GRAND FORKS — Fargo Davies freshman Mason Klabo was the talk of North Dakota basketball this week.
The brother of former UND women's basketball standout Lexi Klabo, Mason scored 45 points in a game against Fargo North on Tuesday and was given a scholarship offer by North Dakota State on Friday.
On Saturday afternoon against Grand Forks Red River, the Roughriders' defensive gameplan centered on Klabo, who Red River dedicated a defender to face guard and not help off him.
The Riders' efforts may have slowed Klabo but the state's No. 3 Eagles showed they have plenty of other weapons, too.
Klabo, a 6-foot guard, scored 16 points as one of four Davies players in double figures as the Eagles held off a Red River comeback effort 81-70 in the Red River gym.
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"That was good for him to see so he can figure that out," said Davies coach Bart Manson, who was the head coach at Red River from 1998 to 2007. "I think he was a little frustrated. He'll have to adjust to it, and we'll get it on film and look at it. But it created other opportunities for other kids. I thought Max Froslie came out and played great for us. He had a big game."
Ian Motschenbacher scored a team-high 18 points, while Raymond Brown added 13 and Froslie had 12 points, including a few dunks. Klabo was 8-for-17 shooting with six assists, five rebounds and three steals, as well as one dunk while all-alone in transition.
"Although (Klabo) was the focus, they do have (Motschenbacher) and (Brown) and you have to pay attention to them, as well," Red River coach Kirby Krefting said. "We knew that going in."
Davies started the second half on an 8-0 run to build a 19-point lead at 48-29, but the Riders chipped away at the lead from there.
Red River closed the gap to 59-54 when Zac Kraft hit three free throws after being fouled on a long-range attempt with 6:55 to play.
From there, Klabo picked up his fourth foul for the Eagles and had to sit.
The Riders had about five possessions with around five minutes to go to make it a one-score game, but the Eagles did just enough to hold the lead.
A quick 6-0 flurry — a Froslie dunk, a Motschenbacher finish inside on a feed from Froslie and a Brown bucket on the fastbreak — pushed the Eagles lead back to 12 with four minutes to play.
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The Riders were led by Kraft, who had 20 points, followed by Paine Parks with 16, Reis Rowekamp with 13, Carter Byron with 11 and Logan Arason with 10.
Red River struggled to handle the ball at times, committing 16 turnovers.
"I thought defensively we were really good," Manson said. "When we watched (Red River) play against West Fargo, we knew that the Red River kids could shoot it because I think that night they made 16 threes. We didn't want to give them any of those easy looks, so I really think it was just a credit to our defense and finding those guys and making them make tough shots."
The Eagles outshot the Riders 57 percent to 37 percent from the field. But Red River hung around thanks to a free-throw shooting advantage. The Riders made 19 of 27 (70 percent) from the line, while Davies was just 6 of 20 (30 percent) from the foul stripe.
Davies improved to 7-1, while Red River dropped to 4-3.
"We showed we could shoot the ball on Tuesday when we were 16 of 25 (on 3-pointers in a road win over West Fargo)," Krefting said. "The game of basketball happens where some days they're not going in. We still have to have the confidence we can shoot it. Now, we have to bounce back and see what we can do against Devils Lake on Tuesday."
