The Warwick Warriors pulled off the first of a few upsets in the Region 4 Boys Basketball Tournament by defeating the Harvey-Wells County Hornets, 65-56, on Monday, March 6, at the Devils Lake Sports Center in Devils Lake.
The Warriors outscored the Hornets by eight in the first quarter, saw that lead evaporate late in the third, and then exploded for 22 fourth quarter points en route to their 17th win of the season.
Jason Lenoir collected three offensive boards in the first quarter and turned them into six points, helping Warwick take a 15-7 lead after eight minutes.
The Hornets collected a couple of their own offensive boards early in the second quarter, helping them cut the lead to three at 21-18. Tallen Thorson, Gabe Allmaras and Brock Fike knocked down three-pointers for HWC, but the Warriors answered with two threes each from Marcus Joramo and Mark Fassett, helping Warwick take a 33-24 lead at halftime.
The Warriors increased their lead early in the second half to 11 points with a field goal from Dalton Joramo. Six quick points from Keaton Keller cut the lead to seven, but field goals from Elijah Feather and Fassett moved the lead back to nine with 1:21 left in the quarter. The Hornets went wild in the final 81 seconds, with Keller scoring four points and Noah Ziegler and Tate Grossman connecting on three pointers to give HWC their first lead of the game at 44-43 with eight minutes to play.
Dalton Joramo answered the Hornet run starting the fourth with a three. Feather added another three and the Warwick lead was 49-46. Feather's third three of the game moved the lead to seven at 53-46, and the Warriors matched the Hornets for the rest of the game, claiming the quarterfinal victory 65-56.
Fassett led four Warriors in double figures with 20 points, while Dalton Joramo and Feather added 11 points each. Marcus Joramo added 10 more, while Lenoir scored nine to round out the starting five. Fassett also added six rebounds, seven assists, six steals and three blocks.
The Hornets were led by Grossman's 16 points. Keller added 14 and Allmaras had 11 in the defeat for HWC. Allmaras led HWC with 15 rebounds, while Grossman added six assists and five steals.
The Hornets were hampered by 22 turnovers, including nine in the opening quarter.
The win for Warwick, coupled with another upset over #2-seeded North Prairie, moved them into the Region 4 finals this past Thursday with a 18-6 record. They would meet North Star, a 51-46 upset winner over second-ranked and defending state Class B champion Four Winds-Minnewaukan, for a spot at the State Class B Tournament in Bismarck Thursday-Saturday, March 16-18.
The loss ended the Hornets' season at 15-7, and marked the end of the roundball careers of HWC seniors Allmaras, Grossman and Fike.
Region 4 Boys' Basketball
Tournament, Devils Lake
Quarterfinals
Warwick 65, HWC 56
War. 15 18 10 22 65
HWC 7 17 20 12 56
HWC: Tate Grossman 16, Keaton Keller 14, Gabe Allmaras 11, Tallen Thorson 7, Noah Ziegler 5, Brock Fike 3.
Warwick: Mark Fassett 20, Elijah Feather 11, Dalton Joramo 11, Marcus Joramo 10, Jason Lenoir 9, Dwight Hunt 4.
HWC Additional Stats
Rebounds: Allmaras 15, Grossman 8, Keller 6, Thorson and Ziegler 3, Fike 1.
Assists: Grossman 6, Allmaras and Thorson 4, Ziegler 1.
Steals: Grossman 5, Keller 2.
Blocks: Keller 1.
Warwick Additional Stats
Rebounds: Lenoir 7, Fassett 6, M. Joramo and Dorvan McKay 5, D. Joramo 4, Feather 3.
Assists: Fassett 7, D. Joramo 3, Feather, Lenoir and McKay 2, M. Joramo 1.
Steals: Fassett 6, D. Joramo 5, Lenoir and McKay 2, Feather, Hunt and M. Joramo 1.
Blocks: Fassett 3, Lenoir 1.