North Basketball Picking up Steam

Historically, Fargo North has started strong, but fallen off towards the end of the season. This year, they are hoping to flip the script. The Fargo North boys basketball team seems to be picking up momentum at the right time, as they have picked up big wins over the past couple of weeks that have included victories against Wahpeton yesterday, and a win against Valley City on the 5th. This stretch also included a 64-59 loss to second ranked West Fargo, a game in which North easily could have won.

Head Coach Ted Critchley has said that he is not one for moral victories, but he thought this game was a game that helped put the program on the map. “We are not a team that teams want to play in the tournament,” Critchley has said many times at practice.

After the 75-48 win at Wahpeton in which Senior Sawyer Kenney and Junior Keaton Hoeg each scored 18 points, with Senior Hyatt Martineau chipping in 13 points. It was a big win for the program, as Wahpeton was ahead of North in the EDC standings before the win.

All this comes at the right time for the Spartans, as they are finally putting their early season struggles behind them. Early in the year, North was struggling on offense, finding it hard to score points consistently. However, a new offense implemented over the past couple of weeks has helped considerably, as their win at Wahpeton was their highest scoring game this season.

Now, as North works its way up the standings, they face another big test tomorrow at Devils Lake. The Spartans fell at home to the Firebirds in their first game of the season, 64-60. That was a game the North thought they should have won, and are looking to get revenge this time around.

A win Friday will put them in prime position to make a run at the state tournament, and a better seed in the EDC tournament will improve their chances.