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Des Lacs-Burlington coasts to tournament semifinals

Mark Jones/MDN Des Lacs-Burlington’s Josh Knutson drives to the basket between the defene of Surrey’s Ethan Campbell (24) and Cole Gilstad (14) during the first half of their Class B District 12 tournament contest Friday night at the Minot Municipal Auditorium. DL-B won 80-55.

Entering Friday night’s District 12 boys basketball tournament quarterfinal contest, the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers knew Bishop Ryan was waiting the winner of their contest with Surrey.

So perhaps, it was a little understandable that maybe the Lakers were looking ahead just a little bit.

However, the Lakers used a 8-0 run to close the first half and coasted to a 80-55 win over the Mustangs at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

“In stretches, we played well,” DL-B coach Doug Wagner said. “But give Surrey credit, they put up some resistance.”

The Mustangs stood toe to toe with DL-B in the first half. The Lakers raced out to an early 15-6 lead and it seemed the rout was on. The Mustangs fought back, but still trailed 24-15 at the end of the opening period.

In the second period, the Lakers appeared ready to pull away as they built a 34-22 lead. However, Surrey used a 8-2 run to pull back to within 36-30.

That would be as close as the Mustangs would get.

From there, DL-B closed out the half with a 8-0 run, which included 5-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe.

When the two teams played on Jan. 27, DL-B rolled to a 98-27 win. So, Friday night was a different story.

“They had six weeks to prepare for the pressure,” Wagner said. “They handled it better.”

Seniors Rylan Bachmeier and Drew Pearson each scored 17 points in the win for the Lakers.

“Survive and advance, that’s our mantra,” the DL-B coach said.

The Lakers also got 14 points from senior Mark Medalen, including seven straight in the third period that stretched the lead out to 20. Junior Josh Knutson finished with 10.

“At times, we moved the ball real well,” Wagner said. “At other times, it mostly stuck.”

Junior Cole Gilstad and senior Colton Gleave each scored 10 points in the loss for the Mustangs, who will now play Glenburn this afternoon in an elimination contest at 4:30 p.m.

The Lakers will face Bishop Ryan in the tournament semifinals this evening at 7:30 p.m. Ryan defeated DL-B 72-50 on Feb. 3 in a game played at the Auditorium.

“We need to defend and we need to rebound,” Wagner said. “And move the ball.”

The winner will advance to Monday’s district championship contest, while the loser will play in a region-qualifying contest.

Mark Jones covers high school sports and general assignments. Follow him on Twitter @MarkJones27_MDN.

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