NC Boys Win Two Of Three

The North Country Mavericks boys' basketball team won two of their three games last week.

The Mavs fell 56-27 to the Lustre Christian Lions in Lustre on Jan. 16. They bounced back to defeat the Frazer Bearcubs 66-39 on Jan. 19, in Frazer and defeated the Dodson Coyotes in a 46-42 thriller in Whitewater on Jan. 20.

In their win over Dodson, the Mavericks were led by Blaine Downing who had a 15 point, 15 rebound double-double. Dodson was led by Junior Stifffarm, who had a game leading 20 points. Stiffarm also had eight steals and four rebounds.

"We definitely had a lot of mess ups, a lot of turnovers, but we kept playing," Mavs Co-Captain Kade Strommen said. "We hustled here and there and we played defense the best that we could."

Strommen admitted that the team committed a lot of fouls; Mavs had 21 and Dodson had 19.

"That messed us up, but we pushed through and got the win in the end," Strommen said. "Teamwork really helped us out."

Mavs' scorers included Coy Bowman who also had 15 points, three rebounds, and three steals. Jake Brown had seven points, four rebounds, and two steals. Stommen had four points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Laytin Erickson had three points. Chase Albus had two points and three rebounds.

Dodson's scorers included Mason Lonebear who had eight points and six rebounds. Donovan Posey had six points. Sebastian Best had four points and 14 rebounds. Frank Sonny Cole had four points.

The teams played aggressive and quick. Three Mavs and one Coyote fouled out of the game.

"We just had to play as hard as they did," Bowman, a Mavs co-captain said. "We had three kids foul out and we just had to play as a team. That's all there was to it. There were kids that got a little spotty now and then but it was all good. We all played well, we played as a team, and that's why we won."

North Country outscored Dodson 12-10 in the first quarter and 10-9 in the low-scoring first half. The score was 22-18 at halftime. Dodson opened the quarter with a 6-1 run, and eventually outscored the Mavericks 16-11 in the third quarter and took a 34-33 lead going into the fourth quarter. Dodson's Stiffarm extended Dodson's lead to three thanks to a jump shot early in the last quarter. The teams struggled to score in the first few minutes, but the Mavericks were able to pick up points from a jumpshot by Brown and then a layup by Strommen that put the Mavericks up 37-36. After a Dodson miss, Bowman was able to make a floater from mid-range, putting the Mavs up 39-36.

The Coyotes did not go away as Best was able to intercept a pass into the paint a few possessions later and Lance KillEagle was able to find Posey for a three pointer, tying the game 39-all.

A couple of possessions later, a Maverick was called for an offensive foul, which sent Stiffarm to the line for double-bonus. Stiffarm split the free throws putting Dodson up 40-39.

A couple of possessions later, Bowman was fouled on a jump shot. He split the free throws and tied the game 40-40.

On North Country's next possession, Brown knocked down a deep mid-range bank shot. Dodson's Stiffarm responded with a layup on the other end, again tying the game 42-all.

The next possession, Strommen found Erickson for a layup, putting the Mavs up 44-42 with 1:30 remaining. Bowman scored the last points of the game with 24 seconds left, a layup that iced the game. He was asked about the shot.

"When you get kids jumping at you all the time, you gotta get through the first layer of the defense, especially at the end of the game when they are trying to foul you," Bowman said. "Most of the time, they are just waiting to pounce on you, and I just beat them there."

In the Mavericks' win over Frazer, North Country outscored the Bearcubs in each quarter; 23-11 in the first, 12-11 in the second, 24-12 in the third, and 7-5 in the fourth quarter.

The Mavs were led by Erickson who scored 22 points and had nine rebounds, and three steals. Downing had 20 points, eight rebounds, six steals, and four assists. Bowman had an 11 point, 11 assist double-double, and three steals. Chase Albus had eight points, six rebounds, and two steals. Andrew Boucher had two points and four rebounds.

In the Mavs' loss to Lustre Christian, Downing led the team with 18 points, seven rebounds, and two steals.

Strommen had four points and five rebounds. Bowman had three points, two steals, and two assists. Erickson had two points.

"We played a really great first quarter in the Lustre game, we had a lot of hustle and intensity, but we just could not score in the second quarter," Strommen said.

He also said that it was hard to keep up their intensity given they only have eight players.

"We still played hard through the whole game," Strommen said. "That is a tough team. We played well through it and we learned a lot."

The Mavericks kept pace with the Lions only falling behind 14-10 at the conclusion of the first quarter. Lustre then outscored the Mavs 18-2 in the second quarter, and 16-6 in the third quarter. The score at the end of the third was 48-18. The Mavs outscored Lustre 9-8 in the fourth period.

With the postseason fast approaching, Strommen was asked how the team can keep their success going.

"When we get to districts, we gotta lock in and focus on not turning the ball over so much," Strommen said. "We have to focus on running our set offense and scoring is a big part of it."

He also said that the team needs to work on not committing as many fouls as they have.

The Mavericks were scheduled to face the Nashua Porcupines in Hinsdale on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. Results of this game were not avaiable at press time.

The Mavs will also face the Circle Wildcats in Circle on Friday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. and then the Turner Tornadoes in Whitewater at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 27.