James Jackson/MDN Friday night West Region boys’ basketball witnessed Minot High’s Darik Dissette (13) and Williston’s Isiah St. Romain (11) lead their teams into battle in a WDA showdown at the Magic City Campus

Despite a highly-anticipated clash against No. 1-ranked Bismarck Century with significant North Dakota boys’ basketball implications looming for them on the horizon next week, defending state champion No. 3 Minot High first had to focus their sights on a matchup against a hungry Williston Coyotes squad in Friday night’s WDA showdown on the Magic City Campus.

After taking their first loss of the season against No. 2 Mandan on Jan. 3, the No. 2 Minot High Magicians (8-1 overall, 7-1 West Region) have steadied their footing and reeled off two wins in a row before adding another to the streak after knocking off a Williston Coyotes (0-8 overall, 0-8 West Region) team still hunting for their first win of the 2022-23 season by a final score of 69-49.

From the opening tip-off, Minot High had their scopes locked in and focused from outside the arc, seeing senior guards Jaeger Gunville and Morgan Nygaard put the first points of the game on the board for the Magi.

However, living on the opposite side of the three-point spectrum was Williston, who, after notching two mid-range perimeter jumpers, saw a bevy of deep-shot attempts miss the mark as Minot High built a 12-6 lead six minutes into action.

Moving deeper into the half, physical play took hold as neither the Coyotes or Magi showed any fear of bodying up on the offensive or defensive side of play.

As a result, Minot High found themselves in the bonus at the 10-minute mark, capitalizing on numerous trips to the charity stripe to build their lead before a Williston counter-attack run was capped off by a deep three from the right bend via junior guard/forward Isiah St. Romain to dwindle the Magi lead to one possession at 25-22.

Nevertheless, poise prevailed for Minot High, as a healthy mix of inside-outside scoring and points from the free-throw line culminated in a corner three by senior All-State forward and NDSU commit Darik Dissette to stretch the Magi lead to 15 points as the teams headed into their locker rooms with the score 38-23 after the first 18 minutes of battle.

Coming out for the second half, Minot High tightened their offensive grip on the matchup even more with vice-like form, keeping the Coyotes at arm’s length via a potent combination of scoring efficiency and hard-nose defense.

Heading down the home stretch of play, back-to-back three pointers by Minot High’s Dissette with five minutes left in regulation ultimately sparked an 8-0 Magi run to bring the Williston deficit to over 20 at 58-37.

Book-ending the victory for the Magi, a turnaround hook shot deep in the lane by senior guard Jack Keiser would ultimately bring the scoring to its final resting place of 69-49 in the West Region battle.

Darik Dissette (28) and Jaeger Gunville (15) poured in double-digit scoring performances for the Magi in the win, along with points from Logan Conklin (7), Morgan Nygaard (7), Aric Winczewski (4), Keaton Reinke (4), Jack Keiser (2), and Grayson Schaeffer (2).

For Williston, Isiah St. Romain led the team with 25 points, along with contributions by Kadin Finders (7), Malaki Sik (7), Austin Hodenfield (4), and two points apiece from Ivan Askim, Cager Davis, and Alex Blume.

In what could unfold as a possible state championship game preview, the Magi welcome the current No. 1-ranked Bismarck Century for what will surely be a rocking, standing-room-only heavyweight bout between the North Dakota boys’ basketball juggernauts at the Magic City Campus on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.