Mavericks second at Boys 3C

The North Country Mavericks are headed to the Eastern C Divisional in Sidney.

The Mavericks earned second place at the 2021 District 3C Tourney held this past weekend in Malta.

The Mavericks qualified for the Divisional by defeating the Dodson Coyotes 50-41 in the 3C Semifinals on Thursday, February 18.

"I think that everyone could tell that it was building up to that point all year," Mavericks Coach Taylor Olson said. "We had struggled with them early on, then got closer in Dodson, so we knew it was going to be a dog fight Thursday night."

The Mavericks also defeated the Frazer Bearcubs 76-30 in the opening round on Wednesday, February 17, in Hinsdale. The Mavericks lost the 3C Championship game to the Scobey Spartans on Saturday, February 20. The score was 70-35.

In the team's semifinal win over Dodson, the Mavericks were led by Loden Idler, who scored 21 points, while going 11-of-14 from the free-throw line, with eight of those makes coming in the fourth quarter to ice the game.

"It felt really good to knock those down," Idler said. "I had been struggling with free throws all year, so it felt good to get some down."

Idler said that he shoots 100 free throws a day, and that practicing the shot helped him.

"It's been a long time coming," Idler said of making the divisional tournament. "We got there my freshman year and we have fallen short the last two years, so it feels good to get back."

Jon Rey Taylor poured in 12 points, Jesse Lee had 10 points, Beau Simonson had four points, and Trey Johnson had three points.

Taylor said that the team's rebounding was key in their win over Dodson.

"Trey Johnson and Beau Simonson were working to outrebound those big dudes down low," Taylor said.

Simonson was tasked to face Dodson's Zarek Jones and Dwight Werk, two strong rebounders in the post.

"It's tough, but you just gotta keep grinding," Simonson said. "There are battles, but you just have to keep going. Our shooters were where it was at tonight. You can't win a game without scoring and they did it for us."

Dodson was led by Zarek Jones who had 16 points. Juliun Benson had 10 points, Dwight Werk had six points, Michael Jaynes had five points. Jeremiah Benson and Alex Werk each had two points.

Defensively, the Mavericks stepped up, slowing the Coyotes down to only six points in the first quarter, while scoring eight points.

The Coyotes fought back in the second quarter, putting up 14 points to North Country's 11.

After halftime, the Mavericks remained aggressive defensively forcing several turnovers, and outpacing Dodson 15-9, in the third quarter and 16-9 in the fourth quarter.

"We were (ticked) off and we wanted this one bad," Lee said. "They were talking and we talked back too, so winning this felt really nice to finally get them."

The Mavericks went on to take on the 2020 State C Co-Champion Scobey Spartans, and the champions lived up to their billing, despite the strong effort that North Country put forth.

The Mavericks were led by Taylor, who had 12 points. Johnson had eight points, Simonson had seven points, Idler and Randy Gairrett each had three points, and Lee had two points.

The Spartans jumped in front with a 16-3 run in the first quarter. North Country slowed down Scobey's run, keeping pace in the second quarter, scoring 11, while holding Scobey to 10 points. At one point, the Mavericks brought the lead down to ten.

The Spartans picked up an offensive jolt by their lead scorer Caden Handran, who scored 14 points in the third after not scoring a point in the first half. Handran led all scorers with a total of 16 points. In the third quarter, Scobey scored 26, while holding North Country to 15. The Spartans closed out the game with an 18-6 run in the fourth quarter.

In the Mavericks' win over Frazer, North Country was led by Simonson who had 16 points. Lee had 13 points, Trey Johnson and Aiden Albus had 12 points. Idler had nine points.

The Mavericks played relentless defense, outscoring Frazer 24-13 in the first quarter, 21-0 in the second quarter, and 21-6 in the third quarter. Frazer scored 11 points in the fourth, while North Country had 10.

The Maverick will head into the week with a few things to work on before they have to face Fairview Warriors in the opening round of the Eastern C Divisional in Sidney, set to start on Wednesday, March 3. The Mavs game tips off on Thursday, March 4, at 11 a.m.

"We will be working some early action in our offense, taking care of the ball and eating a little bit of clock," Coach Olson said.