BISMARCK — The Skyhawks of Bismarck Shiloh Christian are on their way to the North Dakota Class B boys basketball semifinals after a 69-38 win over the Powers Lake-Burke Central Ranchers Thursday afternoon at the Bismarck Event Center.
The Skyhawks had four players scoring double-digits. Joseph Wanzek had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Kyler Klein and Isaac Emmel each had 14 points. Caden Englund scored 12 points and Wyatt Westin and Atticus Wilkinson both scored eight.
Shiloh Christian opened up the game with an offensive onslaught, shooting 75 percent (18 of 24) from the field in the first half.
“I thought the first half we really executed our offense really well,” said Skyhawks coach Brad Miller. “We shot 75 percent from the field which you can’t get really any better than that.”
As good as the Skyhawks played on offense they were just as solid defensively, Miller said.
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Shiloh limited Powers Lake-Burke Central's Tyson Enget, a Mr. Basketball finalist, to nine points. He averaged 18 points this season.
“I was really proud of our defense the whole game,” Miller said. “We worked really hard on defending (Tyson) Enget on the screen and rolls. We played those guys two years ago so we knew how good he was.”
With a big lead, Miller was able to play just about all Skyhawks on the roster.
“I go into these state tournaments with the goal of trying to get everyone in a game because there’s no guarantee you’ll ever get back there,” Miller said. “I want every kid to be able to say that they got to play in the state tournament. It was big to get them in.”
Kyle Huseby led the Ranchers with 11 points. Although the Skyhawks pulled away down the stretch, the Ranchers were within single digits of Shiloh Christian into the second quarter.
Powers Lake coach Jordan Carlson said the Ranchers were aware they faced a tough task against Shiloh.
“Defensively, we knew we had some tough matchups inside,” Carlson said. “They did a good job utilizing their bigs in there. We made a little comeback (in the first half) but just as a whole, defensively, we just weren’t very good and they shot really well, too.”
The Skyhawks head to the semifinals against the Beulah Miners while Powers Lake-Burke Central plays Medina-Pingree-Buchanan in Friday's consolation semis.
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“We’re going to sit back and watch this next game,” said Miller. “Then I’ll sit down with our coaching staff and get a game plan ready for whoever ends up winning this thing. Then we’ll try to get ready for tomorrow night. That’s all we’re thinking about.”
Powers Lake-Burke Central 11 24 32 38
Shiloh Christian 20 44 60 69
Powers Lake-Burke Central: Huseby 11, Enget 9, Schroeder 5, Kearsley 5, Parslow 3, Bullinger 3, Fraunfelter 2.
Shiloh Christian: Klein 14, Emmel 14, Englund 12, Wanzek 11, Westin 8, Wilkinson 8, Melberg 2.
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