FARGO — West Fargo’s last three Division AA state tournament appearances have followed the survival of a state qualifier.

This year, the Packers won’t need to worry about that. For the first time since 2019, West Fargo advanced to the East Region boys basketball championship game following a 64-56 win over top-seeded Fargo Davies in Thursday’s conference semifinals at Scheels Center.

“I’m just very proud of this team,” said junior guard Aiden Samek, who led the Packers with a game-high 23 points. “We have so much heart and have put in all the work at practice. We try to get better every day.

“The job’s not finished. We’re chasing our mission right now.”

Fourth-seeded West Fargo improved to 11-12 overall and ended Davies’ run of six-straight East Region championship game appearances, which included wins in the last three title games.

The Packers will take on third-seeded Grand Forks Red River (17-6) in the East Region title matchup Saturday, March 8 at 7:45 p.m. inside Scheels Center.

Meanwhile, Davies (17-6) will face sixth-seeded West Fargo Sheyenne (8-15) in a state qualifier at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The Packers have been battle-tested this week, outlasting fifth-seeded Fargo North 97-93 in overtime in Tuesday’s quarterfinals before downing the tournament’s top seed in Davies on Thursday.

“We did not play well against North,” West Fargo head coach Adam Palczewski said. “We survived it, but then (the players) moved onto the next game. No one sulked, no one complained, no one whined. Our (warm-up jerseys) say, ‘No Excuses,’ and we’re not going to make any ever.

“Whether we win or whether we lose, it’s no one’s fault but our own. We’re in control of our destiny. These guys just didn’t quit.”

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum

The Packers took a narrow 33-30 lead into halftime. Later on, up 57-51, West Fargo forced a turnover on the offensive end of the floor. Samek kicked the ball over to teammate Beckett Pfau, who hit a wing triple with 2:56 remaining to give his team a nine-point lead and force the Eagles into a timeout.

“These guys have shot tens of thousands of shots,” Palczewski said. “There’s a saying that, ‘When you get the ball and you’re open, shoot it. You already know it’s going in.’

“Beckett Pfau is one of those guys. Aiden Samek is one of those guys. They just made the right play at the right time. You’ve got to play free this time of year.”

The Packers finished the game shooting 18 of 48 (37.5%) from the field while the Eagles were 17 of 54 (31.5%).

Davies outrebouned West Fargo 37-33. Alex Wetterlin had a game-high 12 boards for the Packers while Collin Williams finished with 10 for for the Eagles.

Following Samek in scoring for West Fargo was Haakon Seymour with 11 points while Wetterlin and Bonfas Loria each chipped in eight. Pfau and Sam Glandt each finished with five points.

Davies was led by standout senior Mason Klabo with 21 points while Williams chipped in 16.

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum

Samek also finished a perfect 12 of 12 at the free throw line and has now made 36 in a row, a new West Fargo school record that began on Feb. 11.

“It’s the heart, the effort and we don’t quit,” Samek said. “Regardless of what we’ve been through … injuries, that doesn’t matter. We all come together as a team and we just get the job done.”

Halftime: West Fargo 33, Fargo Davies 30

WFHS: Samek 23, Seymour 11, Loria 8, Wetterlin 8, Pfau 5, Glandt 5, Willie 2, Knudsen 2.

FDHS: Klabo 21, Williams 16, Reinke 8, Metzger 3, Ohlhauser 3, Ames 3, Witte 2.

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum