When one of the best teams in the state is playing, going to see them is always considered. Add in the fact that there could be an absurd amount of scoring and the appeal grows all the more. So I headed down to Davies to check out the New Civil War as I'm going to dub it. Wish I'd thought of it when North & South played but better late than never.
The Eagles jumped out to a 7 - 2 lead that grew only slightly to 11 - 4 by the midpoint of the first half. They weren't exactly lighting the nets on fire but the Spartans managed to keep it interesting going into the break by cutting it to a four point game, 23 - 19.
Davies surged off the rest to the tune of a 33 - 22 game which North countered by going on an 8-2 run, all within the first six minutes of the half. Four more minutes of play and all that came of it was another three by North to make it a two point game. If the gym had been more full, it may have started buzzing right about then but before anyone from the other end of town could really get into, the Eagles dropped 15 unanswered to make it a 50 - 33 game. Typically that sort of a margin with barely three minutes remaining would lead to a white flag being flown in the form of backups and just playing it out. North went with the close game strategy of intentionally fouling to buy extra possessions and extend the game. So the final score of 55 - 33 is a little deceiving but is also a direct result of decisions made.
Sparty got nine a piece from Maddy England & Ellen Kenninger but that was bested by three Eagles. Alyssa Paper lead all with 16, Ryleigh Wacha was just behind with 14 & Taylor Fey rounded it out with 10 as they went wire to wire.
Not long after the guys picked up right where the gals had left off. It started off with an 8 - 8 tie that gave the briefest of glimmers that it may be the game I had hoped for. Brief being the operative word. Consecutive 10 - 2 runs by the Eagles flipped the game on it's head in a matter of minutes. As if they needed more help, the home team had a decided advantage in fouls called. That's not a shot at the officials, many of the whistles were readily apparent. They would have been doing a disservice to not call them but it did give Davies an even greater leg up over the second part of the first half. And so both teams went to the locker rooms with the score 53 - 28.
The second half quickly became the game that I thought it could have been from the tip, but even without the charity stripe the flow managed to go Davies' way. A third of the way through the half the scores had ballooned to 79-46 with both teams making a mockery of the three point line. The onslaught from the home team lead to the flag being waved by North not too long after. Now that I've seen them both twice in person, I'd love to see how Davies would stack up against Moorhead.
But before the game was over, before the second half was even half way through came a celebrated moment. With a 26 point game, Jaden Klabo scored his 1000th point. The energy started ramping up for it after he knocked down consecutive three's. Then, as he was at the free throw line, groans could be heard as he missed a shot. The anxious audience wouldn't have to wait long though as he got another change from the line to get into the 1K club. He put it through like he was alone in the gym practicing. A timeout was taken and the moment was celebrated. The thing that resonated most with me though was how humble he seemed about it. He's already on track to play Football at NDSU and now this is on his resume. I would understand a little excessive self confidence going on display but from where I was sitting that wasn't the case and all the better for it, if you ask me!
The game went on and with a little over four minutes to go, the back ups checked in. Davies still managed to top the Benjamin mark while maintain enough pressure to disrupt the Spartan's attempts at offense. Cayden Rickard exited to North's bench with 22 but the next highest was nine from Carson Critchley. On the Davies side, Klabo was joined in the 20's by Braeton Motschenbacher who hit the nail on the head. They also got 16 from Cameron Van Dam to go along with eight other players in the book. Getting points from 11 different players seems like a great way to get up to and over 100 points.
So it wasn't the way I thought it might go but with a banner moment and high powered offense it was more than an adequate make up! So the New Civil War went the way of the Southern team without so much as giving up the lead one time. A brief tie but North's teams never lead, as a neutral observer that's very impressive.
Players of the Games
Boys
Jaden Klabo
Girls
Alyssa Paper
Photos of the Games
Boys
Girls
Bonus
Bonus shot after Jaden Klabo put his 1000th point through.
For the rest of the game galleries, click the pics!