Trailing by four with under four minutes left, the Class A Lions boys basketball All-Star team needed a spark.
They got two - one in the form of a technical foul and the other in the form of a substitution.
The Class A team closed on a 13-2 run after their own Travis Mertens picked up a technical foul, and used the late energy of guard Ryan Dressler to defeat the Class B team 78-73 in the 2006 Lions All-Star game on Wednesday at the Fargo Civic Center.
"Right at the end there, they decided to pick up the intensity and show a little enthusiasm out there," Fargo North and Class A coach Dan Shultis said. "It was pretty dead for a while."
Things livened up for Class A when, after trailing for most of the second half, Mertens dove for a loose ball and was whistled for a technical.
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After Bowman's Payton Tivis sank both free throws for Class B to put his team up 71-65 with 3:30 remaining, Dressler began to make his impact.
He stole a pass on the ensuing possession. A little over a minute later, Dressler hit a driving lay-in to tie the game at 71. Then with 1:32 remaining, he drained a 3 from deep on the right wing to give Class A the lead for good.
"(The tying basket) helped us get some momentum a little bit," said Dressler, a Bismarck High graduate. "It got us going from there."
Mertens, a forward from Devils Lake who said he didn't know why he was given the technical, was also instrumental during Class A's closing flourish.
He hit a 3 from the left corner with 2:33 remaining to bring his team within one, then grabbed two key rebounds and hit all four of his free throws in the game's last minute. Mertens, the reigning Mr. Basketball in North Dakota, finished with a game-high 29 points and nine rebounds.
He scored 10 points in a span of two minutes in the first half that gave Class A a five-point cushion.
"I came out and I just started shooting," Mertens said. "I guess I hit a couple and just got in rhythm. They all fell."
But perhaps nothing Mertens did on the floor gave the Class A All-Stars as much of a spark as his technical foul.
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"I think it fired them up," Shultis said. "I think they kind of took it a little bit personal, and came out with some aggression."
CLASS B: Pauley 4 2-3 11, Benter 2 2-4 10, Tivis 1 6-6 9, Bachmeier 2 5-6 9, Baldwin 4 2-4 10, Voth 2 1-1 6, Evenson 2 1-1 5, Fettig 1 3-4 5, Littlewind 1 2-3 4, Kraft 2 0-0 4, Miller 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 22-33 73.
CLASS A: Mertens 9 7-9 29, Erdmann 3 3-5 9, Dressler 3 0-0 8, Michelsen 2 3-5 8, Peabody 3 0-0 6, Moch 2 0-0 5, Sandvig 2 1-2 5, Lundon 1 1-1 3, Schmautz 1 0-0 3, Hunt 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 15-22 78.
Halftime: Class A 36, Class B 34. 3-point goals Voth 1, Tivis 1, Pauley 1, Mertens 4, Dressler 2, Michelsen 1, Moch 1, Schmautz 1. Total fouls: Class B 19, Class A 24. Rebounds: Class B 43 (Baldwin 6), Class A 44 (Mertens 9). Assists: Class B 5 (Evensen, Littlewind, Kraft, Tivis, Benter 1), Class A 8 (Mertens, Sandvig 2). Steals: Class B 7 (Smith 2), Class A 3 (Sandvig, Mertens, Erdmann 1).Turnovers: Class B 10, Class A 11.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Matt Anderson at (701) 241-5544
