Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913

NC Boys End Season At District Tourney

The North Country boys basketball season came to an end this past weekend at the District 3C Tournament in Glasgow. The Mavericks lost 39-31 to the Dodson Coyotes in the opening round of play last Wednesday. North Country faced the Nashua Porcupines in loser-out action Friday where they dropped a 70-47 contest, finishing the season with a 5-15 overall record.

The Mavericks lead 11-3 at the end of the first and 21-19 at the half against the Coyotes on Wednesday, but Dodson improved their field goal shooting in the second half while North Country's fell off. The Coyotes fought back in the third, outscoring the Mavericks 8-6 to tie the game 27-27 heading into the fourth quarter. Dodson went on a 12-4 run in the final eight minutes to win the game.

Blaine Downing led the Mavericks with 15 points, including a three-pointer. Coy Bowman hit for 7 with a trey and 2-of-2 free throws. Kenan LaBrie scored 3 with a free throw while Austin Hanley, Kade Strommen and Laytin Erickson all hit for 2 points. North Country shot 28.9 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from the line over the course of the game. Dodson hit 31.7 from the field and 50 percent at the stripe.

North Country had 32 total rebounds while Dodson pulled down 36 boards. Downing led the Mavericks with 13 followed by Strommen with five, Erickson three, Bowman two and LaBrie with one. Strommen had both of North Country's assists.

North Country turned the ball over 18 times with four steals while Dodson had eight steals and 15 giveaways.

North Country had 26 fouls while Dodson held theirs to 14 in the game. Downing, Bowman and LaBrie fouled out of the game. Strommen drew four whistles while Jake Brown and Erickson each had two calls against them. Andrew Boucher had one foul.

The loss bumped the Mavericks into loser-out action, where they faced the Porcupines who lost their second game of the tournament to the Scobey Spartans.

North Country held a one-point lead at the end of the first, 16-15, but found themselves down 36-29 heading into halftime. The Mavericks shooting again fell off in the second half, dropping from 50 percent to 21.9 percent while the Porcupines held steady, hitting 51.9 from the field. Nashua outscored North Country 16-5 in the third and 18-13 in the fourth for the win.

Bowman drained 26 points for the Mavericks, hitting 11-of-20 from the field including four treys. Downing scored 15 with three bonus shots. LaBrie hit two from the court and Brown added 2 points. North Country shot 34.5 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from the line over the game. Nashua shot 40 percent on free throws.

North Country was called for 21 fouls while Nashua held theirs to 13 calls. Walker Albus fouled out while Downing, Strommen and Erickson each drew four whistles. All of Downing's came in the first half. LaBrie had three fouls and Bowman one.

The Mavericks grabbed 38 rebounds while Nashua had 39 boards. Bowman led the team with 12 followed by Bowman and LaBrie, both with five. Erickson and Walker snagged two each and Strommen had one board with 11 rebounds going unattributed. Downing and Erickson each had two assists and Albus had one.

Nashua had 13 turnovers to North Country's 17. The Mavs had seven steals, lead by Downing with three. With work on meeting their passes, North Country should be able to cut down significantly on turnovers next year.

First-year head coach Haakon Fredrickson is looking forward to next season with his team. The Mavericks were a young team this season and should be returning all players next year. "...I'm excited for this group ... They have a very high ceiling!"

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/14/2024 03:57