Kari Gibb/MDN Minot North senior Tamari Carter (13) looks into the paint while fellow senior Carson Sessing (23) cuts for the basket in non-conference action against Grand Forks Central on Saturday, December 28, at the Sentinels gym.

The visiting Grand Forks Central Knights jumped out to an early lead in the first half of play that required the Minot North boys basketball team to work to close the gap before recording the 67-58 home win for the Sentinels on Saturday, December 28, in non-conference action to close out the 2024 portion of the 2024-2025 season.

With a slow start for both teams scoring in the opening minutes of play, the Knights picked up the slack sooner than the Sentinels and held a 21-9 lead after ten minutes ticked off the clock. The hosts did have the advantage in free throws as Grand Forks Central had seven fouls by that point in the game.

The Sentinels maintained their game plan and began chipping away at the 12-point deficit with the Knights taking a 28-26 lead into halftime.

With only two points to make up, Minot North outscored GF Central 41-30 in the second half for the nine point win.

Minot North went to the freethrow line 17 times in the game and hit 12 of those. GF Central shot from the charity stripe seven time and made five.

Both teams hit 11 three-point shots. Minot North only needed 25 attempts compared to the 36 by GF Central. That 44-percent shooting compared to just over 30-percent for the Knights was a significant edge for the Sentinels.

Minot North was 11-for-26 in two-point shots compared to 10-for-26 for GF Central. The Knights had 12 points off turnovers and 24 points in transition for statistical edges over Minot North. Grand Forks Central held the numbers advantage in deflections and steals while Minot North had the edge in defensive rebounds and blocks.

The Sentinels had four players in double digits scoring and eight players with points in the game, Tamari Carter had 14 points to lead Minot North. Kaiden Helm added 13 while Brayden Blikre hit for 12 points in the game. Camden Aufforth was the fourth player in double digits with 11 points in the win.

Traydon Bachmeier had eight rebounds for the Sentinels with Helm adding eight as well.

The win moves Minot North to 2-3 overall with Mandan making the trip to Minot for the Sentinels next Western Dakota Association (WDA) contest on Friday, January 3, at Minot North High School.