Wolves Boys Basketball drops two home games
Titus Stenberg
Farmer Sports Writer
New Town 63,
Watford City 30
Watford City welcomed New Town to the Rough Rider Center for a non-region matchup last Tuesday. The Wolves scored six of the first eight points of the game, but could not hold onto the momentum. “We started out with very good ball movement that led to easy baskets and after that we reverted to trying to do too much as individuals,” said Watford City coach, David Gumke. “We did not play as a team. Hopefully this game helps them see that individual play does not work. Most of our 3-point shots were not in rhythm of the offense. It was tough to watch. We also had 24 turnovers, many of them unforced.”
New Town finished the first quarter on an 18-0 run to take a 14-point lead at the first quarter break. Both defenses strung some stops together as both teams only mustered eight points each in the second quarter. New Town was able to create some separation in the second half. “New Town did not have to work hard to get to the basket on offense,” noted Coach Gumke. “We allowed many straight line drives and post play inside where they scored most of their points with 19-of-28 shooting in the paint.”
Lawrence Marshall and C.J. Freeman led the way for New Town as those two combined for 32 points and 10 steals. Landon Vetter led Watford City with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, seven rebounds and two steals.
1 2 3 4 Final
New Town 20 8 19 16 63
Watford City 6 8 9 7 30
Watford City scoring: Landon Vetter, 9; Trysten DeVries, 7; Thaydan Arnold, 6; Dominic Latray, 4; Carter Breitbach, 2; Isaiah Leahy, 2
Standing Rock 64,
Watford City 53
Watford City hosted Standing Rock for a Region 4 game last Friday evening. Standing Rock picked up the road win by 11 points in a highly competitive matchup.
The Wolves led by as many as five points in the first quarter, before falling behind by two and then rallying to tie it up at the break. Virtually the entire second quarter was played within a four-point margin: Standing Rock led by two, it was tied, or Watford City led by two until the halftime buzzer sounded while a Standing Rock three-pointer gave the Warriors a 27-24 lead at intermission.
Watford City stayed within striking distance, but Standing Rock maintained the lead for the rest of the game. “I don’t know if it was what they did well, but rather what we didn’t do well,” observed Coach Gumke. “We did not have the defensive intensity in the second half that we had in the first half. I tell the guys that the first three to five minutes in the third quarter is very important in determining the outcome of the game. We really need to be locked in and ready to play. We are working on improving our communication on defense so when they aren’t in front of our bench in the second half, they keep the intensity that we have in the first half. Our bench and coaching staff really help with keeping the guys playing at a high level by just helping with communication.”
Standing Rock’s offense remained efficient throughout the game, shooting 50 percent as a team from the field and averaging over one point per possession. Jarrett Kelly led the Warriors with 19 points and five assists.
The Wolves got some good balance from their offense. “We were excited that we had four guys in double figure scoring,” said Coach Gumke. “We definitely had a better offensive performance in this game compared to our game Tuesday night. We looked like a different team against Standing Rock who is playing much better than when they lost to New Town by only four points. If we get the defense to be intense for four quarters and then score the ball like we did, we will be in games with opportunities to win.”
One of the players in double figures was Xavier McGorman with 13 points. “We saw the Xavier McGorman that we know and love when he is locked in and is attacking the basket. I love how he was able to bounce back from a poor game on Tuesday and give us a huge lift,” said Coach Gumke. Trysten DeVries led the Wolves with eight rebounds and three steals.
Watford City is now 1-12 overall and 0-2 in Region 4. Standing Rock’s win was their sixth in a row and they are 1-0 in Region 4.
1 2 3 4 Final
Standing Rock 14 13 19 18 64
Watford City 14 10 11 18 53
Watford City scoring: Thaydan Arnold, 14; Xavier McGorman, 13; Trysten DeVries, 13; Carter Breitbach, 10; Landon Vetter, 3
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