February 9, 2011

Wolves are No. 2 seed heading into District 15 Tourney

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

Watford City had four big wins as the Wolves wrapped up their regular season action, and get ready to head into the District 15 Boys Basketball Tournament, which begins on Thursday at Stanley.
The Wolves, who are 15-3 on the season, put the finishing touches on their regular season play as they crushed the Parshall Braves, 77-39, knocked off the Beulah Miners, the No. 7-rated team in Class B, 64-46, rolled over Dickinson Trinity, 59-30, and then steamrolled the Ray Jays 70-33.
As the No. 2 seed in the upcoming District 15 Tournament, the Wolves will receive a first round bye, and then take on the winner of the Stanley vs. Mandaree game at 7 p.m. on Friday.
And if the tournament plays out as expected, the Wolves will face the New Town Eagles in the title game at 7 p.m. on Saturday. New Town defeated the Wolves prior in the season by scores of 74-60 and 55-50.

Watford City 77, Parshall 39
Parshall played the Wolves close for the first quarter of play, but the Braves were just no match for a very quick Watford City team last Tuesday.
The Wolves found themselves down by one point, 12-11, at the end of the first quarter, but a 26-5 second- quarter scoring spree by Watford City set the tone for the remainder of the game,
After holding a 37-17 halftime lead, Watford City slammed the door on the Braves as the Wolves outscored Parshall, 19-10 and 21-12, in the final two quarters of play.
Four Watford City players scored in double figures with Curtis Lohse pacing the Wolves with 18 points, while Shawn Fulwider netted 15 points and Nick Liebel and Tyler Flatland ended the game with 11 points each.
Rounding out the scoring for the Wolves was Trey Jacobson with eight points, Tyler Bates with seven points, Sean Walker with three points, Jason Shipman with two points, while Ryan Monsen and Reid Brown added one point each.
Watford City    11    37    56    77
Parshall            12    17    27    39


Watford City 64, Beulah 46
Beulah, the No. 7-rated team in Class B boys basketball, never knew what hit them as the Wolves’ defense completely shut down the Miners last Thursday evening.
Watford City scored two quick baskets to open the game, and then the Wolves’ tenacious defense took over as Watford City jumped out to a 23-6 first-quarter lead and never looked back in the surprisingly easy win.
Watford City’s 17-point first quarter advantage proved to be the difference in the game as both teams traded baskets for the remainder of the game. The Wolves outscored the Miners, 13-11, in the second quarter to post a 36-17 halftime lead.
Shawn Fulwider poured in a game high 17 points to pace Watford City in scoring, while Trey Jacobson and Tyler Bates netted 12 and 11 points, respectively, in the win.
Also scoring for Watford City was Tyler Flatland with eight points, Nick Liebel with seven points, Curtis Lohse with five points, while Ryan Monsen and Sean Walker netted two points each.
Watford City    23    36    49    64
Beulah               6    17    31    46


Watford City 59, Dickinson Trinity 30
After blistering the No. 7-rated team in the state, the question that Randy Cranston, Wolves’ head coach, had was, “Could the Wolves come back one night later and play at the same intensity against a very solid Dickinson Trinity team?”
And he got that answer very quickly on Saturday as once again the Wolves used a smothering defense to accompany a balanced scoring attack to shut down one of the top teams in District 13.
As against Beulah, Watford City took control of the game against Dickinson Trinity early, going on a 14-2 scoring drive early in the first quarter to take the wind out of the Titans’ sails as the Wolves cruised to a 59-30 win.
Nick Liebel had his best game offensively for the Wolves as he poured in a game-high 25 points.
The Wolves led the Titans, 17-4, at the end of the first quarter, and then outscored Dickinson Trinity, 11-10, in the second quarter to hold a 28-14 halftime lead. The Wolves continued to control the tempo of the game in the second half, outscoring the Titans, 13-10 and 18-6, to take the win.
Also scoring in double figures for Watford City was Trey Jacobson and Tyler Flatland with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Rounding out the scoring for Watford City was Shawn Fulwider with three points, while Curtis Lohse, Tyler Bates and Cole Rolfsrud netted two points each.
Watford City    17    28    41    59
Dick. Trinity     4    14    24    30


Watford City 70, Ray 33

Trey Jacobson poured in a game high 19 points as the Wolves made short work of the Ray Jays in Watford City’s final regular season basketball game on Monday night.
In a very lopsided game, the Wolves jumped out to a decisive 20-7 first quarter advantage as Watford City coasted to an easy 70-33 win.
Also scoring for Watford City was Nick Liebel and Shawn Fulwider with nine points each, Tyler Flatland with eight points, Curtis Lohse with seven points, Jason Shipman with six points, Sterling Ross with three points, while Sean Walker and Ryan Monsen netted two points each.
Watford City    20    40    54    70
Ray                      7    19    25    33

WATFORD CITY WEATHER