For the second consecutive season, the top-seeded Kindred Vikings (23-1) defeated the second-seeded Wahpeton Huskies (17-8) in the Region 1A Boys Basketball Championship at North Dakota State University on Wednesday.
The Huskies trailed by 11 at the break and lost 55-40.
Following an unforgettable 69-62 triple overtime win against Northern Cass less than 24 hours prior, Wahpeton struggled to find its footing against a giant Kindred lineup, falling behind 15-5 in the first quarter.
Wahpeton had Kindred where they wanted them early, playing physical defense inside to force several point-blank misses. Kindred was able to corral a handful of rebounds on the offensive glass, however, turning those misses into second-chance points and starting the contest with an 8-0 run that included a 360 dunk in the open court by Brooks Bakko.
The Huskies closed the half on a 10-4 run, but never got closer than nine points.
Presley Peraza, Region 1A Senior Athlete of the Year, scored a game-high 24 points. Wahpeton was led by 15 points from Brayden Steffens and eight by Jack Gilbertson.
Landon Ralph led the Huskies with six rebounds while Peraza pulled down a game-high nine boards for the Vikings.
Steffens had a tremendous region run, scoring 21.3 points across three games — a six point improvement on his regular season average.
Steffens (Jr.) and Gilbertson (Fr.) joined Treyton Mauch (Sr.) on the All-Region Team alongside Viking standouts Peraza (Sr.), Brooks Bakko (So.), Jake Starcevic (Sr.) and Karson Ouse (Sr.).
Kindred clinched an automatic berth in the Division A State Tournament beginning March 20 in Bismarck. Wahpeton heads to the state qualifier game Saturday at NDSU against the winner of Four Winds-Minnewaukan and Grafton in the Region 2A third place game.
The opponent Wahpeton awaits will be a familiar one. The Huskies defeated Four Winds-Minnewaukan in game two of the season, 68-56, and lost to Grafton in the very same qualifier round last season.
Saturday’s state qualifier will air at 1 p.m. on kbmwnews.com and AM 1450. The Red River Grain Pregame Show will start at 12:45 sharp.
