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(NewsDakota.com) The Oakes High School boys basketball team knew they would have a very tough hill to climb in Wyndmere to start the 2012 District 1 boys basketball tournament.  The Tornadoes were shut down by the Warbirds, as they picked up a 71-40 win on Thursday night.

The boys of Oakes were down early, by a 26-10 score after one, and then were outscored 20-6 in the second eight minutes to take a 46-16 lead at the halftime break. In the end, Wyndmere/Lidgerwood was just too much with Adam Bell scoring 23, and Jeffery Illies putting in another 17 for the home team

“We came to the gym relaxed and focused.” said Oakes head coach Brandon Bata. “I thought we were ready to play, and we didn’t show the focus and intensity needed to beat a number one seed at all. I’m kind of disappointed in our focus.”

Oakes had freshman Tristan Meier lead his team in scoring, with just six points.

The Tornadoes now face a win or go home scenario on Saturday afternoon against the loser of Friday night’s contest between Hankinson and Lisbon in the second round of the tournament from the North Dakota State College Of Science in Wapheton. The winner of that game will play Wyndmere/Lidgerwood later that evening.

Oakes will play at 3 p.m. this Saturday. A win, and the season continues, while a loss will end the season. Listen for quarterly updates of the game on KDDR-AM 1220 and NewsDakota.com during the Region I Individual wrestling finals.