A shoulder injury forced Canyon Stonecipher to miss the first three games of the regular season.
“I felt like when we were losing against Mandan and Jamestown,” Stonecipher said. “I felt like I could have come in for a little bit. Just to help out the team a bit. Just get them back on their feet.”
His return sparked the team. In his second game back against Watford City, Canyon played 22 minutes scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
“I’ve never seen Watford City,” Stonecipher said. “We’ve never played against them before. They are new to the district. So I didn’t expect that to happen, but it happened.”
It was Bismarck’s second straight win, as they streak would reach eight.
“I kind of wanted to open it up a little and get an inside game,” Stonecipher said. “Maybe get doubled and pass it out more. More open shots for teammates, but I didn’t think it would have this big of an effect.”
For the season, Canyon’s averaging 15 points — 16th best in the league. I asked Canyon if doubling his point production from last year surprised him?
“Yeah,” Stonecipher said, “I am. I don’t feel like I’m a giant like a post like [Mason] Walters from Minot or [Caden] Johnson from Minot.
In Bismarck’s last three games they are 3-3. Canyon thinks teams are starting to adjust.
“I think we might be losing a little bit of trust in each other,” Stonecipher said. “I’m playing great. I feel like we just need to work harder in practice and I just need to slow down. Everyone else is playing great.”
Canyon hopes to lead his Demon to win 12 tonight.
