FARGO – At the 2024 NDHSAA Division A Boys Basketball State Tournament, Devils Lake defeated Grafton in the semifinal round and will face xxxx in the title match. Des Lacs-Burlington fell short to the Cowboys from Killdeer and the Lakers will face the Beulah Miners in the seventh place matchup.

No. 2 Devils Lake 64, No. 3 Grafton 53

The Devils Lake Firebirds used three point shooting and free throws to advance past the Grafton Spoilers in semifinal action. The Firebirds used a strong first and fourth quarter performance and superior offensive rebounding to take the win.

Devils Lake had the lead after the first quarter ended 15-9 while the Spoilers tried to live up to their name, outscoring the FIrebirds 15-11 in the second and 15-13 in the third quarters to enter the final quarter tied 39-39 to move on. The 25-14 final quarter propelled Devils Lake to the title game.

The Firebirds had six players score. Parker Brodina hit for 22 points and 13 rebounds. Wylee Delorme added 20 points with nine rebounds in the win. Devils Lake was 19-56 from the field, 8-26 from three point range and 18-26 from the free throw line with 46 rebounds – 15 offensive for second chance points.

Grafton had five players score. Braylon Baldwin hit for 16 points and nine rebounds. Kyler Droog added 14 points and 15 rebounds while Ryan Hansen added ten points and three rebounds. The Spoilers were 20-59 from the field, 6-27 from three point range and 7-10 from the free throw line with 36 rebounds.

No. 1 Kindred 56, No. 5 Shiloh Christian 46

The Kindred Vikings led 18-11 after the first quarter and 28-22 at the half before letting the Shiloh Christian Skyhawks edge back into the game with a 41-36 lead going into the final quarter of play. Slight edges in shooting percentage, three points made and rebounding kept the Vikings out in front and headed to the title game.

Kindred had six players score. Karson Ouse led with 24 points and four rebounds while Presley Paraza and Jack Davis each added nine points. Jake Starcevik had eight points as well. The Vikings were 24-44 from the field, 7-16 from three point range and 1-7 from the free throw line with 31 rebounds. Kindred also had six blocked shots in the game.

Shiloh Christian had five players score. Atticus Wilkinson had 13 points with eight rebounds while Caden England added 12 points. James Melburg scored ten points in the effort. The Skyhawks were 20-59 from the field, 4-19 from three point range and 2-4 from the free throw line with 27 rebounds. The Skyhawks also had 16 steals in the loss.

Kindred will face Devils Lake with a state title on the line, while Shiloh Christian will face Grafton in the third-place game.

No. 8 Killdeer 40, No. 4 Des Lacs-Burlington 38

In a game that Des Lacs-Burlington led 23-18 at the half over Killdeer, the Lakers lost the edge in the third quarter to the Cowboys and were unable to make up the difference going into the final quarter trailing 31-30, losing by two in the end.

Des Lacs-Burlington had five players score. Colton Feller had 11 points while Braylon Fisher added ten with six rebounds. Jake Schaefer added seven points in the loss. The Lakers were 14-56 from the field, 3-17 from three point range and 7-8 from the free throw line with 31 rebounds.

Killdeer had six players score. Cooper Bang had 16 points with seven rebounds. Owen Schleppenbach added nine points with eight rebounds and Jakori Dahlen had eight points with eight rebounds. The Cowboys were 14-42 from the field, 3-10 from three point range and 9-15 from the free throw line with 42 rebounds.

Killdeer will face Valley City for fifth place while Des Lacs-Burlington will face Beulah in the seventh place game.

No. 7 Valley City 58, No. 6 Beulah 54

The Valley City Hi-Liners had four players finish in double figures, and a fifth finished with eight points and 12 rebounds to defeat the Beulah Miners in the consolation semifinal round. Talon Larson led the Hi-Liners with 12 points while Jack Dieterle scored 11 and the duo of Bryson Heck and Zach Sykora each finished with ten in the victory. Carson Eggert added eight points and twelve rebounds for Valley City.

Beulah got 20 points and seven rebounds from Trace Beauchamp. Braylon Schirado added 13 points and Aidan O’Brien scored 10 in the loss.

The two teams traded efforts throughout the game. The Hi-Liners jumped out to a 22-11 lead after the first quarter before Beulah outscored them in the second quarter 20-10. Valley City scored 16 points in the third quarter to Beulah’s 10, but the Miners scored three more than the Hi-Liners in the fourth quarter.