Kari Gibb/MDN Bowman County’s Kirklan Meschke (3) and Westhope/Newburg’s Hunter Tolstad (14) battle for the ball in the semifinal game. The Sioux won 63-61 and will play North Star in the title game.

No. 3 Westhope/Newburg 63, No. 2 Bowman County 61

Forget the stats. Forget the records. Forget the seeding. The biggest difference in the semifinal game between second seeded Bowman County and third seeded Westhope/Newburg was the desire and hustle at the end of the game. And a little luck. The Sioux finally led the game in the end when the buzzer sounded and, with the 63-61 win, will head to play for their first state title.

The game started with Westhope/Newburg having a solid game plan and playing with intense energy. The Sioux led for a few minutes until the Duffield brothers, Bohden and Bishop of Bowman County flexed their desire and athletic ability to take a 16-12 first quarter lead and extend that to a 27-24 halftime advantage over the Sioux.

The start of the third quarter was as cold for the Sioux as the start was hot. Everything the Bulldogs shot or tried worked while turnovers, missed shots and fouls seemed to plague Westhope/Newburg. The Sioux were outscored 20-8 in the third quarter and trailed 47-32 heading into the fourth.

The game shifted slowly for the entire final quarter. Where shots rattled out before, they stayed in. Where turnovers seemed the norm for the Sioux before, there was intense focus and ball control for Westhope/Newburg. At the 3:31 mark, the Sioux tied the game at 52-52 and the momentum shifted completely at the 2:26 mark for Westhope/Newburg. The Sioux led 55-54 and forced the Bulldogs into a turnover out of bounds. The subsequent inbounds play for Westhope/Newburg netted a three point shot and made the lead 58-54 and forced the Bulldogs into a game of fouling and catch up.

The Sioux had five players score. Walker Braaten had 26 points, ten rebounds and two assists in the win. Braden Bailey added 13 points along with three assists and two steals. Hunter Tolstad had 11 points, five rebounds and a blocked shot. Westhope/Newburg was 24-45 from the field, 6-18 from three point range and 9-15 from the free throw line. The Sioux outrebounded the Bulldogs 30-23 despite being slightly undersized in the game.

Bowman County had five players score. Bohden Duffield led all scoring with 35 points along with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals in the loss. His brother, Bishop, had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists with four steals. Jonah Njos added six points. The Bulldogs were 25-53 from the field, 9-27 from three point range and 2-3 from the free throw line.

In the very evenly matched game, fast break points favored the Sioux 15-9 and was indicative of the energy draw from the fans to start and to end the game for Westhope/Newburg. The Sioux will play the North Star Bearcats in the title game while the Bulldogs will face Bishop Ryan in the third place contest.

No. 5 Sargent County 61, No. 8 LaMoure-Litchville/Marion 56

Despite trailing at the half 27-23, the Sargent County Bulldogs used better shooting in the second half to beat the Loboes from LaMoure-LM in consolation play. Rebounding for second chance shots was the difference in the contest as the Bulldogs had 15 points compared to only two for the Loboes.

Sargent County had six players score. Luke Martinson had 19 points while Grady Wenlander added 14, Joshua Wittich scored 11 and Kolton Kadoun scored ten points in the win. The Bulldogs were 20-46 from the field, 5-11 from three point range and 16-20 from the free throw line with 36 rebounds.

LaMoure-LM had five players score. Max Musland led all scoring with 29 points while Brayan Karlgaard added 10 points. Gunnar Thielges also had nine points in the effort. The Loboes were 21-52 from the field, 8-23 from three point range and 6-7 from the free throw line with 24 rebounds.

Sargent County faces Our Redeemer’s in the fifth place match while LaMoure-LM will play Edgeley/Kulm/Montpelier in the seventh place game.