1. legiate
Conference
transfers,
Jake
Johnson and Elliot Kane, have been
regulars in the starting lineup for the
Cats all season. Johnson is a versatile
scorer with a soft touch inside and
Kane is a deadly 3-point shooter.
Melvin Newbern Jr. is another new
face for NDSCS and the freshman
has a similar impact as Nelson.
“The toughness of Thomas Nel-
son
and
Melvin
Newbern
Jr.
Those guys are grinders, they
defend, they board, take charges
and give a lot of toughness to
the lineup. They’re just invalu-
able players,” Engen said. “We
never would have been able to
beat Northeast Nebraska in
the rebounding war, but
Melvin really helps coun-
ter that.”
The
athletic
duo
of
Johnnie
Turner
III
and
Damario
Arm-
strong
have
also
made strong contri-
butions
this
year.
Taron Pickford Jr.
and Tristan Popa
have also seen
quite
a
bit
of floor time
for the Wild-
cats,
who
have
won
their last 17
games.
Brian
Giv-
ens
is
one
of the
most
improved
players from
last season and is a nice
spark plug in the Cats’ backcourt.
The team’s focus is on the postsea-
son, but a side objective for the Wild-
cats is to earn the highest national
ranking in school history. The highest
NDSCS has been is ninth and they’re
currently sitting at No. 12.
“What our goal is and what our team
would like to accomplish – just for the
fun of it, because the ending is what
means the most – would be to become
the highest ranked team
in school
history. We’re
three
slots
away
right now,” Engen
said. “When
you look at all the success that
this institution
has had
with
their athletic programs, that
ranking would be a neat deal
and our guys are focused on
that.”
The
Wildcat basketball
teams take their massive
win
streaks
to
Devils
Lake, North Dakota, for
a double header with
Lake
Region
State
College. The
Lady
Wildcats
tip
off
first at 2 p.m. Sun-
day, Feb. 12.
Kate Williams is sinking two and a
half 3’s per game and is second on the
team
in scoring with 10.6 points per
game.
Kyla’s sister Kailey has also been a
main contributor for NDSCS, scoring
nine points per game while also pulling
down close to five boards.
The biggest key to the Lady Wildcats’
historic winning streak is the team’s
ability to work together.
“I think chemistry has a lot to do with
this team’s success. Groups that get
along well off the court have really good
unity on the court and I think it shows,”
Dryburgh said. “We’ve some different
things offensively and defensively, but
it’s not an X’s and O’s thing when you
get on a run like this. It’s more about
understanding that everybody’s on the
same page and you don’t have to worry
about anybody doing their own thing.”
W
ILDCATS
After
last
season’s
historic
run,
which
included
a conference cham-
pionship, a regional title, a district
championship and a win at the NJ-
CAA
National Tournament, the mo-
mentum
has carried over to the 2016-
17 season. Although they lost a strong
class of Cats, which included 1st Team
All-American Julian Walters, at this
point in the season the 25-1 team
has
five more wins than last year’s group
at this time of the year.
“Internally, I was
always
in
the
frame of mind that it was an awfully
good team
coming into this year, but I
didn’t know if we were going to be able
to match those players from
last year.
As time goes on and you look at what
this team’s been able to accomplish:
beating
Northeast
Nebraska
twice,
along with our record and the hot start
in our league. You’ve got to conclude
that this year’s team has outperformed
last year’s team
at this time,” NDSCS
men’s coach Stu Engen said. “We had a
few different guys injured throughout
the year, but now we’re playing these
teams in
the conference the second
time around and we’re more full-forced
than earlier in the year, so we’ve got-
ten a little lucky, too.”
It’s been a blend of returning play-
ers and newcomers steamrolling the
competition. It all starts with James
Batemon
III. Batemon, who was an
Honorable Mention All-American last
season, has flourished since moving
from
the wing to the point. Batemon
routinely flirts with triple doubles, av-
eraging 21.6 points, 5.9 assists and 5.4
rebounds.
