Alex Eisen/MDN Des Lacs-Burlington junior Dante Gunville gets to the rim for a layup against the Surrey Mustangs Tuesday in Burlington. Gunville scored a game-high 26 points in a 74-43 victory for the Lakers.

BURLINGTON — With a wind chill fluctuating around minus 43 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the Des Lacs-Burlington boys basketball team held the Surrey Mustangs to 43 points — a point shy of tying its season-best defensive effort — for a 74-43 district win Tuesday evening on the Lakers’ home court in Burlington.

DLB (8-7, 3-3 District 12) pulled away in the first half, stumbled in the third quarter, but had no trouble closing out Surrey (7-8, 1-5 District 12) in the fourth quarter.

“We were eager for a win,” DLB head coach Tyler Ystaas said. The Lakers were coming off a 71-67 overtime loss to Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood on Jan. 25. “We felt like we let that one slip there. It was a good battle against a good team, but we certainly felt like we let one go. So, coming back with a W in the district was a good feeling.”

DLB junior Dante Gunville caught fire quickly, sinking a pair of triples on the Lakers’ first two possessions. He was locked in, like he usually is.

“Dante (Gunville) doesn’t have many off nights,” Ystaas said. “He has a natural thing that is so hard to teach to kids. His ability to do that is great. It gets us started, gets us going. He is just a natural, pure shooter.”

Soon after Gunville’s hot start, senior center Scott Drovdal took over using brute force inside to put together a personal 7-0 run for DLB. Surrey had to defend an inside-out attack and didn’t have the answer to slow the Lakers down.

“Of course, (Surrey) is going to come out on Dante (Gunville) and stretch out the defense a little bit,” Ystaas said. “So, Scott (Drovdal) needs to play strong for us and he has lately. He has been battling a sickness, but as soon as he gets healthy, he is going to be even tougher.”

Gunville buried his third 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter and Drovdal opened the second quarter with a three-point play (missing the free throw), 22-12.

The Gunville and Drovdal duo combined for 30 of DLB’s 41 points in the first half. Gunville tallied a game-high 26 points with six 3-pointers, include one to beat the first-half buzzer. Drovdal made nine two-point field goals and three free throws for a total of 21 points in the contest.

“We were coming off a tough loss to MLS, a game that didn’t go the way we wanted it to, so everyone is really happy to bounce back,” Drovdal said. “We worked well as a team and everybody played a little bit smarter, I think. We showed up and played harder. Plus, we were hitting shots too. That helped.”

Coming out of halftime down 41-19, Surrey could have thrown in the towel. But, the Mustangs caught the Lakers being a tad complacent. Sophomore Cole Horner made a pair of 3-pointers coming out of the break. Clay Kummer, Cody Fuchs and Conner Dyke also contributed offensively to help Surrey outscore DLB, 17-10, in the third quarter.

Getting the Lakers’ lead down to 15 points was as close as Surrey would get. DLB opened the fourth quarter with a 15-2 run to coast to a 74-43 win.

Joining Gunville and Drovdal in double figures for the Lakers was Will Pearson with 17 points, bolstered by three 3-pointers.

Surrey was led in scoring by Fuchs (15) and Horner (12).

“We need to complete a good, tight, close game,” Ystaas said about the next step in the development of his team. “We need to finish opponents when we have a little bit of an edge. We have to understand that we aren’t going to pull away from everybody. We have to take a small lead against a good team and maintain it for four quarters.”

The Lakers head to Glenburn next and Surrey travels to South Prairie. Both of the District 12 games are set for 7:15 p.m. on Friday.

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