Sports

Crowd helps Jacks win title

By Tyler Ohmann

03/04/2014

In yet another close game with last-second heroics, the Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) men’s basketball team came out triumphant.

A three by a wide-open Xavier Cruz in the corner from a dish by sophomore Julian Vasquez  with less than 10 seconds left broke an 85-85 tie, and gave the Jacks an 88-85 win over Gogebic Community College (GCC) last Sunday afternoon at the Woodshed.

“We won some close games in the second half of the season, and that prepared us for this moment,” sophomore point guard Billy Engel said.

The win earned the Jacks a Region XIII title, which is their first step to making it to Nationals.

“It’s mission accomplished as far is the region is concerned, but it’s not where we want to end it,” said DCB head coach Cory Fehringer. “We all know that this was great to be at home and win the region, but we want more.”

The victory over the Samsons did not come easy. DCB trailed for a good portion of the second half, and had to come charging back in the waning minutes.

“I mean we got down four, five, six at one point I think, and there was no quit in our team at all,” Engel said. “That’s the type of team we are, when the chips are down, we come out like that.”

“Julian trusts his teammate in the corner, and that’s the type of team we have,” Engel added.

It started off strong for the Jacks in the first half as they used a superb shooting effort to build a nine-point halftime lead.

DCB shot 56.7 percent from the field in the first half, including a strong 7-for-13 from three-point range.

However, that percentage went down a bit in the second half, and Vasquez got into foul trouble, getting whistled for his fourth foul with more than 10 minutes of the second half to go.

“Julian is typically in foul trouble, so we’ve learned to deal with it, but of course you want him on the floor as much as possible,” Fehringer said.

Vasquez did re-enter the game with a little more than four minutes of the game left, and took over.

 “He scored 11 of the last 14 points, we just kept giving him the ball, and as time wound down, he kept making plays for us.”

“He doesn’t score, but makes the assist that wins the game for us, and he had a hand in everything that happened,” Fehringer added.

His play in the game helped solidify why he was chosen as the Region XIII Most Valuable Player.

Vasquez finished with 26 points in the victory. Jalyn Turner, who was named to the All-Region team, scored 12 and Engel had an efficient 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including a 3-for-3 night from beyond the arc.

The victory, and his part in it, left Engel in awe after the game.

“That was the most exciting experience of my entire life,” Engel said. “I’ve been on some exciting teams before, but nothing like this.”

DCB won despite strong outings from Samson players. Bryce Bilski had 25 points and six rebounds, and Jordan LaPlant had 18 points, including five threes.

A big help for the Jacks according to Fehringer was another near-capacity crowd at the Woodshed.

“What a great crowd, and great support, and without the crowd we don’t win that game,” Fehringer said.

However, despite the win, the Jacks are far from satisfied.

“It is a great feeling, but I also know how talented this group is, and by no means do we feel accomplished,” Fehringer said. “We take the floor and expect to win, we expected to take the region title this year, and now we have one more to give us a chance to continue our season.”

Before the Jacks even got a chance at the Samsons, they had to go through United Tribes Community College (UTTC) last Wednesday night, also in Bottineau.

However, the game against the Thunderbirds was never in doubt for DCB, as they cruised to an 84-56 win.

The Jacks opened up a 27-point halftime lead, and coasted to a victory from there.

Four players scored in double figures, with Turner leading the way with 15 points. Sam Robinson had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Engel and Cruz each had 10 points.

DCB shot better than 55 percent from the floor, and turned the ball over only 12 times.

The win led the Jacks to the region title game, and the win last Sunday puts them on a bus to Nebraska.

The District VII Championship will have the Jacks traveling to play on Sunday against Central-Columbus.

For DCB (25-7) though, there is but one focus.

“We have a couple days off now, and I think we deserve it, but going down to Nebraska is no joke, and I think we’re ready for it,” Engel said. “From day one our goal was Nationals, and that’s what we’re going down to Nebraska for, we don’t want anything short of Nationals.”

Nationals will be held on March 18-22 in Danville, Ill.