No. 1 Four Winds-Minnewaukan survives test from No. 6 Thompson to win No. 43 in a row
Feb. 11—THOMPSON — The No. 1 Four Winds-Minnewaukan boys basketball team found itself in a rare position Saturday in Thompson.
The Tommies held a double-digit lead in the first half.
"We haven't been in these type of ballgames in a while to fight from behind, especially against a good team in their gym and their atmosphere," Four Winds-Minnewaukan coach Rick Smith said.
But the Indians have won 43 straight games, and they showed why in the second half.
Deng Deng and Jalen Leftbear each scored 19 points as the unbeaten Indians rallied for a 61-56 road win over No. 6 Thompson.
"We started out slow," Indians senior guard Kelson Keja said. "At halftime, we got going and took off from there. We just had to tighten up our defense."
Four Winds-Minnewaukan, which improved to 16-0 after last year's 27-0 unbeaten season, hasn't lost since the third-place game of the 2021 North Dakota Class B boys basketball tournament.
"It's their constant pressure," Thompson coach Brandy George said. "They don't take a possession off. If you want to start your offense at 19 feet, it pushes you out to 24 feet. That's what they do. I didn't think we handled it too terribly bad, but it wears you down."
The Tommies led 19-9 early in the second quarter behind nine quick points from 6-foot-1 junior guard Drew Overby, who finished with 16. Thompson's Jake Starcevic ended with a team-high 18 points.
But the Indians whittled away at the lead, using a Deng steal and dunk followed by a Keilan Longie 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half to trail 31-27 at the break.
In the third quarter, the Indians battled for the lead behind seven quick points in a 2:10 span by Keja, a 5-foot-6 guard who finished with 10 points.
"Kelson is gritty and tough-nosed," Smith said. "He doesn't back away from anybody. He had a gritty performance."
After a back-and-forth third quarter, a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter gave the Indians the lead — flipping a 43-43 game into a 50-43 game with 4:40 remaining.
After Thompson's Karter Peterson hit a baseline jumper to cut the Four Winds-Minnewaukan lead to 52-48, Deng took over. He had seven of his team's final nine points.
Boosting Deng was a 15-foot straight-away jumper from Leftbear, who made it a nine-point game with about 1:40 to go.
From there, both teams struggled from the foul line. The Indians' foul-shooting woes gave Thompson a little late life, while the Tommies couldn't put a full scare into Four Winds-Minnewaukan due to untimely misses at the free-throw line.
The Indians finished 8-for-20 from the free-throw line, while the Tommies were 7-for-16.
"It was a good test for us," Smith said. "That was postseason basketball there."
George agreed.
"I have a ton of respect for Ricky and his program and how he does things," George said. "I think we grew up a little bit today, and these are the games you want to play going into February and March."
Halftime: Thompson 31, FWM 27
Four Winds-Minnewaukan — Deng Deng 19, Keilan Longie 3, Dalen Leftbear 19, Keyshawn St. Pierre 2, Wade Nestell 8, Kelson Keja 10
Thompson — Drew Overby 16, Brayden Wolfgram 8, Karter Peterson 9, Gavin Krogstad 5, Jake Starcevic 18
