The Lumberjacks traveled this past weekend to play in the AmericInn Classic in Wahpeton. Having won two out of the past three games, the Lumberjacks looked to continue their success as they prepared to square off with the Jamestown Jimmies JV and Bryant & Stratton College (WI).
In the first game, DCB would put up 57 points in the first half while shooting over 60% as a team and shooting 50% from the 3-point line. At halftime, Coach Sorby had a message for his team. That message related to focusing on the defensive end of the court saying, "Usually those types of shooting numbers don't keep up throughout an entire game, so we talked about the importance of getting more stops in the second half." True to form, Coach Sorby was right.
The lead DCB had built diminished throughout the 2nd half, as the Jimmies and Lumberjacks would eventually see themselves tied with 30 seconds left to play. It was a team effort as DCB called a timeout to set up a play they believed would win them the game. The Lumberjacks executed it to perfection and got a lay-in with four seconds remaining on the clock, giving DCB a 96-94 win in thrilling fashion. The Lumberjacks ended the game with five players scoring in double figures, led by DeAngelo Bell with 24 points.
As the Lumberjacks came out and shot the lights out in the first game, the complete opposite happened on day two of the AmericInn Classic. Bryant & Stratton College came out and began the game on a 20-2 run over the Lumberjacks to initiate play. With a bleak outlook early in the game, DCB would call a timeout to rally the troops. Once again, their focus was getting stops on the defensive side of the ball, however, the Lumberjacks would continue to struggle offensively in the 1st half, going into the lockeroom with a 11 point deficit with the halftime score at 41-30. Midway through the 2nd half, DCB started ramping up the pressure after calling a timeout. The Lumberjacks set up a press during that timeout, eventually creating some turnovers and easy transition baskets to chip away at the Bryant & Stratton lead. That defensive pressure would ultimately assist the Lumberjacks to get into a position where they had a chance to win the ball game. Down by 2 with 19 seconds left, Bryant & Stratton would miss a free throw that would allow DCB to race up the court with a chance to tie the game or win it in regulation. A drive by Deron McDaniel was collapsed upon by the Bryant & Stratton defense, opening up a kickout opportunity. McDaniel passed the ball into the corner where Surafel Berhanie would cast away a 3pt shot, knocking down the game winner and giving the Lumberjacks an improbable win by the final score of 68-67.
"Overall, it was a great weekend for our program to gain momentum, thrilling games with a game winning shot in the final seconds in both ball games. Much deserved success for our guys," Coach Sorby commented.
Next up for the Lumberjacks is a square off with NHSC at the Woodshed on Tuesday night, start time is at 8:00 P.M. DCB will look to keep their winning streak alive, having now won their last three games in a row, and four out of their past five ball-games.