Preview: Dunseith Dragons vs. St. John Woodchucks
Dunseith has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will square off against the St. John Woodchucks at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams took a loss in their last game, so they'll have plenty of motivation to get the 'W'.
Dunseith suffered their biggest loss yet this season on Monday. They were dealt a 80-41 defeat at the hands of Four Winds/Minnewaukan. Dunseith has struggled against Four Winds/Minnewaukan recently, as their contest on Monday was their ninth consecutive lost matchup.
Meanwhile, St. John pushed their score all the way to 71 on Tuesday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They fell to Cavalier 77-71. While losing is never fun, St. John can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Dakota basketball rankings (they are ranked 99th, while Cavalier is ranked 32nd).
St. John's loss shouldn't obscure the performances of Cashmyn Belgarde, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds and three steals, and Ezekiel Parisien who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds and two steals. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Parisien has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Madden Parisien, who scored 16 points along with two steals.
Dunseith's loss dropped their record down to 1-8. As for St. John, they have traveled a rocky road recently, as they've lost five of their last six matchups, which put a noticeable dent in their 3-9 record this season.
Dunseith couldn't quite finish off St. John when the teams last played back in February of 2023 and fell 59-56. Thankfully for Dunseith, Brayton Baker (who scored 18 points along with nine rebounds and two steals) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
