Grafton knocks off Wahpeton to earn North Dakota Division A boys state tournament berth

FARGO — After narrowly missing last year’s state tournament, the Grafton Spoilers are heading to the newly created North Dakota Division A boys basketball tournament.

Grafton defeated the Region 1 No. 2-seeded Wahpeton Huskies 48-36 in a state-qualifying game Saturday afternoon at the Scheels Center.

The Spoilers, who came into the game as the No. 3-seed from Region 2, has a few seniors on its current roster that got a chance to play in the state tournament in 2022.

“It’s fun for them to get another crack at it,” said Grafton head coach Riley Lillemoen. “They work and they did just enough to get the win.”

One of those seniors, Juan Villarreal, scored a game-high 21 points for the Spoilers, including a 3-pointer and four free throws.

“We went to it my sophomore year and it felt great,” Villarreal said. “It didn’t seem as exciting, but now that it’s my senior year and last chance to do it. I just want to have fun.”

The Huskies opened the first quarter on a 9-0 run and ended the quarter leading 12-7. Grafton rallied back after Braylon Baldwin splashed a 3-pointer to tie the game at 17-17 with 5 minutes, 2 seconds left in the second quarter.

Villareal scored 13 points in the second quarter to put the Spoilers on top 28-23 at halftime.

“We’ve never been schooled for five minutes,” Villarreal said. “Something just clicked as a team. They saw me driving and I was bouncing off of them. We started scoring and took the lead.”

Grafton continued to put up points in the third quarter. The Spoilers outscored the Huskies 11-6 and led 39-29 after three quarters.

Wahpeton’s struggle to generate a rally continued into the fourth quarter. The Huskies scored only 13 points in the final half. Baldwin closed out the game for Grafton with five free throws.

Baldwin scored 12 points for the Spoilers. Kyler Droog added six points, Ryan Hanson had five points and Brody Lillemoen had four points. Grafton went 11 of 12 from the foul line.

Brayden Steffen led Wahpeton with 10 points. Jayden King and Cooper Klosterman each finished with seven points. Bjorn Kubela scored five points and Landon Ralph drained a 3-pointer. The Huskies made 4 of 8 free throws.

Huskies head coach Jeff Ralph commended his seniors, including King, Klosterman and Landon Ralph, on the impact they’ve had on the program.

“Those five guys were huge leaders for us,” Jeff Ralph said. “They set the tone for these younger kids. A great group of kids and a group that came to work everyday.”

Another week of preparation and execution on the floor is in store for Grafton with the state tournament a week away.

“We need to shoot the ball better,” Riley Lillemoen said. “We did not shoot the ball well today and we need to take care of the ball. Those two things would help a lot.”

After graduating from North Dakota State University, Haugland joined the Forum in January of 2023. Readers can reach him at 701-241-5508 or by emailing ahaugland@forumcomm.com