JHS boys, girls fall in West Region openers

Both the Jamestown boys and girls are out of options — it’s win or go home.

The Minot girls were able to hold on against a charging Blue Jay squad, while the St. Mary’s boys used a scorching 57.6 percent second-half shooting performance to take down JHS and force both Jamestown squads into loser-out contests today at the West Region tournament in Bismarck.

The Majettes, after clinging to a small one-point lead with a minute to play, edged JHS 63-59, while St. Mary’s, despite seeing its lead continually dwindle, heated up late to beat the Blue Jay boys 86-76.

Boys

Jamestown kept fighting back, but St. Mary’s had an answer every time.

Much like the last time the two teams met in Bismarck, the Blue Jays cut the lead to one point following a three by Danny Fischer with over 11 minutes to play, but the Saints just used it as motivation.

St. Mary’s (13-7) responded with an 11-2 run capped by a Darius Sparks bucket to make it 64-54.

The lead continued to teeter around 10 until late in the game the Blue Jays used 13-7 run to cut the lead to four points with 1:10 to play.

Jamestown senior Ryan Schlenker drilled a triple, one of four in the game for the senior, to make it 79-75, but the shots failed to fall for JHS the rest of the way as the third-seeded Saints held on to escape the opening round.

Ben Weisbeck led the Saints with 26 points and Sparks followed with 21.

Ryan Schlenker had a career game with 23 points and seven rebounds, both team highs, while Fischer finished with 19 points.

The sixth-seeded Blue Jays (9-11) will now have to meet up with Turtle Mountain today with a spot in the state-qualifying game on the line.

Girls

In what turned out to be a back-and-forth battle, Minot used the final surge to hold off the fifth-seeded Blue Jays in a tight opening-round contest.

Jamestown senior Kayla Thoele hit a free-throw to cap off a three-point play with a minute to play to cut Minot’s lead to one (58-57).

The Blue Jays, in need of a stop, put all their focus on all-state post Holly Johnson, but the North Dakota State signee was still able to get to the stripe to give the Majettes a chance to extend their lead.

Johnson, who finished with 23 points, hit two free throws to build the lead back up to three, and then Minot’s defense did the rest.

The Majettes forced a turnover on the ensuing possession to spoil Jamestown’s game-tying opportunity.

The Blue Jays (7-13) struggled with turnovers all game, giving Minot (15-5) 24 extra possessions.

Sophomore Paige Peterson turned in a good game for the Blue Jays with another double-double after finishing with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Kayla Thoele led three Blue Jays in double-digit with 13 and Fuchs matched Peterson’s 10-point game total.

Minot will now meet up with top-seeded Bismarck Century today, while Jamestown will be fighting to keep its season alive in a loser-out contest with Dickinson.

Girls

Minot 63, Jamestown 59

Jamestown 31 28 — 59

Minot 32 31 — 63

Jamestown — Mikayla Orr 6, Kyra Dewald 9, Erin Mullowney 2, Jade Lind 3, Julie Fuchs 10, Paige Peterson 10, Kayla Thoele 13, Billie Buchanan 6. Totals: 21 FG, 14-18 FT, Three-pointers: 3 (Fuchs 2, Lind), 38 Rebounds (Peterson 11), 16 Assists (Lind 7), 4 Steals, 24 Turnovers, 17 Fouls.

Minot — Andie Hankla 14, Sierra Duttenhefer 7, Loni Bryantt 7, Kim Bahl 2, McKale Duttenhefer 5, Holly Johnson 23, Jayd Eggert 5. 26 FG, 9-12 FT, Three-pointers; 2 (M. Duttenheffer, Bryantt), 27 Rebounds (Johnson 10), 17 Assists (Bryantt 4), 9 Steals, 9 Turnovers, 21 Fouls.

Records: Jamestown 7-13; Minot 15-5.

Boys

St. Mary’s 86, Jamestown 76

Jamestown 33 43 — 76

St. Mary’s 38 48 — 86

Jamestown —Danny Fischer 19, Ryan Schlenker 23, Jake Nieland 2, Arron Benson 11, Dyllan Anderson 9, Nathan Willer 4, Jordan Thorseon 8. Totals: 28 FG, 10-16 FT, Three-pointers: 10 (Schlenker 4, Fischer 3, Anderson 2, Benson), 28 Rebounds (Schlenker 7), 14 Assists (Anderson 4, Thoreson 4), 2 Steals, 1 Block, 2, 15 Turnovers, 20 Fouls (Anderson).

St. Mary’s —David Neff 4, Preston Tescher 14, Scott Nagel 8, Brad Obritsch 8, Darius Sparks 21, Trent Bohan 5, Ben Weisbeck 26. Totals: 25 FG, 12-15 FT, Three-pointers: 4 (Tescher 2, Sparks 2), 29 Rebounds (Tescher 6), 10 Steals, 2 Blocks, 12 Turnovers, 19 Fouls (Obritsch).

Records: Jamestown 9-11; St. Mary’s 13-7.

Tags: sports, jays, basketball