Sizzling start lifts BSC over United Tribes
Dave Selvig, Bismarck Tribune
Bismarck State College has had trouble closing out big leads this season.
Monday at the Armory, the much-better-than-their-record Mystics led by 29 points over United Tribes before the Thunderbirds staged a spirited late rally.
The hill proved too steep to climb, however, as the Mystics snapped the Thunderbirds' seven-game winning streak, 113-100.
"We have to be mentally mature enough to finish games. We haven't done that consistently this season and it started early," said first-year BSC head coach Kevin Rice said. "We've lost seven games where we led by 15 points or more. You saw it again tonight. We almost gave it up."
An entertaining watch from start to finish, each team had two players with 20 points or more and four in double figures. St. Mary's product Garrett Bader was one of them. The former Saints sharpshooter netted 20 points, making eight of his 10 shots, for the Mystics.
"Yeah, kind of a wild game. They're our rival and we knew it'd be a game like this," Bader said. "We've had some games where we didn't finish it off this season. You try to learn from those experiences and be better the next time."
The Thunderbirds, without starters Famous Lefthand (24 points per game) and Cayden Redfield (12 ppg, 6 rpg) due to injury, were on the verge of being buried.
Down 60-31 early in the second half, the high-octane Thunderbirds got the deficit down to 11 (105-94) with 2:30 left, but eventually ran out of gas.
"We talk about playing to the final whistle and I thought our guys did that tonight," United Tribes head coach Pete Conway. "It definitely was one of those games where it could get away from you, but the guys kept playing until the end."
The Mystics meant business early, building a huge lead they never gave back.
BSC scored the first 11 points of the game and 23 of the first 27.
Bader swished two straight threes, making it 11-0 less than three minutes into the game.
"It felt good to hit a few shots early, that always helps," said Bader, who always enjoys playing in front of family and friends. "I know pretty much everyone in the stands. That part is fun, especially when we win."
Jaden Hamilton poured in 17 of his game-high 29 points in the first half. The 6-7 sophomore from Rugby made it 23-4 with back-to-back buckets in the paint for BSC, which shot a blistering 72 percent in the first 20 minutes, making 23 of their 32 shots. They were equally hot from deep, burying seven of 11 threes.
"People ask me, 'what do you expect going into the game?' I always say the same thing, 'I don't know.' We've been inconsistent," Rice said. "My answer always is 'ask me at 8:45.' We did some good things tonight, but again, it comes back to playing a full 40. We're still not there yet, obviously."
Down 20 much of the night, the Thunderbirds tried to claw back into the game early in the second half.
Consecutive highlight reel assists by Jesse White, then a deep three-pointer by the 2021 Mr. Basketball winner from White Shield, pulled the Thunderbirds to within 71-54 with 14 minutes still to play.
White poured in a team-high 27 points to go with five assists, four steals and three rebounds.
"Jesse played really well for us," Conway said. "With Famous out, we were looking for guys to step up and he definitely did that for us tonight."
Sylvester Union also had a big game for the Thunderbirds. The sophomore point guard pumped in 25 points and also had six boards and three assists.
Tristin Davis and Jayden Yankton added 15 points apiece for the Thunderbirds who scored 69 second-half points after trailing 56-31 at the intermission.
"It was kind of tale of two halves for us," Conway said. "I thought we got good shots in the first half, just nothing was dropping. In the second half, shots started falling. It was just too deep of a hole to dig out of."
For the Mystics, who play at league-leading NDSCS on Thursday, Deonte' Martinez had 18 points plus six assists. BHS grad Max Tschosik came off the bench to score 14 points and dish out three assists for BSC, which has only road games left.
"The attention to detail and game-prep needs to be intensified," Rice said. "It's not brain surgery or rocket science. We make the game harder than it needs to be at times.
"Let's just be ourselves. Control the pace of the game. Defend and rebound and value the basketball."
Reach Tribune sports editor Dave Selvig at (701) 250-8246 or david.selvig@bismarcktribune.com
Bismarck State College 113, United Tribes 100
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United Tribes -- Jesse White 27, Sylvester Union 25, Tristin Davis 15, Jayden Yankton 15, DK Middleton 8, Jayce Archambault 6, Charles Lachapelle 4. Totals: 39-86 FG, Three-pointers: 11-36 (White 6, Davis 2, Union, Archambault, Yankton), 11-15 FT, 27 Rebounds (Davis 7), 17 Fouls (White), 18 Assists (Middleton 7), 11 Turnovers, 3 Blocks (Middleton 2), 11 Steals (White 4).
Bismarck State College -- Jaden Hamilton 29, Garrett Bader 20, Deonte' Martinez 18, Max Tschosik 14, Jayden Bernard 8, Jacob Prudhomme 8, Anthony Bertucci 7, Tobias Patton 7, Evan Gross 2. Totals: 47-69 FG, Three-pointers: 8-12 (Tschosik 2, Bader 2, Hamilton 2, Martinez, Bertucci), 11-18 FT, 41 Rebounds (Hamilton 10), 15 Fouls, 27 Assists (Martinez 6, Patton 6), 21 Turnovers, 1 Block (Prudhomme), 6 Steals (Gross 2).
Records: Bismarck State College 8-9 Mon-Dak 10-13 overall; United Tribes 12-5, 18-7.