Patrick Gulan doesn't mind being inconspicuous when he is on the basketball court, but his production was eye-catching Monday at the Fargo Civic Center.
The Hankinson senior scored a game-high 22 points to spark the Pirates to a 76-58 victory against Finley-Sharon-Hope-Page in the first round of the North Dakota Class B, Region 1 boys basketball tournament.
"I'm just the undercover guy," Gulan said. "I sneak in there."
Gulan shot 92 percent (11 of 12) from the field with all his shot attempts coming from around the basket.
The 6-foot-1 forward also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
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"He played real well for us tonight and he's been doing it off and on all year for us," Hankinson head coach Mike Gaukler said. "He's a smart kid. He finds himself in the right positions. ... He uses himself intelligently. He's a 4.0 kid in the classroom and shows it out here on the floor, too."
F-S-H-P tied the score at 19-19 early in the second quarter after Nick Nelson scored off a cut down the middle of the lane. That's when Gulan and the Pirates took over.
Hankinson scored the next 13 points. Gulan scored eight points during that game-changing stretch. One of the hoops Gulan scored in that span was off a rebound and the other three buckets were under the basket as Gulan worked himself free along the baseline.
"My teammates drive aggressively to the hole and I just make cuts to the basket and they find me and that's been working all year," Gulan said. "You just find that spot and keep going there. My teammates found me so I just give it all to them."
Hankinson senior Garrett Stein capped the scoring surge with a steal and layup that gave the Pirates a 32-19 lead with 2 minutes, 55 seconds to play in the second quarter. Stein finished with 19 points on
8-for-12 shooting from the field.
Hankinson held a 40-27 halftime lead and never saw that cushion dip into single digits in the second half. The Pirates shot 62 percent (33 of 53) from the floor.
Hankinson (17-6) plays Central Cass (19-4) at 6 p.m. today in the Region 1 semifinals.
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FSHP 17 27 40 58
Hankinson 19 40 57 76
FSHP (13-9): Satrom 1 0-0 3, Parkman 6 6-8 19, Simpson 0 0-0 0, Hashbarger 1 1-2 4, Wolff 1 0-1 2, Rall 0 0-0 0, Burchill 0 0-2 0, Archer 0 0-0 0, Nelson 6 2-2 15, Mack 0 0-0 0, Foss 0 0-0 0, Aberle 6 2-3 15. Totals 21-51 11-18 58.
HANKINSON (17-6): Geffre 0 2-6 2, Althoff 7 0-0 16, Hangaard 4 2-3 10, Riemann 0 0-0 0, Gulan 11 0-1 22, Stroehl 0 0-0 0, Boutain 0 0-0 0, Hovel 0 0-0 0, Stein 8 1-3 19, Anderson 3 0-1 6, Dickerman 0 0-0 0, Mauch 0 0-0 0. Totals 33-53 6-16 76.
3-point goals: Althoff 2, Stein 2, Satrom, Parkman, Hashbarger, Nelson, Aberle. Total fouls: FSHP 21, H 18. Fouled out: Aberle. Rebounds: FSHP 28 (Aberle 10), H 28 (Gulan 8). Assists: FSHP 8 (Parkman 2, Aberle 2), H 20 (Hangaard 8). Turnovers: FSHP 14, H 10.
Readers can reach Forum reporter
Eric Peterson at (701) 241-5513.
