Column: The B, where fantasy becomes reality

Minot Daily News

Photo by Al Christianson.

BISMARCK — Driving north through pockets of thick fog engulfing U.S. Route 83 in the wee hours of Sunday morning, my mind was still racing at a million thoughts per minute. The final moments of the North Dakota Class B boys basketball state championship looped on repeat in my conscience, as I cautiously kept scanning the road left and right, waiting for a pack of wild Burros to jump out of the fog and derail my journey back to the Magic City. I just couldn’t comprehend what was more remarkable; the fact that Bishop Ryan stormed back from down 10 points with 70 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime, or the fact that Hillsboro/Central Valley captured its second straight state title in the same fashion they did a year ago: on a buzzer beating 3-pointer. None of it made sense and none of it seemed real. A dream for some, a nightmare for others. But, no. It wasn’t a figment of our imagination. What happened in the Bismarck Event Center on March 17, 2018, actually did happen and, outcome aside, should never be forgotten. I thought when Kyle Henningsgard lifted the HCV Burros over Four Winds/Minnewaukan a year ago at the Minot State Dome with the ‘Shot heard around North Dakota’ that I had witnessed one of the greatest finishes ever in a high school basketball game.

I vouched heavily for the 2017 Class B boys state title game to be the No. 1 moment in our Top 10 Minot sports stories of 2017 — beating out the Minot High School boys basketball three-peat — because “we would never see anything like that again.” I was wrong. So wrong. Unbelievably wrong. Never doubt the realm of possibilities when it comes to The B. I learned my lesson the hard way on Saturday. With under five minutes to play and HCV leading Ryan by 12 points, I started writing the opening paragraphs of a no heroics needed this time for the Burros recap. By the time the Lions were getting ready to launch their immaculate comeback, I had already deleted all the pre-drafts I had ready for a Ryan championship. A mistake I regretted immediately. But, I figured it was over. As Ryan head coach Jeremy Feller pointed out, people were leaving the arena. Then, Caden Shean forced a three-point play, Ben Bohl hit two ridiculous threes and Mason Hedberg broke the sound barrier in the Bismarck Event Center with a deep 3-pointer from the top of the arc to tie the game at 63-63 with 5.5 seconds left. All of which made possible by a ferocious full-court press, some missed HCV free throws and a lot of heart. Everything I had written on the Burros was pushed down the page and the race was on to rewrite what I had previously deleted. The ‘Lions Champions!’ headline had been revitalized in dramatic fashion. But, in the end, a tweaked version of no heroics turned into the Burros needing another hero, another game-winning three from the corner of the court made the final draft. Ryan Troftgruben had ripped away Ryan’s second state title in a heartbreaker, 73-71. And the Burros repeated as champions in another instant classic. I threw words, stats and quotes on the page hoping they would stick. There wasn’t nearly enough time — 30 minutes — to make deadline and re-tell a story that will be retold decades from now. Typing away as the HCV student section lifted Troftgruben into the air at center court and tearful hugs were being exchanged on the Lions’ sideline, it hit me. This is probably the craziest high school game I’ll ever cover. But, who knows? I’m certainly not going to bet against The B in continuing to produce more surreal moments. That’s one mistake I’m not making again.