North Country Boys End Season in Sidney

A young North Country boys basketball team came on strong at the end of the season, earning themselves a trip to the Eastern Divisional tournament in Sidney. Though the Mavericks put up a good fight, their season came to an end with a 56-41 loss to Fairview and a 78-44 defeat at the hands of the Scobey Spartans.

For a team with three starting freshman alongside only one returning starter and a sixth-man from last season, the Mavericks put on an impressive show.

North Country, as the third seed of the 3C, faced the second seed of the 2C, the Fairview Warriors, in round one on Wednesday of last week.

The Mavericks held even with the Warriors in the first quarter with the score knotted at 12 after eight minutes. But a 20-point second quarter propelled Fairview to a 32-16 lead at the half.

North Country held Fairview to 13 points in the third while putting up 9 for a 45-25 Warriors' advantage heading into the fourth. The Mavericks rallied in the final eight minutes with 16 points, but the Warriors 11 points kept them ahead 56-41 at the final buzzer, a significant improvement from the 26-point deficit they faced midway through the third.

Aiden Albus led the Mavericks with 15 points, hitting 58.3 percent from the field. He also had two rebounds, an assist and a steal. Trey Johnson added 10 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Blaine Downing led all players in rebounds, pulling down 13 boards. He also had 8 points, an assist and two steals. Taylor Mogan scored 4 points while Coy Bowman and Kade Strommen scored a bucket each.

North Country was called for 14 fouls in the game, three more than Fairview. Johnson, Downing and Albus had three each. Strommen was called for two while Bowman, Mogan and Walker Albus had one a piece.

North Country moved to the back side of the bracket after the loss where they faced the Scobey Spartans. The Spartans had lost a tight 44-41 contest to the Richey & Lambert Fusion on day one.

Scobey roared out to a 27-13 lead after one quarter and maintained a 14-point margin at the half after each team put up 17 in the second.

North Country trailed 60-39 after three quarters and were outscored 18-5 in the final eight minutes.

Johnson led the Mavericks in scoring with 21 points, going 50 percent from the field with two three-pointers. A. Albus also hit two threes on his way to 20 points, with a 64.3 shooting percentage. Strommen went 2-for-2 at the line and Downing added a free throw.

Johnson also led in rebounds, pulling down five boards. Downing and A. Albus had three each while Bowman and Strommen had two each and Marshall Caves snagged one. Strommen and Bowman led in assists with three each while Downing and A. Albus added two a piece. Johnson had two of the team's three steals and A. Albus had the other takeaway.

North Country had only one more foul than Scobey, 14-13. A. Albus and Downing were each called for three. Johnson, Bowman and Caves had two a piece while Strommen and Mogan had one infraction each.