down Hatton-Northwood 59-42. Next, the Eagles beat up on Region 2 foe Hillsboro-Central Valley by a score of 62-41. North Border capped off their great week with a 68-56 win over #8 LLM. The Eagles play at Cavalier on Friday and they host #2 Central Cass on Saturday. The CC game will be a great test for the Eagles. It will be interesting to see how the up-tempo game of both squads fare against each other. Will Central Cass be able to contain TJ Cosley TJ Cosley 6'0" | PG North Border | 2023 State ND and Ayden Stainbrook Ayden Stainbrook 6'5" | SF North Border | 2023 State ND ? In the LLM win, Stainbrook scored 25 points and Cosley went for 22 points. I recommend watching the NB vs. CC game on Saturday.
#6 Kindred (15-2)
The Vikings rolled this week and took two victories. They beat Northern Cass 65-58 and they crushed Oakes by a score of 65-27. In the NCASS win, Paul Olson Paul Olson 6'3" | SF Kindred | 2022 State ND scored 14 points and Max McQuillan Max McQuillan 6'5" | SG Kindred | 2022 State ND went for 11. In the Oakes win, McQuillan dropped 19 and Olson had 10. The reserves from Kindred received plenty of playing time in the Tornado win. Kindred has a monster Region 1 game on Friday at Enderlin. This will be a wild one as the teams know each other well and they are both highly ranked in the State. Kindred still has to play Oak Grove, but I have not heard when the game will be made up (someday this week).
#7 Ellendale (17-1)
The Cardinals had two easy wins this week over Kidder County (57-21) and Strasburg-Zeeland (73-13). Those should be the last regular-season games for Ellendale. Now it is time for the Cards to prepare for a deep post-season run. Scott Wagner Scott Wagner 6'8" | C Ellendale | 2022 State ND , Riley Thorpe Riley Thorpe 6'1" | SG Ellendale | 2023 State ND , and Levi Reis Levi Reis 6'0" | SG Ellendale | 2023 State ND are the top players for the Cardinals.
#8 Beulah (16-4)
The Miners had two nice wins this past week. They beat Bishop Ryan (53-43) and Beach (65-54) in a tough/physical game. Beulah has one game left on the schedule against rival Hazen. The Miners have been playing well recently and they are a scary team. Sophomore, Trace Beauchamp Trace Beauchamp 6'4" | SG Beulah | 2024 State ND ha looked good as of late for the Miners. Stat leaders for Beulah: Trey Brandt Trey Brandt 6'1" | PG Beulah | 2022 State ND 26.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 3 spg, Trapper Skalsky Trapper Skalsky 6'0" | SG Beulah | 2022 State ND 14.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.5 spg.
#9 Shiloh Christian (16-3)
The Skyhawks had two games this past week and they split. First, they beat New Salem-Almont 74-52. On Saturday, they headed up to 4 Winds to play the #1 team in the State. The Skyhawks had a nice showing for most of the game but the score got away from them in the 4th quarter (75-55). Shiloh had a key player go down in the first quarter, everyone is hoping it is not a serious injury. MaBahi Baker is the best guard for the Skyhawks who is a quick player with some nice skill and penetrating ability.
#10 LaMoure/Litchville-Marion (16-3)
The Loboes went 2-1 this last week. They beat Maple River (55-36) and South Border (62-30). On Saturday they lost to a talented North Broder team by a score of 68-56. In the loss to the Eagles, LLM was led by Max Musland Max Musland 6'4" | SG LaMoure-Litchville/Marion | 2024 State ND with 18 points and Corban Potts Corban Potts 6'3" | PG LaMoure/Litchville-Marion | 2022 State ND with 15. That is it for regular season play for the Loboes. Now, LLM will get ready for Districts and prepare for a fun playoff run.