The Red Devil boys are beginning to believe in their basketball ability.

Coach Ryan Weltz and his Red Devils moved to an exciting 55-52 win over Sanders County rival Hot Springs in Hot Springs Friday.

Weltz’s son Rylan Weltz did much of the damage for the Devils, scoring a game-high 36 points, sweeping the glass for 16 rebounds, grabbing four steals and passing out three assists.

On the other side of the equation, Noxon threw an effective box-and-one defense on Hot Springs’ high-scoring Brandon Knudsen and limited the prolific Savage Heat scorer to a season-low nine points.

“Actually, it was a diamond-and-one and we tried to disguise it some,” coach Weltz said. “The kids bought in on it and did a great job defending him.”

Hot Springs reportedly had a few chances to tie the game in the late going but the Devils persevered. “We held on at the end,” Weltz noted. “They got some looks at the end but they weren’t quality shots, the kids defended well down the stretch.”

Michael Antonich added seven points to Noxon’s winning total, Nate Cano scored six more, and Brody Hill and Aiden Galloway three each.

Please see other story for Hot Springs scoring.

The win left Weltz and the Devils encouraged. “This was a really good win for us, Hot Springs is a tough opponent,” he said. “And I think we may have shaken up the tournament seeding a little bit, too.”

The Devils complete regular season play this week, visiting Plains for a 14C conference game Friday and returning to the West End to host the Lincoln Lynx for senior night in Noxon Saturday.

The Devils also reportedly played and defeated Troy in Troy Tuesday, but details from that game could not be found.