Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Long-time manager Gary Lindquist celebrates with the team after their Region 4 championship win!
Junior Bo Belquist airs up for the score during the semi-final game against Dunseith on Tuesday, March 5. He scored 10 points in the game.
NR-S senior and Rockets guard Teddy Allmaras reached a milestone this week as the team played Dunseith in the semifinals. He scored his 1,000th point, and may there be many more.
The Cardinal's Nathan Unruh trys to block Senior Parker Granger's shot during the first round game.
Tucker Longnecker had a monster game against L/E/M in the quarterfinal round, draining 21 points for the Rockets.
When the free-wheeling style the New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets have displayed to great success this season suddenly runs into the rough-and-tumble world of elimination basketball, second and third scoring options are often needed to come to the forefront.
Six-foot-two senior post Tucker Longnecker provided that and much more in the first game of the Region 4 Boys' Basketball Tournament, scoring 21 points to lead the Rockets to a 56-41 victory over Langdon/Edmore/Munich last Monday night, March 4.
Longnecker was on fire from the tip, hitting for nine first quarter points, and Bo Belquist's athleticism translated to seven more as NR-S built a 15-point lead after eight minutes.
But the Cardinals would be undaunted with that early hole, embarking on a 9-0 run that spanned the end of the first half and the first minute of the second. An offensive putback by L/E/M's Alex Lowery got the District 8 Cards within 32-26 early in the third quarter.
After that play, Belquist shut the door on Langdon's chances to spring the upset by scoring the Rockets' next seven points. The Cardinals did not get closer than 10 points from that time forward.
Belquist had 16 points for NR-S, and Teddy Allmaras battled cold shooting to finish with 12 points in the NR-S books.
For L/E/M, whose season came to an end at 12-9 overall following a Region 4 championship game berth one season ago, Jackson Delvo's nine points led the team. Eight points each came from Sean Gette and Grant Romfo.
The Rockets moved on to Tuesday, March 5's semifinal round, where they faced the Dunseith Dragons. The titleists from District 8 got past a determined Benson County squad, 81-74, in their first round matchup.
Region 4 Boys' Basketball Tournament,
Devils Lake Quarterfinals
NR-S 56,
Langdon/Edmore/Munich 41
L/E/M 6 15 11 9 41
NR-S 21 9 16 10 56
NR-S: Tucker Longnecker 21, Bo Belquist 16, Teddy Allmaras 12, Parker Granger 4, Nathan Holzwarth 2, Hunter Thompson 1. Totals: 23 FG, 7-12 FT, 11 fouls. Three-pointers: Longnecker 2, Allmaras.
L/E/M: Jackson Delvo 9, Sean Gette 8, Grant Romfo 8, Alex Lowery 6, Simon Romfo 5, Jagger Worley 3, Ordale Morstad 2. Totals: 15 FG, 10-12 FT, 13 fouls. Three-pointer: Worley. Fouled out: S. Romfo.
NR-S, Dunseith
The New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets have found themselves on the doorstep to greatness, but it took every ounce of fight and clutch plays in the second half to make it to that step.
Trailing as late as the third quarter, NR-S put it together down the stretch in their Region 4 semifinal against the Dunseith Dragons, and held on for a 53-48 win to advance to Championship Night this past Thursday.
The Rockets, who improved to 21-3 with the win, took Dunseith's best challenge in being pushed near the limit, and the Dragons' Hunter Gladue kept the pressure on NR-S with 17 points.
In the final minutes, senior guard Teddy Allmaras stepped to the forefront, and buried several of his four three-pointers. One of those enabled the Rocket sharpshooter and District 7 Senior Athlete of the Year to eclipse the 1,000-career-point milestone.
In the first half, it certainly didn't look like the Rockets were on their game at times. Dunseith scored 10 straight points to take a 26-22 halftime advantage.
But that lead would come at a cost to the Dragons. Michael Two Hearts, DHS' 6'1" senior forward who had nine first half points, would go down with an injury towards the break, and was unable to return to play.
The loss of Two Hearts affected Dunseith, as NR-S forward Hunter Thompson took charge on the block and would score 17 for the Rockets following just a one-point outing the evening before in the quarterfinal round.
Bo Belquist had 10 points for the Rockets. Dunseith (19-6) would face St. John in the third place game.
For the Region 4 crown, a familiar foe awaited the Rockets in the Four Winds-Minnewaukan Indians. FW-M, 20-3 this season, owns two wins over the Rockets in both the District 7 regular season (67-56) and postseason championship (54-49).
The Rockets made the third time a charm, toppling the Indians with a final score of 58-53, and earned their first State B Tournament berth since topping all comers in 2005 with their mythical 67-65 double-overtime win for the title over Bottineau. That championship capped a three-year run qualifying for state for the New Rockford, (and later NR-S) program, which began in 2003.
The boys' "B" begins this Thursday at the MSU Dome in Minot, with the Region 4 champion facing off opposite seven other regional winners in first round action. The Hillsboro-Central Valley Burros, who played in the Region 2 championship on Thursday, are the two-time defending "B" champions.
Seventh place, consolation, third place and championship games will be held Saturday at the Dome.
Region 4 Boys' Basketball Tournament,
Devils Lake Semifinals
NR-S 53, Dunseith 48
NR-S 13 9 18 13 53
Duns. 11 15 12 10 48
NR-S: Hunter Thompson 17, Teddy Allmaras 16, Bo Belquist 10, Parker Granger 6, Nathan Holzwarth 2, Tucker Longnecker 2.
Dunseith: Hunter Gladue 17, Michael Two Hearts 9, Caleb Poitra 6, Ethan Morin 5, Treagan Azure 4, Sage Williams 4, Gabe Davis 3.
No other stats available.
