Mavericks Compete but Fall at Eastern C

The North Country boys basketball team saw their 2023-24 season come to a close at the Eastern C Divisional Tournament in Glasgow this past week. The Mavericks fell to the eventual runner-up, Plentywood, by a score of 49-31 in the opening round of play Feb. 28. The loss moved the Mavericks into do-or-die play against Froid/Lake the following day, where they fell 56-48.

North Country held close with Plentywood in the first quarter of play, trailing 10-8 at the end of the first eight minutes. The Wildcats began to pull away from the Mavericks in the second quarter, outscoring them 14-6 for a 10-point lead at the half. North Country scored 8 in the third but found themselves down 38-22 heading into the final quarter. Plentywood outpaced North Country 11-9 in the last eight minutes for the 49-31 win over the Mavericks.

Coy Bowman paced the Mavericks with 9 points followed by Blaine Downing with 8 and Kade Strommen with 7 points. Jake Brown scored 5 and Laytin Erickson connected for 2 points. Downing had two assists for North Country while Strommen had one helper.

Downing also led in rebounds, pulling down eleven. Brown had three steals for North Country while Downing, Bowman and Erickson had one takeaway each. Brown also had the Mavericks' lone block of the game.

North Country hit the court Thursday morning against Froid/Lake, who had lost 53-45 to the Scobey Spartans in the first round. The Mavericks led 17-14 over the Redhawks after one, but a big second quarter for Froid/Lake saw them take a 30-25 lead into the second half. North Country cut into Froid/Lake's lead by outscoring them 9-6 in the third to trail 36-34. The Redhawks put up 20 in the last eight minutes while holding the Mavericks to 14 for the 56-48 victory.

Strommen led the Mavericks with 18 and Downing scored 12 points. Erickson put up 8, Brown 7 and Bowman 3 points in their final game of the season. Bowman and Brown both had two assists while Downing and Erickson had one helper each.

Downing led in rebounds with nine, followed by Strommen with eight and Erickson with seven. Bowman had four boards and Brown two. Downing also led in steals with four while Brown had two and Erickson one takeaway. Downing and Erickson shut down one Redhawks shot attempt each.

The North Country Mavericks lose senior Andrew Boucher to graduation this year, but look to return all other team members to the roster next year under head coach Haakon Fredrickson.