March 1, 2016

Watford boys fight to stay alive

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

It’s win or see their season come to an end for the Watford City varsity boys basketball team as the Wolves take on North Shore-Plaza in one of two play-in games for the upcoming Region 8 Tournament.
The Wolves defeated White Shield, 58-50, in opening round action of the District 15 Tournament and then fell to Trinity Christian, 55-52, on Saturday in the semifinals.
Due to the McKenzie County Farmer’s printing schedule, results of Monday afternoon’s play-in game will not appear in this week’s issue.
If the Wolves defeat North-Shore, they will advance to the Region 8 Tournament, which begins Monday, March 7, at Williston State College.

District 15 Tournament First Round
Watford City 58, White Shield 50

In a hard-fought game from start to finish, the Watford City Wolves edged the White Shield Warriors, 58-50, on Friday evening to advance to the District 15 Tournament semifinals.
The Wolves led the Warriors, 15-11, after the first quarter of play, before White Shield battled back to a 28-28 tie at halftime.
The Wolves would regain the lead in the third quarter and then hold off the Warriors in the fourth quarter to take the win.
Korbin Knutson paced the Wolves in scoring with 12 points, while Riley Headings would net nine points in the win.
Rounding out Watford City’s scoring was Jaydn Ewing with eight points, Cole McGorman with six points, Jessen Homiston with five points, Jarek Hogue with four points and Hunter Neether with two points.
Watford City     15    28    42    58
White Shield     11    28    37    50


District 15 Tournament Semifinals
Trinity Christian 55, Watford City 52

It was anyone’s game on Saturday as Watford City and Trinity Christian battled for the right to advance to the District 15 title game.
The two teams traded baskets throughout the first half of play with the teams deadlocked, 14-14, and 24-24, after the first two quarters of play.
The Crusaders would begin to open the game up slightly in the third quarter, but Watford City would stay close as Trinity Christian would take an eight-point, 42-34, lead into the final eight minutes of play.
In the fourth quarter the Wolves would cut the Crusaders lead to two points, 5-49, with 2:20 left in the game, when Cole McGorman grabbed a defensive rebound and then went coast-to-coast for a layup.
While that would be as close as the Wolves would get, there were plenty of opportunities for Watford City to pull off the win in the last minute of play. But missed free throws by the Wolves in the waning seconds proved costly as Trinity Christian hung on for the win.
Seth Indergard had a huge night for the Wolves as he netted 27 points to lead both teams in scoring, while Jaydn Ewing netted 11 points in the losing effort.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Cole McGorman with six points, Jarek Hogue with four points, while Korbin Knutson and Hunter Neether ended the game with two points each.
Watford City     14    24    34    52
Trinity Chris.     14    24    42    55

WATFORD CITY WEATHER