“I think James has always done what
he’s needed to do to help this team
win,” Engen
said. “For his own
re-
cruitment we moved him
over to the 1
and I think that’s been one of the big-
gest keys to our success, is his transi-
tion from
the 2 to the 1. He still packs
the punch with his scoring, but he also
gets everyone involved at the same
time. That’s a tough thing to do.”
Gach Gach is also playing a different
role from
last year, sliding from
the
3 to the 2. The sophomore sniper has
been letting it rip, burying four and a
half 3-pointers per game.
“Gach
stepping
up
and
knocking
shots has been huge. Gach’s scoring
has really taken off from
last year to
this year,” Engen said.
Thomas Nelson, Wahpeton’s native
son, is another key to the team’s recent
dominance. The sophomore forward
has added some more skills to his rep-
ertoire, which especially shows on the
perimeter. No. 3’s role, like Batemon
and
Gach, has increased
from
last
year.
“It’s come together at this point in
time,”
Engen
said. “Batemon’s a
No. 1 now, Gach is playing a 2 and
Thomas is being asked to score
more. He wasn’t a shooter when
he
came
here, but now
he’s
shooting it confidently.”
A
pair
of
high
scoring
Northern
Sun
Intercol-
BYTURNERBLAUFUSS•DAILYNEWS
sports@wahpetondailynews.com
S
ometimes
when
a
team
seemingly
wins
every
game they play, they can
fly under the radar a little
bit. Both of the North Dakota State Col-
lege of Science basketball teams have
been tearing through the competition
all season and have a combined record
of 49-3. Here’s a closer look at the keys to
the teams’ success.
LADY
W
ILDCATS
The red-hot NDSCS women have won
15 consecutive games in their 24-2 cam-
paign.
“Since I’ve been here we haven’t had
a season like this. I think you’d have to
go back to the 2007 team
that won the
region,”
third-year NDSCS
women’s
coach Tom
Dryburgh said. “It’s been
exciting, but it’s also one of those things
that you’re always stressed about – the
next one when you’re winning like this.
You’ve won this many in a row and you
don’t want to stop the streak so it’s kind
of a different feeling.”
For the Lady Wildcats, depth is the
name of the game. The balanced junior
College squad
boasts a
deep
bench,
which
helps NDSCS
keep
the pedal
down all game.
“I don’t think there’s one kid
who
necessarily
stands
out
that we need to get the ball
to every time down. We
seem
to
have
a
dif-
ferent No. 2 or No. 3
scorer
every
night
and that’s unique.
It’s
a
really
good
thing to have kids
who just want to fill
their roles,” NDSCS
women’s
coach
Tom
Dryburgh said.
“Even if one kid has
an off night every once
in a while, we’ve got a lot
of kids who can
have
good nights.”
The
Lady
Cats
had a tall order re-
placing
Brittney
Thibeaux,
who
finished her JUCO
career
as
NDSCS’
all-time leading scor-
er. Kyla Adams, who
missed last season with
an injury, has stepped up
into the primary scoring
role. The athletic forward
goes coast-to-coast and leads
the team
in scoring (18.8 points
per game) and rebounding (7.7 re-
bounds per game).
“If she doesn’t tear her Achilles we
could’ve had (Adams) and Britt play-
ing together. It’s nice to see kids step
up into roles that they’re in,” Dryburgh
said. “We lost a lot of scoring from
last
year’s team
and now
you look at the
team
now
and you wonder what you
were worried about.”
The Lady Cats haven’t lost a game in
the Mon-Dak Athletic Conference and
are on pace to claim an outright regular
season conference title.
“It’s always been one of those leagues
that even if you have two or three con-
ference losses, you could still win the
league. For us to be undefeated at the
point we’re at speaks to the quality
depth we have on our team. There’s not
a group that I can throw
on the court
that I don’t think will be successful,”
Dryburgh said. “When we put together
our schedule I thought maybe we’d be
.500 at Christmas break, but for us to be
where we are now is pretty impressive.
It’s definitely the most fun I’ve had as
a coach.”
W
ildcat
Domination
DAILY NEWS | B1
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2017GOODLIFE
Kyla Adams on the move.
James
Batemon III
Jake Johnson
Kailey Adams