'We didn't come here to color;' Ray surges after slow start to beat North Star in Division B quarterfinals
Mar. 19—MINOT — Second-seeded Ray had a phrase heading into the North Dakota Division B basketball tournament: "We didn't come here to color. " The crayons were only out for about a quarter against seventh-seeded North Star Thursday afternoon at the Minot State Dome.
The Jays took control early in the second quarter and dominated the final two, cruising to an 85-60 win over the Bearcats in the tournament quarterfinals. "Sometimes in the first quarter, we were coloring," freshman Ty Barman said. "But we bounced back.
In the second half, we weren't coloring anymore. ... We decided to rebound, just decided to play defense.
" Thursday was Ray's second appearance in the state tournament and the first since 1990. "We came here to play basketball," Ray head coach Michael Bergstrom said. "We're clearly happy to make the state tournament, but that's not our ultimate goal.
So we had a very business-like approach last week and we came out and got the results. " The Jays went into the locker room with a 39-32 lead, led by Jace Becker's 15 points. It was Barman's turn to assume the offensive load in the second half.