'We didn't come here to color;' Ray surges after slow start to beat North Star in Division B quarterfinals
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 19—MINOT — Second-seeded Ray had a phrase heading into the North Dakota Division B basketball tournament: "We didn't come here to color."
The crayons were only out for about a quarter against seventh-seeded North Star Thursday afternoon at the Minot State Dome.
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The Jays took control early in the second quarter and dominated the final two, cruising to an 85-60 win over the Bearcats in the tournament quarterfinals.
"Sometimes in the first quarter, we were coloring," freshman Ty Barman said. "But we bounced back. In the second half, we weren't coloring anymore. ... We decided to rebound, just decided to play defense."
Thursday was Ray's second appearance in the state tournament and the first since 1990.
"We came here to play basketball," Ray head coach Michael Bergstrom said. "We're clearly happy to make the state tournament, but that's not our ultimate goal. So we had a very business-like approach last week and we came out and got the results."
The Jays went into the locker room with a 39-32 lead, led by Jace Becker's 15 points.
It was Barman's turn to assume the offensive load in the second half. He nailed two 3-pointers and put in a pair of layups as Ray kicked off the third quarter with a 10-3 run.
Barman kept it going throughout the second half. The 6-foot-3 freshman put down a resounding dunk to open the fourth quarter and finished with a team-high 26 points.
"Ty is one of one," Bergstrom said. "We've seen it a million times. He's one of the best athletes in North Dakota."
It was a trio of underclassmen who led the Jays to victory. Becker scored 19 points, while sophomore Blake Bergstrom finished with 18.
"They're all-state caliber kids," Bergstrom said. "Just the way they've been."
The trio has had their eyes on the state tournament since well before they became starters in middle school.
"It's been a goal since second grade, first grade," Barman said. "We're buddies."
North Star had the edge early. Junior Kade Mitchell, who finished with 20 points, hit a pair of triples as the Bearcats jumped out to a 10-4 lead.
North Star and Ray traded runs as the quarter wound on. The Jays entered the second quarter with a 20-15 advantage and quickly went to work extending their lead.
"We play at a tempo and a pace that's hard for other teams to play at," Bergstrom said. "You're not going to win every quarter by 20. We had a seven-point lead at halftime, and we great it to around double digits heading into the fourth, and it just grew from there. It was death by 1,000 slices."
Sophomore Ian Westlind ended with a team-high 23 points for the Bearcats.
The Jays move on to face third-seeded Our Redeemer's in the semifinals Saturday at 1 p.m.
"The first one's big," Bergstrom said. "Now we're in the winner's side, and it's just one step closer. We've got to go one game at a time."
North Star will take on sixth-seeded Bishop Ryan in the consolation semifinals.
"We still have lots to play for," Bearcats head coach Jesse Vote said. "We came here to win as many games as we can. Our guys have been resilient all year. I fully expect them to bounce back tomorrow and be ready to go again for another battle."