Photo by Noah Clooten
The Indians fell one game short.
Four Winds/Minnewaukan boys’ basketball, after driving to Fargo a day early to beat the windy and icy conditions, faced a foe it had had seen before on Saturday. That was back in December, when the Indians took a 68-56 loss to Wahpeton on their home floor.
The teams, both of whom have had players return from injury and sickness since then — including Ron McKay for FW/M — battled at SCHEELS Center in the Sanford Health Athletic Complex on Saturday afternoon. But the Huskies (17-8) outlasted the Indians (16-9) by a score of 63-46, earning their first trip to a state tournament since 2019.
FW/M, now two years into playing in Class A amidst the class realignment, has had two successful seasons but come up just short both times. A two-time state champion in Class B, the Indians are a combined 33-15 over two years in Class A.
Last season, they had a Mr. Basketball winner in Deng Deng, but lost in the region tournament to Devils Lake and Grafton — the eventual state champion and third-place winner, respectively.
This year, they were a less top-heavy but more balanced team. FW/M beat Carrington in the region semifinals, lost a close one to a top-five Thompson team, then avenged last year’s loss to Grafton with a win over the Spoilers in the third-place game.
It all led the Indians to Saturday’s do-or-die contest with Wahpeton. Despite having a healthy McKay — who put up 12 points and a double-double — FW/M couldn’t overcome 27 points by Bjorn Kubela and 17 from Brayden Steffens.
So, despite proving they can compete among Class A squads, the Indians saw their season end before the state tournament for the second straight year. Their most recent state tournament appearance was in 2022, when they beat Kindred in the title game for their first championship since 2016.
Kubela had the first eight Wahpeton points on Saturday as the Huskies built an 8-4 lead. Dorvan McKay made back-to-back baskets to tie it up, but an and-one from Landon Ralph and 5-of-5 free throws helped Wahpeton run its lead up to 17-10.
As it has all season, the Indians’ depth kept them in it. Joran Lohnes came off the bench and hit a three to keep them within two possessions going into the second quarter.
But FW/M didn’t score for almost three minutes in the second quarter. Wahpeton’s Treyton Mauch ran into foul trouble with his third, but baskets from Ralph and Jackson DeVries extended the Huskies’ lead to eight.
Kubela’s 14th points made it 25-15 over midway through the second quarter.
The Indians got back within five, getting five points in the quarter from Marial Deng and two baskets by R. McKay.
Wahpeton still went into halftime up by eight, 32-24. Kubela had a whopping 19 in the first half to power the Huskies’ advantage. They only had three other players in the scoring column for the remainder of their 13 points. The Indians had seven players score points in the first half, led by R. McKay’s six, Deng’s five and D. McKay’s four.
Mauch, who didn’t score while sitting for most of the first half, made the first basket of the second half. He brought Wahpeton’s lead back to double digits.
The Indians fought back once again, with a basket by R. McKay and a three by Keilan Longie getting them back within five. But the Huskies had a response every time. Two triples by Steffens sent Wahpeton up 46-34. Steffens put up 13 second-half points after only four in the first half.
Kubela had five more points in the third quarter. Steffens had eight in the quarter, while Mauch and DeVries each had four. Lohnes made five points in the period for the Indians, including 3-of-3 free throws, and Deng had four points to give him nine overall. But FW/M couldn’t keep up and trailed 53-39 at the end of the third quarter. It was down by as many as 16.
Longie’s second triple provided one of the last sparks of life for the Indians. It was as close as a 13-point game, but the Huskies overpowered FW/M until the end.
Wahpeton, along with the eventual seven other teams going to the state tournament, will await their seeding following the conclusion of Saturday’s qualifier games. One of those teams is Devils Lake, which won the Region 2 championship.
The Indians will graduate seven seniors on a roster of 20 kids ahead of next season.
