Sean Williams/MDN No. 5-seed Des Lacs-Burlington controlled the tempo throughout a grueling Class B quarterfinal matchup with No. 4-seed Thompson to earn a 55-48 victory and trip to the state semifinals.

After sailing to their first NDHSAA Class B Boys Basketball State Tournament since 1998, it was all hands on deck as seniors Rylan Olson and Carson Yale helmed the No. 5-seed Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers into their quarterfinal matchup with the No. 4-seed Thompson Tommies on Thursday at the Bismarck Event Center.

Riding the momentum of their 80-77 Region 6 championship win over No. 3-ranked Bishop Ryan, No. 5-seed Des Lacs-Burlington parlayed balanced scoring across their starting five and a stellar rebounding night for senior center Carson Yale into a 55-48 victory over Thompson and a trip to the Class B state semifinals.

Scoring was scarce in the opening four minutes of the quarterfinal finale, seeing both teams posting only four points apiece courtesy of a baskets in the lane by Ty Hughes and Paxton Ystaas for the Lakers and Jakob Starcevic and Braden Tyce for the Tommies.

Foregoing shots from the outside, points in the paint were preferred as post play by Yale pushed the DLB lead to 12-9 before he broke the ice on perimeter scoring by knocking down a bank-shot three to extend the Lakers’ lead to six at 15-9 entering the second quarter of play.

Kicking off the next eight minutes of action, DLB proceeded to convert hard-nosed rebounding efforts into more interior offensive production, exemplified by an and-1 conversion by Ystaas that swelled the score to 18-9 in the Lakers’ favor.

Keeping the pedal down on high-percentage shots in the paint, Yale gave the Class B crowd in attendance a taste of his big-man passing prowess with an assist to Ystaas and one to a cutting Rylan Olson down the baseline to balloon the DLB lead to double-digits at 25-11 with four minutes until halftime.

Working to counter the uber-efficient Lakers offensive, Thompson turned to Tommies not named Starcevic for points, yet their limited contributions on the scoring side hardly dented the growing DLB edge on the scoreboard.

In fitting fashion, a crisp turnaround jumper in the lane in the waning moments of the first half by Lakers junior guard Braylon Fisher cranked the DLB momentum up to its highest point of the contest as the teams headed to their locker rooms with the score 33-18 after two quarters.

Coming out of halftime in dire need of an offensive burst, Thompson quickly found their groove from beyond the perimeter, going 4-4 from three-point range to eventually narrow the DLB lead to 40-32 after a 14-7 run with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Charging into the final eight minutes of regulation, it was either team’s game for the taking with only seven points separating the Lakers and Tommies with DLB up 44-37.

Starcevic remained the motor of the Thompson offense entering the fourth quarter, knocking down the front end up a trip to the charity stripe to narrow the Lakers lead to just four points with 6:30 on the clock.

However, continuing to showcase the many facets of his well-rounded game, Yale repeatedly converted hustle rebounds into second-chance points that paid much-needed dividends for DLB as they clung tightly to a 51-44 edge with just 2:30 remaining.

Containing all the elements for an electric finish, the final minute of play witnessed a last-chance effort for Thompson stifled by disciplined defense by the Lakers and clutch trips to the free-throw line by senior stalwart Yale that sealed DLB’s dramatic 55-48 quarterfinal victory.

Carson Yale’s team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds paced the Lakers en route to his double-double on the night, along with 13 points for Braylon Fisher, 12 points for Paxton Ystaas, nine points for Ty Hughes, and seven points for Rylan Olson.

Thompson’s Jakob Starcevic notched a game-high 15 points, in addition to 13 points for Drew Overby, six points for Braden Tyce, five points for Brayden Wolfgram, four points for Karter Peterson, three points for Thomas Schumacher, and two points for Gavin Krogstad.

Following their quarterfinal victory, Des Lacs-Burlington moves one step closer to their first Class B title in school history as they prepare to battle undefeated Central Cass in today’s semifinal round of action at 8:15 p.m.