Four Winds-Minnewaukan Takes State Title And Jason Feather is North Dakota's Mr. BasketBall
BOYS BASKETBALL: Four Winds-Minnewaukan wins B title
MINOT -- After losing in the championship game of the 2015 North Dakota Class B boys high school basketball tournament, Rick Smith wasn't sure if there would be a repeat opportunity.
The transformation went well. On Saturday night, the Indians went from state runner-up to state champion. Four Winds-Minnewaukan downed Minot Our Redeemer's 77-65 in the Class B title game.
"It doesn't matter what year we got it, I'm just happy we got a championship,'' junior point guard Steve Redfox said. "We worked a lot to get better. We were tired of (our program) not winning it all.''
The title was the first for the sixth-year co-op. It was the first in Smith's 17 seasons as head coach, a career that started with Four Winds and continued with the current co-op.
Any pessimism about this season ended in the months following the end of the 2014-15 season.
"We saw over the summer how hard these kids worked,'' said Smith, who was named Class B coach of the year. "They had talent. We felt we had a chance of back getting back to state. But we figured it would be a tough road getting back, much less getting a state championship.''
The Indians closed the season with a 26-1 record. The final victory wasn't without obstacles.
The Indians managed to hold a 39-33 lead at halftime despite major foul problems.
Versatile standout Tronis McKay picked up his third foul with 2:24 left in the first quarter and sat the rest of the half. Starter Jacob Yankton picked up his third with 3:40 left in the second and sat the rest of the half.
But Jason Feather scored all 10 of his first-half points after McKay went to the bench to spark the offense.
"I thought the big key was that we held service with Tronis on the bench,'' Smith said. "That 6-point lead at halftime was huge. I thought he was just getting going when he picked up his third. He was hungry and ready to go in the second half.''
McKay finished with a game-high 22 points, 15 of those in the second half.
"It was OK on the bench,'' the junior said. "I just tried to stay calm and put my trust in my teammates. I felt I had to go out and prove something (in the second half).''
The Indians expanded the lead to 58-43 after three, closing the quarter on a 9-2 run. McKay got the spurt going with a pair of baskets, Feather hit a trey from the right wing and reserve Durell Keo hit a layup.
Four Winds-Minnewaukan carried that momentum into the fourth quarter. McKay sandwiched a pair of close-range baskets around two Koltin ThreeIrons free throws and the Indians' lead was up to 64-45, at 19 their biggest advantage of the game.
Our Redeemer's would get no closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Four Winds' Feather earns another honor with all-state selection
The first Mr. Basketball winner in school history, Feather capped his dream senior campaign with yet another individual honor. Also named the Class B state tournament's most valuable player, Feather—the Region 4 senior athlete of the year—was the only unanimous selection to this year's North Dakota Class B all-state team, as voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
A 6-foot-1 shooting guard, Feather led the state champion Indians (26-1) in scoring and steals, and converted more than half his attempts from 3-point range.
"He just shot the ball at such a high percentage. It was unbelievable," Smith said. "It got to be where the defenses got tighter and tighter on him, and he still would just get open and knock them down."
Feather averaged 22.7 points per contest, and chipped in per-game marks of 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3.1 steals. He also buried 51 percent of his 3-point attempts, making him the "best pure shooter" Smith has ever encountered. Feather is committed to Lake Region State.
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Well done!
Congratulation, well done.