Mavericks take second place

The 3C District runner-up North Country Mavericks will play in the second game of the 2018 Eastern C Boys' Division Basketball Tournament against the Savage Warriors on Wednesday, February 21, at 4 p.m. in Wolf Point.

Only two of eight Eastern teams will make the 2018 State C Boys Basketball Tournament in Butte set to start on Thursday, March 1.

"I have heard they are a very athletic team," Mavericks Head Coach Barry Malone said of Savage. "They have a few guys that can shoot well from outside. They have some height to them, but with my kids, I am not as worried about height as I am about they're quickness and ability to get to the basket."

If the Mavericks can make it past Savage, they will likely see Fairview, a team that knocked them out of divisionals last season in the consolation finals.

"They are still fairly athletic, with younger kids this year... They are someone to contend with," Coach Malone said. "You gotta get through one of these teams to get through to the big game, I might rather take this route than through Scobey to do that."

Scobey will be on the other side of the bracket with Richey-Lambert, Frazer, and Mon-Dak.

The Mavericks advanced to the 3C District Championship in Glasgow last weekend by outlasting the Frazer Bearcubs in overtime during the semifinal round last Thursday, February 15. The score was 68-61.

The team would go on to lose the 3C Championship game to the 74-41. Scobey Spartans last Friday, February 16.

The Mavericks were led by senior Trace Simonson, who scored 14 points. Seniors Chris DePuydt and Austin Leatherberry each scored six points.

The Spartans held the Mavs to ten points or less in each of the first three quarters, racking up a 63-26 lead going into the fourth quarter.

"They take you out of your offense from full-court and they just have so much pressure on you and you have to find the open areas; if you stand, they catch you, and they make you make mistakes," Coach Malone said. "They don't have many mistakes on their end. They have kids that can get to the hoop off the dribble and if you stop them, they have kids that can shoot from outside on the kick out. They are downright tough."

In the win over Frazer, the Mavs were led by Simonson, who scored a game-high 28 points. DePuydt scored 20 points, a season-high. Loden Idler had nine points.

"Our goal was to get that first win so that we could get into the championship and then anything could happen from there," Coach Malone said. "Frazer put up a pretty good fight, they've gotten a lot better and they weren't as easy as when we've faced them the last two times."

The Mavericks fell behind 16-13 after the first quarter, but the team then went on a 26-10 run in the second quarter, putting them up 39-26 at halftime. Frazer would come back after the break and outscore the Mavericks 18-8 in the third quarter and 15-12 in the fourth quarter.

Frazer's Jayson Jackson would score the Bearcubs' lone bucket in overtime, while Simonson would score five of North Country's nine points.