The Magicians (3-0, 2-0 WDA) brushed off a sloppy end to the first half, which ended with a 3/4-court buzzer beater, to knock off Dickinson 80-42 Saturday evening at Minot High School.

For as poor as the first half ended, a fast start helped Minot keep Dickinson at bay.

Senior Peyton Lamoureux drained three 3-pointers in the first few minutes to give the Magi an 11-2 lead out of the gate. Lamoureux finished 15 points in 18 minutes of action.

Every basket the Midgets scored, Minot answered with three or four of its own early on. But, things quickly crumbled halfway through the half. Dickinson used a 13-0 run to pull within eight points at 28-20.

Alex Eisen/MDN Magi sophomore Devin Mikell (23) celebrates with teammates Chandler Albertson (1) and Deven Forbes after a basket scored Saturday evening against Dickinson.

“We went eight minutes without playing hard,” MHS coach Dean Winczewski said. “Give Dickinson credit. They battled, fought and got themselves into a position where they were back in the game. They pushed us.”

Sophomore center Easton Larson made a tough basket inside to end the drought. Yet, Dickinson (1-2, 1-2 WDA) went into the halftime with all the momentum after a miracle shot was made at the buzzer.

After a missed Minot free throw, Nathan Personne launched a football-style throw from the opposing three-point line that banked off the glass and in to cut the Magi’s lead down to 30-23 as time expired in the first half. Personne had a team-high 10 points for the Midgets.

Dickinson shot 45 percent from the floor in the first half with Minot a tick worse at 44.8 percent.

“We didn’t rebound, we didn’t stop the ball and we were really stagnant and sloppy offensively,” Winczewski said about the first half. “That’s a recipe for disaster.”

Sophomore Devin Mikell added: “We got that big lead and kind of gave up. In the second half, coach got on us.”

Minot hit the reset button to start the second half and went off on an 13-2 run. Going right at the Midgets, the Magi were already in the bonus with 12 minutes remaining in the half and still hadn’t been called for a foul themselves.

“Our kids responded,” Winczewski said. “They weren’t happy with their effort. But, it’s a learning process. We said that from the beginning. We just got to continue to grow and get better.”

Minot outscored Dickinson 50-19 in the second half. The Magi also had an edge in rebounding (34-24) and points off turnovers (22-3) for the game.

“We didn’t play so well in the first half,” said Mikell, who finished with eight points and four rebounds. “But, in the second half we came out and showed that we can play with anybody.”

A couple of Lofton Klabunde steals leading to fast break layups, a 3-pointer by senior Chandler Albertson and a put back by Larson had Minot up 69-33 with six minutes remaining.

Albertson had a match-high 17 points and went 3-for-3 behind the arc. Klabunde, a senior, went 6 of 11 from the floor for 13 points and sophomore Jaxon Gunville also finished in double figures with 11 points.

Minot turned to its bench to close out the 80-42 victory.

“We don’t have to be good right now,” Winczewski said. “Regardless of what the score is, you lose a game or win a game, it’s about what you’re doing and how you are executing. Our kids recognize that and that’s a good thing because then we can go back to practice and it’s not ‘yeah, but…’ or anything other than we got to continue to grow. We are blessed to have mature kids in that way.”

The Magi travel to Bismarck Century next in a rematch of the 2017 state championship match. The awaited encore is slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.