MINOT – Perfection is rarely obtained. When it is, it’s time to celebrate.
And the celebration is underway for No. 1-ranked Four Winds-Minnewaukan, which capped a perfect season Saturday night by beating No. 2 Kindred 69-49 in the North Dakota state Class B boys basketball championship game at the Minot State Dome.
The Indians finished the season at 27-0 and won their second state title, the first coming in 2016.
North Star was the last Class B team to go through the season undefeated. In 2011, North Star capped a 27-0 season with a win over Grafton in the championship game.
Since their 2016 title, the Indians have been knocking the state title door without breaking through,
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“This is unbelievable,” said Four Winds-Minnewaukan coach Rick Smith, who was named the Class B coach of the year. “We’ve been close so many times. We had heartbreak in 2017; heartbreak last year losing to Kindred in the semifinals; the COVID heartbreak; so this one is really special.
“And last year, we lost so many good players. We came back with a bunch of new, fresh faces but we managed to keep it rolling.”
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Four Winds-Minnewaukan led 30-22 at the half before Kindred struck early in the third, going on a 7-0 run to cut the Indians’ lead to 30-29.
That’s when the game took a big turn The Indians went on a 15-2 run. Jayden Yankton and Deng Deng sparked the run. Deng scored eight points in the run, including two 3-pointers while Yankton added two more baskets..
From there, the Indians slowly pulled away. Four Winds-Minnewaukan shot 50 percent, hitting nine 3-pointers for the game.Their offensive efficiency down the stretch didn’t allow Kindred to counter with another run.
“Defense sparked the run for us,” said Yankton. “Defense always turns into offense. Coach was telling us what to do on defense and that got us to offense and some easy baskets.”
Yankton led the Indians with 22 points while Deng added 19 and Jacolby Pearson 14.
Kindred received 13 points from Paul Olson and 10 each from Maxwell McQuillan and Jaiden Peraza.
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Kindred had some serious momentum to open the third quarter but couldn’t get over the hump.
“It was a great game but we would have liked to be on the other end of things,” said Kindred coach Brad Woehl, whose team finished 22-3. “Coming out of the halftime locker room our goal was to go on a run in the first three minutes. They shot it extremely well from the 3-point line and I thought we guarded pretty well. But give credit to their coaches and players.They did a wonderful job. They executed well and outplayed us.”
Yankton was named the tournament MVP. The 6-foot-1 senior said the win was a great way to cap his career.
“This is not only big for our team but for our coaching staff, community and those who were here tonight,” said Yankton. “This is a really big thing and we’re going to enjoy it.”
Four Winds-Minnewaukan 69, Kindred 49
Halftime: FWM 30, Kindred 22
Kindred – Brock Woehl 8, Paul Olson 13, Maxwell McQuillan 10, Jaiden Peraza 10, Riley Sunram 6, Karson Ouse 2
Four Winds-Minnewaukan – Deng Deng 19, Dalen Leftbear 8, Jayden Yankton 22, Jacolby Pearson 14, Kelson Keja 4, Wade Nestell 2
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All-tournament team
Bohden Duffield, Bowman County; Will Jiskra, Grafton; Jay Wanzek, Shiloh Christian; Colten Ness, LaMoure-Litchville-Marion; Brady Feller, Minot Ryan; Jaiden Peraza, Paul Olson, Kindred; Deng Deng, Jacolby Pearson, Jayden Yankton, Four Winds-Minnewaukan
MVP – Jayden Yankton
Senior Athlete of the Year – Trey Brandt, Beulah
Coach of the Year – Rick Smith, Four Winds-Minnewaukan
Mr. Basketball – Treysen Eaglestaff, Bismarck High
