Tetons Top Royals

The first time Lake Region State College men played Williston State College, it was off of the heels of a two-game winning streak. The Royals lost that game and have been on a free fall ever since.

Sophomore LaMarr Wood, playing in his final game in the Royal blues, scored 22 points, 18 coming in the second half, in the Royals 92-75 loss to the Tetons on Sunday from the Sports Center. The Royals will head into the Region 13 tournament Thursday, Feb. 28 on a six game losing streak.

"Again, it was a five minute stretch, that 15-0 run to end the half," said Royals head coach Jared Marshall. In their previous lost to North Dakota State College of Science on last Wednesday, the Royals allowed a 22-0 run at the end of the first half that turned a one point Royals lead into what became a dominating performance by NDSCS. On Sunday, the run over the final 4:22 of the first half turned a three point game into an 18 point Teton advantage.

"We just got to eliminate that one lull that we have, rather it's in the middle of the game like we did against Science and Williston or the end of the game like it was against Tribes and Bismarck. If we just get rid of that and get back to playing the full 40 (minutes), we're going to be alright," Marshall said.

The Royals (18-13, 6-8 MonDak) outscored the Tetons (19-10, 12-2) in the second half and was able to cut a 25 point deficit down to 13 late in the second half but never could get over the hump.

Akeen Woods was 5 of 8 from the field and finished with 15 points and seven rebounds and Dalton Prouty scored 12 points for the Royals who will face Bismarck State Thursday. The two teams played three times during the regular season with the Royals winning two of the games.

"We have to be hungry. As I've said before, it's the second season and that's what's going to define us," Marshall said. 

James Jones scored 22 points, Mychael Paulo scored 20 points and Devale Johnson scored 18 points and had 18 rebounds for Williston State College.