Mar 14, 2025
Emma Buee/MDN Des Lacs-Burlington’s (DLB) Jake Schaefer (13) guards Turtle Mountain’s Easton Peltier (11) who attempts to move the ball down the court. DLB played against Turtle Mountain in the Division A Region 3 finals at the MSU Dome on Thursday, March 13.
The 2024-2025 Division A Region 3 Boys Basketball Tournament Championship game was held at the Minot State University (MSU) Dome on Thursday, March 13, as well as the contest for third place and a shot at playing into the 2025 NDHSAA Division A Boys Basketball State Tournament that is scheduled for March 20-22, 2025 at the Bismarck Event Center.
The winner of the title game qualified for the tournament while the second and third place teams will participate in state qualifying games on Saturday, March 15, at the Minot Auditorium.
Des Lacs-Burlington vs. Turtle Mountain
The championship game was between the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers and the Turtle Mountain Braves, both very talented teams. The Braves started the tournament as the seven seed and left a trail of upsets in their wake.
First against Stanley, the two seed, then against Rugby, the six seed. The Braves put on quite a few impressive games at the tournament and proved to be a challenging opponent for the Lakers. Des Lacs-Burlington held the lead through the entire game. Turtle Mountain put up a good fight but ended up losing to the Lakers 45-40.
The Lakers sent out Jace Crocket to jump against the Braves Wes Davis. Des Lacs-Burlington won the tip off and with a quick pass from Drew Roedocker, Jake Schaefer brought in the first three points of the game out on the wing.
The Lakers Played the first quarter of the game out deep and brought in two more 3-pointers. Crockett and Schaefer played down in the paint to bring in six points. The second quarter consisted of more shots in the paint for both teams, and the quarter almost completely relying on rebounds for another attempt to score. The Lakers led 26-14 going into half time.
The Braves outscored the Lakers in the third quarter 12-8 but couldn’t quite take back the lead. Turtle Mountain scored wherever they were open. Scheyer Decoteau made two points in the land and one extra point at the foul line, Kruz Lafontaine made a three pointer out on the wing.
Turtle Mountain outscored the Lakers by one point in the final quarter. The Braves’ Wed Davis led the score with two 3-pointers. With a minute left of the game the Braves were down by six, the game was riding on collecting fouls to earn some extra points without running the clock.
Turtle Mountain slowly started to close the gap behind the Lakers, but the Braves couldn’t keep away from the fouls and sent the Lakers to the free throw line four times in the last couple minutes of the game.
The Lakers won the game 45-40 and will be heading to the state tournament, the Braves will get to play in the state qualifier for a second chance to make it to state.
Bottineau vs. Rugby
The Bottineau Braves, four seed, faced off with the Rugby Panthers, six seed, at the Division A Region 3 tournament. The two teams competed for the third place finish and the chance to play in the state qualifier March 15.
The Panthers already had upset one team at the tournament. In the first half against the Braves the Panthers looked like they were gonna do it again. By the third quarter of the game Bottineau had retaken the lead and sustained it till the end of the game to take the 62-40 win over Rugby. The Braves will be able to play in the state qualifier on March 15.
Rugby led through the first half of the game. The first quarter was led by Taytum Risovi with seven points and Tucker Volk with six. The Panthers outscored the Braves again in the second quarter and ended the first half with a 22-17 lead.
The Braves stole the lead in the third quarter. Bottineau came out guns blazing in the third period and scored 26 points and put up a tough defence only allowing eight Panther points on the board. Rugby’s Emersun Marum was responsible for most of these points.
Marum made eight points down in the paint and three more on the wing to total 11 points for the quarter. Teammate Connor Guss brought in the second most points and shot from in the lane with six more points.
Bottineau 43-30 going into the last quarter of the game. The final quarter of the game the Braves outscored the Panthers one again 19-10. Bottineau played to their strengths and kept the ball close to the basket for closer shots, Rugby played out on the wing trying to land high point shots.
The Braves also took the advantage of rebounding, they picked up 46 rebounds compared to the Panthers 24, to give them the upper hand on most possessions.
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