BELCOURT – Defense proved to be the Minot High boys basketball team’s Achilles heel on Monday, as the Magicians (10-7, 10-7 West Region) surrendered an early lead on the road to Turtle Mountain Community High School (6-13, 6-12 West Region) and were unable to rally in a 95-84 loss.

“We didn’t play good defense, and (Turtle Mountain) made every shot it took,” MHS head coach Dean Winczewski said. “Until our defense improves, we’re going to continue to struggle in games. It has to change if we’re going to be able to get to where we think we can be.”

The Braves came out on fire in the opening half, shooting 18-for-31 (58.1 percent) from the field and a stellar 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) from deep.

Meanwhile, the Magi struggled to find the bottom of the net. Turtle Mountain built as much as a 20-point lead in the first half before ultimately going into halftime with a 47-33 edge.

Minot’s offense clicked in the second half, as the Magi racked up 51 points in their comeback effort. But the Braves kept shooting and posted another 48 points to secure the 95-84 win.

Senior Alex Schimke led the way for the Magi with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Jaxon Gunville scored 23 points. Also reaching double-digit scoring were junior Easton Larson with 14 points and sophomore Deonte’ Martinez with 13 points.

Next up for Minot is a road game against Devils Lake today at 7:30 p.m.

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