Justin Martinez/MDN Minot High junior Jaxon Gunville (24) shoots a contested triple from the corner Friday during the Magicians’ 73-67 loss to Jamestown in the semifinals of the West Region boys basketball tournament at the Bismarck Event Center.

BISMARCK — The Magicians fell short of a statement victory on Friday, but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

The No. 5-seeded Minot High boys basketball team proved to be a handful for No. 1-seeded Jamestown in the semifinals of the West Region tournament, as the Magi gave the Blue Jays a scare with a late comeback push in front of an electric crowd at the Bismarck Event Center.

But the epic comeback fell a few bounces of the ball short, and the top seed escaped with a 73-67 victory to advance to the championship.

“I don’t want any other team,” MHS head coach Dean Winczewski said. “We fought and gave ourselves an opportunity to be in it at the end. That’s a gutsy performance, and that’s a group of kids that came together and competed for each other.”

Jaxon Gunville kept the Magi in it early. After shooting a mere 2-for-11 from the field in Thursday’s quarterfinal game, the junior came out with his usual confidence and drained a contested triple from the top of the arc to trim Jamestown’s lead to 12-11 with 10:30 on the clock.

But the Blue Jays quickly created some separation thanks in part to Jared Kallenbach.

After making a three-pointer earlier in the contest, the junior made the Magi pay once more. Kallenbach sank back-to-back bombs from beyond the arc that pushed Jamestown’s lead to 18-11 and forced Minot into a timeout.

The brief stoppage didn’t cool off the Blue Jays, though, as the top seed built a 35-22 lead with just 50 seconds left on the clock. Alex Schimke sent the Magi into halftime with some momentum by draining a stepback triple at the buzzer, but Jamestown still entered halftime with a 35-25 advantage.

Minot got the lead down to eight, 54-46, with 6:30 remaining in the game thanks to a sweet move by Deonte’ Martinez.

The sophomore shook his defender with a swift crossover and floated a shot over the outstretched arms of Jamestown’s 6-foot-7 center, Mason Walters, that bounced off the glass and dropped through the rim.

Now trailing 61-52 with 4:30 left to play, Gunville went on a one-man scoring spree.

The junior kicked off the run by sinking a triple from the right shoulder despite his defender being right up in his jersey. Gunville launched another contested triple on the next possession only to see it rim out but got saved by the sound of the referee’s whistle, sending him to the line for three shots.

Gunville calmly knocked down all three freebies to make it a 64-61 affair with 3:53 remaining.

“‘Next one is going in,'” Gunville said. “That’s my mindset, and my teammates do a great job of picking me up every time I miss one. They have trust in me, and I have trust in every single one of them. Every shot is going in, I feel like.”

But, with their backs against the wall, the Blue Jays didn’t break.

Jamestown’s Carson Lamp answered on the following possession by attacking the rim and getting the bucket down low. Next to deliver was Ryder Lunzman, who nailed a three-pointer from the top of the arc.

Finally, Walters delivered the dagger with a two-foot jumper to give Jamestown a 71-61 lead with just 1:15 left to play. The double-digit deficit proved to be too much for Minot to overcome, and the Blue Jays secured the hard-earned 73-67 win.

“Jamestown is phenomenal,” Winczewski said. “They play hard, they execute, they battle and they’re a good team…Even when you try to take some things away from them, they have other guys that step up. But we gave ourselves a chance, and that’s all we can ask for.”

Gunville and Schimke each finished with a team-high 19 points in the losing effort, as the Magi walked off the court to a well-deserved round of applause from their student section.

Four different Jamestown players broke double-digit scoring: Walters (17), Kallenbach (14), Lunzman (12) and Boden Skunberg (12).

For the Magi, they’ll look to build off their second-half surge as they prepare for a do-or-die match against No. 6-seeded Bismarck Legacy today at 2:30 p.m. with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

“(The loss) is a tough one,” Gunville said. “But our team showed some good fight at the end by not giving up. That shows that we’ve made great strides throughout the year…We just have to come back tomorrow at 2:30 and win.”

Justin Martinez covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JTheSportsDude.