Kari Gibb/MDN Garrison’s Little Hail Perkins (34) looks for a passing or shooting lane in the paint while surrounded by Bishop Ryan’s Izaac Strandlien (24), Jett Lundeen (31) and Jack Passa (2) in the first of the Division B Boys Basketball State Qualifier games on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at the Minot Auditorium.

The 2024-2025 Division B Region 3 and Region 4 Boys Basketball Tournaments concluded on Thursday, March 13, and the champions from those tournaments moved on to the state tournament automatically.

The second and third place teams from each region needs a win in the state qualifying rounds of play on Saturday, March 15, at the Minot Auditorium for the chance to move on and play in the state tournament this week.

R3-2 Bishop Ryan 56, R4-3 Garrison 43

The third place team from Region 4 had no trouble letting the second place team from Region 3 know that seeding and placing had little impact on intimidation on the quest for a state tournament bid.

The Troopers controlled the tip, scored the first points and held the lead for nearly the entire first quarter of play. Bishop Ryan needed extra effort to close the gap in the first quarter as Garrison led 9-8 to start the second.

To start the second quarter, the Lions began working the paint and responded to the physical play of Garrison. With just over a minute gone in the second, the Lions finally got a lead in the game at 10-9 for Bishop Ryan.

With 3:44 to play in the first half, the score was tied 18-18 as the game was physical and the fans hounded the refs for calls non-stop.

Great ball movement by the Lions kept Bishop Ryan in front despite the aggressive, no holds barred play by Garrison. The Lions led 27-21 at the half.

The Lions held the 21-12 edge in rebounding from the first half that gave Bishop Ryan 15 second chance points for the lead in the game.

Whatever chat the Lions had at the half, Bishop Ryan used tough, physical inside play by the guards and shooting forwards combined with excellent ball movement to build a solid 43-29 lead to start the final quarter of play.

That same game strategy found a home for the Lions in the fourth quarter enroute to the 56-43 win. Bishop Ryan continued the edge in rebounding 39-28 in the game with 23 second chance points to show for the effort on the boards.

The Lions also had the edge in shooting 3-point shots 8-of-9 compared to 3-of-6 for the Troopers. Garrison had three blocked shots while Bishop Ryan had seven- six of those were by Ramsey Walz in the paint.

The Lions were led by Walz with 29 points and 17 rebounds for Bishop Ryan. Jett Lundeen added eight points and eight rebounds while Isaac Strandlien also had eight points in the win.

Garrison was led by Little Hail Perkins with 22 points and seven rebounds. Treyson Iglehart and Gaige Roberts each added seven points in the effort for the Troopers.

Bishop Ryan advances to the state tournament this week with the win.

R3-3 Westhope-Newburg 60, R4-2 Central McLean 36

Central McLean entered the second state qualifying game as the second place team from Region 4 while Westhope-Newburg came out of Region 3 as the third place reps.

The Cougars won the tip and after a few missed shots by each team, Central McLean scored the first two points and held the lead until the middle of the first quarter when the Sioux took the 5-4 lead and never trailed again in the first half.

By the time the second quarter was ready to start, Westhope-Newburg held the 17-8 lead. The second quarter was a 3-point shooting exhibition by the Sioux with 6-14 compared to 0-7 for the Cougars. Despite the slight edge in rebounding for Central McLean, 17-to-14, The Sioux led 32-12 at the half.

The second half started with the Sioux working the ball around the court while the Cougars hustled on defense and worked the paint. Half way through the third quarter, Westhope-Newburg led 37-16 in the slow start to the scoring.

The second half of the third quarter was the same defensive back-and-forth battle as the first four minutes of play in the third. Central McLean was in foul trouble with just over two minutes to play in the third quarter. With a last second buzzer beating 3-point shot by Braaten, Westhope-Newburg led 46-21 with one quarter left for a bid to the state tournament.

Sioux bench players began to enter the game at just over the six minute mark with Westhope-Newburg up 51-23 in the game. While Central McLean outscored the Sioux bench players over the course of the final six minutes, the gap was too wide to close.

Westhope-Newburg were 11-24 from the arc compared to 3-15 for the Cougars. Central McLean had 36 rebounds compared to 26 for the Sioux. The Cougars had 19 turnovers compared to ten for Westhope-Newburg.

Braaten led the Sioux with 23 points and five rebounds in the game. Dayton Hawkins added 13 points while Will Artz, Braden Bailey, Tiger Lee and Hunter Tolstad each contributed six points in the win.

Central McLean was led by Jase Utley with 11 points while Samuel Benson and Jacob Wolf each added eight points for the Cougars.

The Sioux will head to the state tournament this week.