Bottineau’s Mark Lacroix’s jump shot with less than four seconds remaining gave the No. 5 Braves a 60-58 upset win over No. 4 Rugby in the first round of the District 11 boys basketball tournament in Rugby on Friday, Feb. 26.

The Panthers tried to inbound the ball, but it was stolen and Lacroix ran down the court and put up the winning shot. He finished with 14 points. Justin McCloud was Bottineau’s top scorer with 19 points.

Rugby led much of the game, but the Braves rallied for the win, avenging an early season loss to the Panthers. Eric Kuntz scored 12 points to lead Rugby. Jayden Welk added 11. Bottineau advanced to face No. 1 Towner-Granville-Upham in the semifinals on Feb. 27. Rugby, meanwhile, dropped into a loser-out game against No. 8 Sawyer.

Titans down Sawyer

Earlier, top-seeded T-G-U rolled to a 87-56 win over No. 8 Sawyer. Eight Titan players scored in the opening quarter and T-G-U led 25-6. Stetson Brandt led the Titans with 18 points. Matthew Drader scored 15 and Tyler Thorson added 10. T-G-U will face Bottineau on Feb. 27 in a semifinal game.

No. 2 Velva defeated No. 7 Drake-Anamoose 58-53 in a first round game and No. 6 Westhope-Newburg upended No. 3 Dunseith 74-65. It marked the second year in a row W-N won a first round game as the No. 6 seed.