Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Tucker Longnecker and Hunter Thompson air up to block Parker Frederick's shot during the semifinal game against Dakota Prairie.
District 7 All Tournament Team, from left to right- Bo Belquist, NR-S; Jake Avdem, Dakota Prairie; Doug Yankton, Four Winds-Minnewauken; Hunter Thompson, NR-S and Teddy Allmaras, NR-S.
Teddy Allmaras was named District 7Athlete of the Year. He had eight points in the championship match against Four Winds-Minnewaukan and 36 total points in the tournament.
NR-S vs. Four Winds-Minnewaukan Part II didn't deviate much from the first game's plot, but the score suddenly got significantly closer this time around.
The Indians, ranked fourth in last Monday's Class B poll, won their eighth consecutive District 7 Tournament title at the tournament held at the Devils Lake Sports Center, playing a hard-fought slugfest with the eighth-ranked Rockets and taking a 54-49 victory on Feb. 25.
Aiming to atone for an 11-point loss in Fort Totten on Jan. 14, NR-S (19-3) couldn't solve the FW-M defensive pressure, and had just one player, junior guard Bo Belquist, in double figures with 16 points.
For the Indians, now 18-3 with their latest trophy performance, JaeShaun Shaw led with 12 points. Doug Yankton and Jayden Yankton both tallied 11 for FW-M, and 6'9" center Bronson Walter had nine points. All four players would be named to the All-District 7 Team.
Earlier in the tournament, NR-S had no issues in defeating seventh-seeded HWC, 73-34, in the first round of play on Friday, February 22.
All-District 7 honoree Hunter Thompson led the Rockets with 18 points versus the Hornets. Tucker Longnecker also contributed 11 points and Belquist, also named to the district squad, had 10.
The semifinal round pitted NR-S against the Dakota Prairie Knights, the #3 seed. The perimeter shooting of the Knights kept them in contention into the fourth quarter, as NR-S led 51-47 after three periods. However, the Rockets played a flawless stretch run with a 9-for-9 effort at the foul line and scored 28 points in the quarter to take a 79-64 victory.
In that last stanza, Teddy Allmaras, later named the District 7 Senior Athlete of the Year, hit two threes as part of his 12-point showing, and finished with a game-high 21 points for the Rockets.
Four other players hit for doubles in the NR-S ledger. Belquist had 16 points, 10 of those in the second quarter, while Thompson had 12 and 11 points each were notched by Longnecker, who hit three treys in the game, and Parker Granger. For the game, NR-S was 17-for-19 from the foul line, a rate of 89.5 percent.
Dakota Prairie, playing without one of their top players in junior guard Tyler Loe, got 18 points in the post from Parker Frederick. Dayton Miles (17 points) and Bryce Trenda (16) combined to hit five three-pointers for the Knights.
Allmaras, Belquist and Thompson were named to both the All-District 7 Team and the All-Tournament Team. Coach of the Year honors went to longtime Four Winds-Minnewaukan program leader Rick Smith.
Tonight (March 4), the Region 4 Tournament gets underway, also at the Sports Center. NR-S will play the second game of the night against District 8's number three seed, Langdon/Edmore/Munich (12-8 overall). In action from earlier this season in Langdon, the Rockets defeated the Cardinals, 68-51.
District 8 champion Dunseith (16-5) starts the proceedings opposite Benson County (12-10) in the first game, starting at 3 p.m. The night bracket features FW-M taking on Rolla (9-13) and St. John (13-9) faces Dakota Prairie (15-7) in the finale. Quarterfinal round winners advance to play Tuesday night starting at 6 p.m., while the losers' seasons come to a close.
Third place and championship games will be held Thursday at DLHS, with the Region 4 champion advancing to the jewel of them all, the State Class B Tournament at the Minot State University Dome on March 14-16.
District 7 Boys' Basketball Tournament, Devils Lake
First Round
NR-S 73, HWC 34
Harvey- Wells County 15 9 8 2 34
New Rockford-Shey 19 24 18 12 73
NR-S: Hunter Thompson 18, Tucker Longnecker 11, Bo Belquist 10, Parker Granger 8, Teddy Allmaras 7, Nathan Holzwarth 6, Nick Presnell 5, Evan Ulrich 4, Cole Johnson 2, Luke Ystaas 2. Totals: 26 FG, 18-21 FT, 9 fouls. Three-pointers: Longnecker, Allmaras, Presnell.
HWC: Walker Koropatnicki 10, Jaden Lesmeister 5, Conner Fike 4, Tyson Tipton 4, Jaxon Fike 3, Tanner Grossman 3, Tate Grossman 3, Alex Erickson 2. Totals: 14 FG, 1- 2 FT, 18 fouls. Three-pointers: Lesmeister 2, J. Fike, Tanner Grossman, Tate Grossman.
Semifinals
NR-S 79, Dakota Prairie 64
Dakota Prairie 18 13 16 17 64
New Rockford-Shey 15 20 16 28 79
NR-S: Allmaras 21, Belquist 16, Thompson 12, Granger 11, Longnecker 11, Holzwarth 8. Totals: 27 FG, 17-19 FT, 10 fouls. Three-pointers: Allmaras 3, Longnecker 3, Belquist, Granger.
Dakota Prairie: Parker Frederick 18, Dayton Miles 17, Bryce Trenda 16, Jake Avdem 7, Dalton Hassel 6. Totals: 27 FG, 3-7 FT, 19 fouls. Three-pointers: Miles 3, Trenda 2, Frederick, Avdem. Fouled out: Trenda.
Championship
FW-M 54, NR-S 49
New Rockford-Shey 15 8 13 13 49
Four Winds-Minn 13 13 13 15 54
NR-S: Belquist 16, Allmaras 8, Thompson 8, Longnecker 7, Granger 4, Holzwarth 4, Ulrich 2. Totals: 17 FG, 12-20 FT, 19 fouls. Three-pointers: Longnecker 2, Allmaras.
FW-M: JaeShaun Shaw 12, Doug Yankton 11, Jayden Yankton 11, Bronson Walter 9, Jaymison Jackson 7, Roger Yankton 4. Totals: 18 FG, 14-24 FT, 17 fouls. Three-pointers: J. Yankton 2, Shaw, Jackson.
All-District 7 Team
Athletes named to the All District 7 Team were Keaton Nelsen and Carter Tandeski of Benson Co.; Jake Avdem, Parker Frederick and Tyler Loe of Dakota Prairie; JaeShaun Shaw, Bronson Walter, Doug Yankton and Jayden Yankton of Four Winds-Minnewaukan; Jackson Neidlinger of Lakota; Teddy Allmaras, Bo Belquist and Hunter Thompson of New Rockford-Sheyenne; and Eric Belgarde and Paul Thiele of Warwick.
District 7 Coach of the Year
Rick Smith of Four Winds-Minnewaukan was named District 7 Coach of the Year.
