Braves win District 15 Tournament
By Jerry W. Kram
The Parshall Braves survived a close semifinal game with the New Town Eagles before vanquishing the Trinity Christian Crusaders in another hard fought game to win the District 15 Championship in New Town on Monday.
The Braves, ranked 10th in the statewide basketball poll and seeded number one in the tournament, had little trouble dealing with the Alexander Comets. The Comets are in their first year of existence after co-oping with Watford City for many years. Head Coach Wade Baker played his bench for most of the game as the Braves cruised to a 76-47 win.
"Our regular season is over with," Baker said. "Now we start competing on a lot higher level. Everyone is after us because of where we are. There are no second chances after this. This is one game at a time now."
The Eagles surprised the 10th ranked Parshall Braves be coming out and taking a 15-4 lead in the first quarter. Parshall went on a run of their own and closed the gap to five by the end of the first quarter, 21-16. The Eagles scored the first four points of the second quarter to rebuild their lead to nine, but the Braves came roaring back and tied the game at 32 with 3:11 to go in the first half. The Braves finished the quarter with a 9-4 run to take a 41-36 lead into the locker room at halftime.
"New Town and Parshall always play a rival game," Baker said. "Anytime they play it is going to be a tough game no matter who has the better team."
