South Prairie-Max sophomore David Eberle (center) passes the ball to sophomore guard Will Rau (left) in their home game against the Nedrose Cardinals at Max High School on Jan. 12. MDN File Photo

The South Prairie-Max Royals fell in their home game against the Turtle Mountain Community Braves on Monday night, Feb. 9, 52-62.

The Royals came into Monday night’s game off of a slim victory against the Nedrose Cardinals to stop their four-game skid. The Royals were looking to continue their success against Turtle Mountain Community, but the Braves put a stop to it.

TMCHS were the first to put points on the board in Monday’s ball game, putting up a quick two points before the game even began. The game officials called a technical foul on one South Prairie-Max player for conduct during the pregame warm ups, allowing the Braves to shoot two free throws before tip off.

The Royals scored the first game time points just over two minutes into the game with a three-point shot by senior guard Wiatt Ness. The Royals kept their lead through a 7-6 score before the Braves took back the lead and kept it through the rest of the first quarter, ending with the Royals in a six point deficit at 9-15.

The Braves kept the pressure on through the second quarter of the game both offensively and defensively. While the first quarter saw multiple lead changes and tied scores, the second quarter saw the Braves pull faster and further ahead. The Royals were only able to score an additional seven points while allowing the Braves to more than double their scoring, earning 16 additional points to widen their lead to 15 points at 16-31.

By half time, senior Jaret Eklie was leading the Royals in points with six and in fouls with two. Sophomore Ethan McCall was close behind, earning five points for the Royals with seniors Wiatt Ness and Jayden Huesers with three and two points respectively.

The Royals had their best offensive quarter in the third, scoring 12 points in the eight minutes of play. Despite their improved numbers, the Braves continued to outscore the Royals through the third quarter, widening their lead even further to 22 points at 27-49.

The fourth and final quarter of the game continued the Royals’ upward trending performance sing the second quarter with the team earning 25 points, nearly double their score at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was also the first time the Royals had outscored the Braves, with Turtle Mountain Community only earning 13 points during the last eight minutes of game time. Unfortunately for the Royals, the Braves’ wide lead heading into the fourth corner prevented them from taking back the lead, and the Royals fell with a final score of 52-62.

Eklie still led the Royals in scoring at the end of the game, earning 19 points individually. Eberle was close behind with 17 points. Both players were the only ones to score for the Royals in the fourth quarter. The teams had two ties and six lead changes in the first quarter of the game, but the Braves kept a definitive at 8-7 and kept it through the end of the game,

The Royals fell to a record of 7-10 on the season and 2-5 in region play.

The Royals will stay at home for their next game as they take on the Bottineau Braves on Thursday, Feb. 12.