Milnor, Trenton both moving on

MINOT — Determined to at least replicate Milnor’s 2004 performance at the Class B state tournament, Wyatt Mund put the Bison on his back.

The 6-foot-4 junior forward scored 19 of his game-high 32 points in the second half including the game-winning bucket with 9 seconds remaining as Milnor rallied past Shiloh Christian 60-56 in quarterfinal action Thursday at the Minot State University Dome.

Milnor (20-6) takes on LaMoure-Litchville-Marion at 6:30 p.m. today in semifinal action, while Shiloh (17-8) drops into consolation play against Dickinson Trinity at 1 p.m.

Milnor took second to Dickinson Trinity in 2004, a game Mund recalls viewing with his friends in elementary school.

“I remember watching it back in second grade,” he said. “The whole team just loved it. We’ve practiced hard; this is what we love.”

Mund’s performance was nothing short of dominant, scoring 17 of his team’s 21 points at one point in the second half. He finished 11-of-16 from the field, also posting 16 rebounds.

“Wyatt’s been that player for a couple years,” Milnor coach Ben Nelson said. “We’ve played great team basketball all year. Wyatt hasn’t been concerned about how many points he’s scoring. Today when the opportunities were there, he took advantage of it. That’s a credit to him.”

Tied at 56 with only 17 seconds to go, Mund took the ball coast to coast and scored the layup for the Bison’s first lead of the game. Junior standout Briton Bussman stole the inbounds pass with three seconds to go and made the layup to secure the victory.

“I knew we had to be aggressive,” Mund said. “We missed open shots in the first half and second half. I knew they were gonna go for us, and they did.”

Shiloh Christian led 56-52 with 2 minutes, 22 seconds to go, but failed to score the rest of the way. The Skyhawks watched Milnor rally thanks to baskets from junior Briton Bussman and Colin Yagow. Bussman finished with 17 points.

Shiloh was led by Donovan Lambert’s 18.

The win is the first for a Region 1 team since North Sargent took fourth in 2009. The last three Region 1 teams (Oak Grove twice, Central Cass) went into state undefeated, only to lose the first round.

“We take a lot of pride being from District 1,” Nelson said. “We’re happy to get this win for (the region). We’ve had a couple good teams come in and get ousted in the first round.”

Trenton 54, Cavalier 52

Trenton’s big offense has been one of spurts. And the Tigers found a big spurt in timely fashion here Thursday.

Trenton, down by nine late in the third quarter, rallied to defeat Cavalier 54-52 in the quarterfinals of the North Dakota Class B boys high school basketball tournament.

The Tigers made 13 field goals in the first three quarters. In the final eight minutes, they were 9-for-11 from the floor, outscoring Cavalier 20-13 in that span.

“We’re a team of spurts,” Trenton coach Bob Turcotte said. “We were getting some good looks. The shots started to go in.”

After scoring the final four points of the third quarter to pull within 39-34, Trenton started the fourth on an 8-3 run. Lane Huck had six of those points, tying the score at 42 when he hit a 15-footer from the left wing with 5:04 left. “Lane got us going. He really attacked the basket,” Turcotte said.

Cavalier went ahead on a Blaine Steiger trey. But Trenten Hove answered with a 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run that gave Trenton the lead for good.

“Give them a lot of credit,” Cavalier coach Bryce Laxdal said. “They made shots; they made tough shots. We had hands in their shooters’ faces, but they still knocked them down.”

Cavalier, down 51-45 with 1:27 left, twice rallied to within one in the final minute, at 51-50 and 53-52 on two Brock Robbins baskets. But the Tornadoes could get no closer.

Robbins finished with game highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Ryan Chrest scored 14 as the two dominated Cavalier’s offense.

Class B State Tournament

At Minot State Dome

Quarterfinals

Milnor 60, Shiloh Christian 56

Shiloh 23 36 43 56

Milnor 15 26 42 60

Shiloh: Donovan Lambert 18, Walter Bearstail 11, Aaron Yellow Wolf 9, Blake Emmel 8, Andrew Hartman 7, James Inman 3. Totals 20-49 FG, 7-10 FT.

Milnor: Wyatt Mund 32, Briton Bussman 17, Landon Mund 5, Colin Yagow 4, Andrew Martinson 2. Totals 23-53 FG, 14-19 FT.

Trenton 54, Cavalier 52

Trenton 12 26 34 54

Cavalier 12 27 39 52

Trenton — Lane Huck 16, Trenten Hove 16, MIchael Rademacher 11, Jade Bentz 10, Blaine Durward 1.

Cavalier — Brock Robbins 24, Ryan Chrest 14, Spencer Robbins 5, Deane Bjornson 4, Jarret Johnson 2, Blaine Steiger 3.

Tags: class b, sports, basketball