The Kittson County Central Bearcats’ Ty Vig scored 30 points as they dominated the Cass Lake-Bena Panthers in a 78-47 victory in the Section 8A Boys Basketball quarterfinals at Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.
FIRST HALF –
Cass Lake-Bena had a good start to the game and took a 5-2 lead before Kittson County Central answered with an 11-0 run. Ty Vig, the University of North Dakota Football commit, scored nine straight points with a basket, an offensive rebound and putback, a three-pointer, and another basket in the paint. The run was capped with a Kellen Johnson offensive rebound and basket for a 13-5 lead. Cass Lake-Bena stopped the run with a basket before the Bearcats answered with a 7-0 run with an Eli Peterson basket, a Brody Scalese three-pointer, and after a KCC steal, they finished the run with another Peterson basket for a 20-7 lead with 11:36 to go in the half. It looked like KCC was going to blow the game open, but Cass Lake-Bena answered with an 8-0 run behind a pair of three-pointers and a basket to get within a 20-15 deficit halfway through the half. KCC bounced back with baskets from Vig and Peterson for a 24-15 lead. Cass Lake-Bena got within a 26-21 deficit before the Bearcats Vig went on an 8-2 run to end the half and Kittson County Central took a 34-22 lead into halftime. Vig led all scorers with 21 points at halftime.
SECOND HALF –
Kittson County Central had a tremendous start to the second half as they started on an 18-5 run in the first six minutes. It started with a Brody Scalese basket, four points from Johnson, a Brock Scalese three-pointer, and a basket by Vig. After a Cass Lake-Bena basket, KCC responded with a Peterson three-pointer and after a Panther three-pointer, the Bearcats Vig and Peterson added baskets for a 52-27 lead with 11:42 remaining. Cass Lake-Bena scored four points before KCC answered with six points as Johnson scored four and Ashton Knutson added a basket for a 58-31 lead. KCC continued their dominance as they pulled away for a 78-47 victory.
Kittscon County Central improves to 21-7 on the year and will play Fertile-Beltrami in the Section 8A semi-finals on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. at the Ralph Englestad Arena. Cass Lake-Bena ends the season with a 15-13 record.
Listen to postgame comments from KCC head coach Trent Jerome:
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Cass Lake-Bena | 22 | 25 | 47 |
| Kittson Co. Central | 34 | 44 | 78 |
| For Kittson County Central | Points |
| Ty Vig | 30 |
| Kellen Johnson | 16 |
| Eli Peterson | 11 |
| Brody Scalise | 11 |
| Brock Scalise | 3 |
| James Cerkowniak | 3 |
| Ashton Knutson | 2 |
| For Cass Lake-Bena | Points |
| Tateyn Boswell | 14 |
| Douglas Dick | 10 |
| Jayden Fairbanks | 7 |
| Judson Goss | 4 |
| Tristen Gill | 3 |
| Joseph Wind | 3 |
| Ardik Fowler | 3 |
| Lorenzo Reyes | 2 |
| Adrian Brown | 1 |
