The semifinals will feature Westhope-Newburg vs Velva and Bishop Ryan vs Our Redeemer’s while the consolation bracket will have Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood vs Harvey-Wells County and Surrey vs Towner-Granville-Upham.

Westhope-Newburg 51, Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood (MLS) 48

The first game of the Class B District 8 tournament began with athletic moves, tough defense and great passing. One thing was missing; shots falling. The momentum shifted several times throughout the game and came down to shooting percentages in the end for Westhope-Newburg in the win. The Sioux were 13 of 15 from the free throw line compared to 5 of 11 for the Mavericks.

A blocked shot at the 3:25 mark allowed the back and forth game to have a gap 13-9 for MLS – three point shooting 16-16 at end of 1st quarter.

Second quarter the shots started falling for Westhope-Newburg as they scored the only points for four minutes to take a 23-16 lead. MLS had foul trouble down the stretch in the second quarter with five fouls to one that put Westhope-Newburg on the line early. First half over with the Mavericks closing the gap to 29-23 for the Sioux.

Trading baskets to start the third quarter, the score was tied 31-31 at the 5:20 mark when the Sioux called a timeout and started full court pressing the Mavericks. The effort was great, but the Mavericks hit one shot more than the Sioux to end the third quarter leading 37-35.

At the 4:31 mark with a 41-37 lead, a technical foul on MLS and subsequent possession gave the Sioux a chance to catch up from a four point deficit and tie the game at 41-41. The full court press by the Sioux continued to the end of the game. The aggressive approach put the Mavericks into foul trouble with just over two minutes to play.

Westhope-Newburg had five players score with three in double figures. Walker Braaten and Hunter Tolstad each hit for 16 points while Braden Bailey added 13 in the win.

The Mavericks had four players scoring with Riley Morlock leading all players with 22 points. Eli Undlin added 12 points in the loss.

Velva 73, Harvey-Wells County 56

Three minutes into the game, the fast paced action and three point shooting had the Velva Aggies up 9-6 over the Harvey-Wells County Hornets and that pace was what the rest of the game looked like. Offensive rebounding for Velva kept the Aggies out in front of the Hornets in an otherwise very evenly matched game.

A full court press by the Aggies forced the Hornets to pass well or turn the ball over. Both things happened. With the defensive pressure, the Aggies built a 20-14 lead to end the first quarter.

The second quarter was nearly identical to the start of the game. Stellar athleticism in the press defense and rebounding by the Aggies built a 42-30 lead going into halftime.

The Harvey-Wells County team came out in the third quarter with their own press defense and started blocking shots to chew into the Aggie lead 46-38. Ball movement and rebounding by Velva added to the gap and sent the teams into the fourth quarter 59-44.

Velva hit key three point shots while Harvey-Wells County had shots rim out in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter. The scoring flow kept the margin between the two teams the same for the duration of the game.

Six players scored for the Aggies with four in double digits. Leading all scoring was Mason McPeak with 24 points. Reggie Bruner added 16 while Ben Schepp and Luke Selzer added 13 and 12 points respectively. Velva was 10 of 16 from the free throw line.

Harvey-Wells County had eight players scoring. Avery Williams hit for 13 points and Tallen Thomson had 12 for the Hornets. Keaton Keller and Jaxon Feist each added 10 points in the loss. The Hornets were 11 of 19 from the free throw line.

Bishop Ryan 77, Surrey 55

Game three of the tournament pitted size, with Bishop Ryan vs speed and hustle, Surrey. For stretches of the game, the Surrey Mustangs looked as if they would be able to keep pace with the larger Lions. Three point shooting and great ball movement had Bishop Ryan chasing the smaller athletes in circles on defense. Once the Lions were able to dictate the tempo in their favor, the inside game and size advantage took center stage in the win.

Three point shooting and ball movement kept the smaller sized Mustangs from Surrey in the game as the larger Lions of Bishop Ryan held a 21-11 lead after the first quarter.

The second quarter had more of the same style of play as both teams relied on their strength. The Lions took a 38-28 lead into the half.

The start of the third quarter had the Lions working on the inside game and selecting more favorable shots. That led to the score widening to 59-39 to start the fourth quarter.

Despite the game long effort of the Mustangs, the Lions inside game overpowered the smaller Surrey team going down the stretch. Offensive rebounding and inside play were the key for the win. By the 2:39 mark, Bishop Ryan had built a 71-50 lead that would be too much to overcome with the time left on the clock.

Eight players scored for Bishop Ryan. Junior Ramsey Walz led all scoring with 31 points for the Lions. Mack Shea added 13, Jett Lindeen had 12 and Hayden Seay shot for 11 points in the win. Bishop Ryan had seven three point shots and were 8 of 13 from the free throw line.

Surrey had seven players scoring with four in double figures. Senior Ethan Amundson had 16 points while Colin Vollmer hit for 11 and Kanoa Munos and Lucas Vollmer each added ten points. The Mustangs were 4 of 10 from the free throw line and hit four of their six three pointers in the first half.

Our Redeemer’s 56, Towner-Granville-Upham 35

The final game of the quarterfinals was a very evenly fought game between Towner-Granville-Upham (TGU) Titans and Our Redeemer’s Christian Church Knights. Both teams are young. Both teams are athletic, Both teams pass well and play solid defense. The difference in the game came down to making shots and the Knights made more than the Titans in the end.

The Titans started out strong with an inside attack that had the Knights on their heels for the first few minutes of the game. Our Redeemer’s worked their zone defense to tighten the inside passing lanes. Combined with the defensive effort, the Knights worked the pace and ran with the ball, stretching a 16-15 first quarter lead into a half time score of 32-25.

The game featured physical play by both teams and the third quarter ended with a 43-27 advantage for the Knights who shot the ball more consistently.

Our Redeemer’s had six players scoring, three in double digits. Wyatt Weekly had 14 points while Nolan Schmidt and Payton Lindbo each added a dozen to the score. The Knights were 6 of 8 from the free throw line and hit six three point shots.

TGU had four players contribute to the score. Sage Hanson had 16 points while Ty Schmitt hit for 11 points in the loss. The Titans were 6 of 9 from the free throw line and has three shots from the three point line.