Early run secures win for Fountain Lake

MAGNET COVE -- A slow start for Bismarck left the Lions playing from behind all night as Fountain Lake held off multiple late runs for a 59-46 win in the first round of the Battle at the Cove tournament at Panther Arena.

The Cobras (4-2) opened the game on an 11-0 run before the Lions (2-3) managed to get on the scoreboard with Dawson King's 3-pointer with 1:27 off the clock. Unfortunately for the Lions, the Cobras added another 10 points over the next two minutes to take a 21-3 lead with 4:38 left in the opening frame.

"We spotted them 21 before we really started playing, and they had a lot to do with that," Bismarck head coach Mark Hamby. "I mean, they were making shots and making plays on defense, and like I said we made a couple runs at them, and then they weathered the storm."

The Lions bounced back with a 7-2 run to close out the quarter with a 13-point deficit. Bismarck opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run to pull within 25-23, but a free throw by Will Drakes and two by Andrew Overton left the Cobras up 28-25 going into the break.

"We had a good energy to start, a lot of plays at the start of the game," said Fountain Lake head coach Jake Dettmering. "Credit to them, they made some shots, and they played hard throughout, so I mean they're scrappy, a tough bunch. We had a stretch in the second quarter where the ball just wasn't falling, and we were getting great looks. Compound that with them making some shots, they got back into the game by half.

"But credit my guys for finishing the game. We started with a 5-point lead going into fourth and a couple minutes in, we're up 10 and then finished 13, so they added to the lead through the fourth quarter."

The two teams opened the second half with back-to-back buckets before Fountain Lake pulled out to a 35-31 lead, but a 3-pointer by King cut the spread back down to 1. The Lions knotted the score at 37-all before the Cobras pushed out to a 44-39 lead to end the quarter.

Fountain Lake pushed out to a 10-point lead early in the final frame and never let Bismarck get any closer as it held on for the win.

"Fountain Lake's a really good team," Hamby said. "We made two or three pretty serious runs at them, and they weathered the storm. They're really solid on defense and pretty strong inside, and their inside play was very strong tonight."

Colton McMullin led the Cobras with 18 points, 3 assists and 4 steals, Andrew Overton added 16 with 12 boards and a block, and Rodrigo Vasquez had 11 with 4 steals. Collier Robertson and King led Bismarck with 13 points each, Robertson with 5 rebounds and 3 assists and King with 7 boards. Wayne Porterfield had three of the team's 9 steals.

The Cobras will face off against Magnet Cove or Centerpoint in the tournament at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, and the Lions will play Mountain Pine at 10:30 a.m.

Lions-Cobras, Box

BISMARCK (46)

Collier Robertson 5-12 2-4 13, Connor Corley 0-2 2-2 2, Dawson King 5-13 0-0 13, Logan Bubulka 3-6 1-2 8, Wayne Porterfield 1-6 0-0 2, Blake Smith 2-6 0-0 5, Grady Howell 1-4 0-0 3.

FOUNTAIN LAKE (59)

Rodrigo Vasquez 3-9 5-7 11, Jon Farley 1-3 0-0 3, Colton McMullin 6-15 3-5 18, Andrew Overton 7-14 2-2 16, Landin Kizer 3-5 0-1 6, Christopher Desfassiaux 2-3 0-0 4, Will Drakes 0-1 1-2 1.

Bis 10 15 14 7 46

FL 23 5 16 15 59

3-Point Goals-Bis 7-17 (King 3-7, Smith 1-2, Howell 1-2, Robertson 1-4, Bubulka 1-1, Porterfield 0-1), FL 4-11 (McMullin 3-6, Farley 1-3, Vasquez 0-1, Overton 0-1). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Bis 21 (King 7), FL 29 (Overton 12). Assists-Bis 5 (Robertson 3), FL 8 (McMullin 3). Total Fouls-Bis 19, FL 12.

Sports on 12/06/2019

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