Turtle Mountain: Season Update
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Belcourt, ND – The Braves play in the talented and difficult WDA in Class A basketball. They are a skilled team with some offensive stars. However, they have been dealing with adversity so far this season and things have not been…
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Continue ReadingBelcourt, ND – The Braves play in the talented and difficult WDA in Class A basketball. They are a skilled team with some offensive stars. However, they have been dealing with adversity so far this season and things have not been going exactly how the Braves would have liked. The basketball season is a long one and there is still plenty of time for Turtle Mountain to turn things around and get it rolling before the Region Tournament starts. Watch out for the Braves, they could be a darkhorse in March! Turtle Mountain has plenty of firepower to pull off a couple of upsets in Bismarck at the Regionals. Read below for information on the Braves.
Player Stats
Houston Davis Houston Davis 6'4" | SF Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND (2023) |6-3 F| – 18.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 3.4 apg
Parker Wallette Parker Wallette 6'3" | SF Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND (2023) |6-3 F| – 19.1 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.3 apg
Gunner Zerr Gunner Zerr 6'0" | SG Turtle Mountain | 2024 State ND (2024) |5-10 G| – 12.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 apg
Tanner Monette Tanner Monette 6'0" | SG Turtle Mountain | 2022 State ND (2022) |6-0 G| – 7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.6 apg
Gannyn Monette Gannyn Monette 6'2" | SG Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND (2023) |6-2 G| – 5.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 apg
Dayton Allery (2022) |6-1 F| – 5.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg, .4 apg
Kenyon LaFountaine (2022) |6-2 F| – 4.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .8 apg
Ashton Dionne (2022) |5-10 G| – 3.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, .4 apg
Q & A with Coach Travis Azure
What has been the highlight of the season so far?
“We have had some very good games individually, Houston Davis Houston Davis 6'4" | SF Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND had 40 points 16 rebounds against Grand Forks, Parker Wallette Parker Wallette 6'3" | SF Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND 27 points 16 rebounds against Watford City, so we have had some nice individual games but we need to find a way to put this all together as a team and move forward. One thing about this team is we haven’t been able to put together a complete roster, our team has dealt with injuries, COVID, and Influenza A. We have had a different starting lineup every game this season and we are very inconsistent right now, I know we will improve on that from here on out.”
What are your goals for the rest of the season?
“Our goals for the rest of this season are to improve on our record, get better defensively, find consistency and stay healthy so we can possibly make a run by the postseason.“
Which players are most improved and why?
“It is really hard to pinpoint any improved players, as we have had a different lineup and roster every game this season.“
Who have been your top players defensively?
“Stat wise defensively, Gunner Zerr Gunner Zerr 6'0" | SG Turtle Mountain | 2024 State ND and Houston Davis Houston Davis 6'4" | SF Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND get a 1-2 steals/game and 2/3 deflections/game, Parker Wallette Parker Wallette 6'3" | SF Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND and Houston Davis Houston Davis 6'4" | SF Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND are at 6/6.5 defensive rebounds/game.“
What has been your team’s identity so far or what do you hang your hat on?
“I would like our team’s identity to be a defense-stopping team, but we haven’t had the consistency from players with all the lineup changes and roster moves. We also want to put more points up. We are only averaging 67 points/game and giving up 81 points/game, which needs to improve.“
Team Comments
“We have a big 3 of Houston Davis Houston Davis 6'4" | SF Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND , Parker Wallette Parker Wallette 6'3" | SF Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND , and Gunner Zerr Gunner Zerr 6'0" | SG Turtle Mountain | 2024 State ND . Those 3 players are leading us in every statistical category, I want the rest of our roster to find their role on this team and be the best at that role. Kenyon Lafountain and Dayton Allery both battle hard in the middle defensively and on the boards, Gannyn Monette Gannyn Monette 6'2" | SG Turtle Mountain | 2023 State ND is a very good shooter and slasher to the basket, he needs to gain some confidence and be aggressive on both sides of the ball, Tanner Monette Tanner Monette 6'0" | SG Turtle Mountain | 2022 State ND needs to keep us calm in very difficult situations, he needs to step up and be a leader we can look to. Ashton Dionne and Noah Azure need to come in and give me a few good minutes when I need them to. This is still a work in progress and we will continue to improve the rest of the season, I hope we can find ourselves and make a good run in the postseason.“
Braves Schedule (4-7)
Grand Forks Central – W 76-70
Dickinson – W 81-78
Bismarck Century – L 61-108
Jamestown – L 62-83
Mandan – L 56-70
Williston – L 62-67
Bismarck Legacy – W 61-58
Watford City – W 89-52
Minot – L 66-97
Bismarck – L 62-129
Williston – L 67-80
January 28 @ Legacy
January 29 @ Mandan
February 1 (home) vs. Minot
February 4 (home) vs. Bismarck Century
February 5 (home) vs. Jamestown
February 7 (home) vs. St. Mary’s
February 12 @ Dickinson
February 17 (home) vs. Bismarck
February 19 @ St. Mary’s
March 3-5 Region Tournament – Bismarck Event Center
March 10-12 State Tournament – Bismarck Event Center