Submitted Photo   The Minot Magicians swarm the court after the teams two overtime win against the West Fargo Sheyenne Mustangs. Minot’s Darik Dissette is swarmed by his teammates. The win puts the Magicians back into the second Class ‘A’ Finals game on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Jon Jablonski, WDA Event Photographer.

BISMARCK – The Magicians are turning into the cardiac kids.

On Friday, the Magicians needed two overtimes, or 44 minutes to punch their ticket to the teams second straight Super ‘A’ state title game. West Fargo Sheyenne gave Minot everything it wanted and more. The Magicians had just enough magic left to pull out the 64-61 double overtime win.

“I am just proud of our team. We just came out and fought,” said Minot junior forward Darik Dissette. “We gave it all we had.”

West Fargo jumped out to a quick eight-point lead 19-11 to open the first half. Michael Nhial opened the scoring with a 3-pointer for the Mustangs. Zander Newton added a bucket. Then the next six minutes of the first half, quickly became the Kaleb Larson show. Larson poured in ten of the Mustangs’ 19 points. Nhial added four points for West Fargo.

Logan Conklin scored the Magi’s first bucket of the night. Morgan Nygaard, Dissette, and Aric Winczewski added a bucket each. Eric Wentz added three points, to keep the Magician down by only eight points.

The Magicians turned up the defensive pressure on West Fargo with 11 minutes left in the first half, forcing the Mustangs to slow things down on offense. Minot double-teamed the post on defense, forcing West Fargo to rely on its outside shooters instead of relying on its trio of big men, Nhial 6-foot-6-inch, Zander Newton 6-foot-5-inch and Dominic Dossman 6-foot-8-inch. The strategy worked and the Magi went on an 13-4 run to close out the first half. Dissette scored eight points, Wentz added four and Winczewski added a free throw, giving Minot the 24-23 half-time lead.

Minot came out of half-time locker room still with the hot hand. The Magicians built a ten-point lead over the first ten minutes of the second half, pulling out to a 45-35 lead. Dissette hit for another nine points. Wentz scored seven. Winczewski buried a 3-pointer and Nygaard added a bucket.

The Mustangs switched to a trapping zone defense and clawed their way back into the game outscoring the Magi, 16-6 over the final six minutes of the second half. Dossman scored five for the Mustangs. Nhial added four. Hagan added a 3-pointer. Newton and Caleb Duerr added a bucket each. Dissette and Conklin both hit 3-pointers for the Magicians.

In the first overtime, with a minute left in the overtime, the Magicians built a slim 57-55 lead, on hoops by Conklin, a Jaeger Gunville 3-pointer, and a free-throw from Dissette. It was Gunville’s first basket of the game. Doseman had scored four to keep the Mustangs close.

West Fargo’s Nhial was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer and went to the line with a chance to put the Mustangs up one with eight seconds left. Nhial hit the first and third free throw, while the second rattled off the right side of the rim, and fell to the floor, tying the game 57-57. Minot was unable to get a clean shot off in the remaining seconds, sending the game to a second overtime.

Nhial opened the second overtime for the Mustangs, hitting two straight buckets, giving West Fargo a quick 61-57 lead. Again, the Magicians looked to their defense, and clamped down on the Mustangs offense. Minot created three defensive stops to claw its way back into the game, getting a bucket from Wentz, to pull within two points, 61-59. Gunville buried his second 3-pointer of the night to give the 62-61 lead.

On the ensuing Mustangs possession, Nhial drove towards the free throw line and Minot’s Conklin stripped the ball away. The Magicians pushed the action up the court. Dissette drew the foul, earning a one-and-one opportunity. After a West Fargo timeout, Dissette buried both free throws, giving Minot the 64-61 lead with :6.7 seconds left on the clock. Wentz sealed the win, blocking the final 3-point attempted by the Mustangs, securing the Minot win.

“I’m just so proud of our kids. They’re so gritty and no matter what comes at them. They just keep fighting,” said Minot head coach Dean Winczewski. “I’m so extremely proud of the things they do and how they compete. I can’t say enough.”

Despite the Mustangs having a size advantage, Minot outhustled the Mustangs on the boards all night, outrebounding West Fargo 44-39. Dissette led all scorers with a double-double scoring 25 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and collecting two blocks. Wentz finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and one block. Conklin, who played a monstrous game on defense against the Mustang big men, finished with seven points, nine rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block. Winczewski and Gunville both added six points. Nygaard chipped in four for Minot.

“I can’t stress how proud I am of them,” said Winczewski. “We get another night.”

Nhial had a double-double for the Mustangs, scoring 25 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Larson finished with ten points, after fouling out in the second half.

“We worked really hard this off season to get back to the championship game,” said Dissette. “We’re going to try and finish it off this year.”

Minot will return to its second straight Super ‘A’ Finals game. The Magicians lost a heartbreaker in 2021 to West Fargo, 65-60. The Magicians will play the winner of the Fargo Davies against West Fargo High game at 8 pm on Saturday in Bismarck. At press time, the game was at the half with West Fargo leading Fargo Davies 35-34.

Minot High 64,

West Fargo 61

West Fargo 23 28 6 4 – 61

Minot 24 27 6 7 – 64

WEST FARGO SHEYENNE (61): Hagan 2 0-0 66, Freih 0 1-2 1, Newton 2 2-2 6, Larson 4 0-0 10, Dueer 1 0-0 2, Nhial 9 4-5 24, Dosmann 4 0-0 9, Gooselaw 1 0-0 3, Totals 31 7-9 61.

MINOT (64): Nygaard 1 2-2 4, Martinez 0 0-0 0, Wentz 5 5-6 16, Dissette 6 11-14 25, Winczewski 2 1-2 6, Domsteen 0 0-0 0, Conklin 3 0-0 7, Gunville 2 0-0 6, Totals 26 19-24 64.