Rockets trump Titans

On Tuesday, Dec. 21, the New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets won their home opener against the Griggs-Midkota Titans by a score of 55-48.

Having been on the road all season, and on the losing end of multiple nail-biters, the Rockets were just 1-4 entering their matchup with the Titans. It became clear on Tuesday, however, that NR-S would be doing things a little differently in front of their home crowd - and it worked.

Bennett Meier, DJ Mudgett and Luke Yri all had extended minutes off the bench, and each played a significant role in the Rockets' win.

"I thought the young guys off the bench did well," said Rockets' head coach Tyler Cook. "For most of them it was their first meaningful minutes ... Bennett does a good job of getting the ball to outlets and being a leader out there, DJ stepped up and had a great game for us especially on the defensive end, and then Luke comes in, and he knows his role as well."

After falling behind early in the first quarter, NR-S rebounded in the second with strong defense and quick transitions, going on a 9-0 run and extending their lead to seven. However, the Titans managed to stem the bleeding and claw their way back, sending NR-S into the locker room with a slim 21-20 halftime advantage.

Griggs-Midkota kept their momentum going in the second half, quickly opening a six-point lead. And with the Rockets' best scorer, Nick Berglund, suddenly in foul trouble, someone had to start delivering points for their offense.

That's when the fun really began.

NR-S senior Koby Duda, not exactly known for his prowess from beyond the arc, began making it look easy in the second half. Duda sent the partisan NR-S crowd into raptures as he rattled off three consecutive three-pointers in the third quarter. Berglund and Haydon Meier soon joined in on the fun with three-pointers of their own, and before long, NR-S found themselves approaching the fourth quarter with a double-digit lead.

"Koby's the ultimate team player," Cook said. "He knows his role, he knows what he's good at and he doesn't try to do too much. They were playing us in zone and left him open, and he hit that first one, got a little confident, and hit a couple more back-to-back, and then he hit another in the fourth quarter. ... Anytime one kid can make four threes, it's huge for momentum."

The scoring slowed down for both teams in the fourth quarter, but NR-S was maintaining control throughout. The Titans' switch to full-court pressure proved futile, as timely free-throw shooting and good defense from NR-S became too much to overcome.

The Rockets' overall record improved to 2-4 following their win over Griggs-Midkota, and they attempted to continue their momentum against Central Cass High School in Casselton on Dec. 28.

"We have to clean up the turnovers," Cook said about where his team has room for improvement. "We're having too many just simple mental lapses ... and we're giving the other team too many opportunities, so that's something we really gotta clean up."

Nondistrict

Boys' Basketball

NR-S 55, Griggs-Midkota 48

Tuesday, Dec. 21

at New Rockford

NR-S 8 13 19 15 55

G-M 9 11 11 17 48

NR-S: Koby Duda 16, Nick Berglund 12, DJ Mudgett 8, Haydon Meier 7, Trevor Waldo 5, Kaden Jensen 3, Luke Yri 2, Bennett Meier 2. Totals: 18 FG; 12-19 FT; 19 fouls. Three-pointers: Duda 4, Berglund 2, H. Meier 1. Fouled out: Berglund.

Griggs-Midkota: Logan Topp 17, Jaxon Gronnenberg 11, Wyatt Spickler 9, Carter Spitzer 6, James Woodstead 3, Caleb Edland 2. Totals: 16 FG; 8-16 FT; 20 fouls. Three-pointers: Spickler 3, Gronnenberg 2, Topp 1, Spitzer 1.

B-Squad

Griggs Midkota 61, NR-S 57

NR-S 15 16 10 16 57

G-M 14 17 12 18 61

NR-S: DJ Mudgett 18, Porter Granger 12, Luke Yri 7, Brody Weisenburger 6, Connor Knatterud 5, Kailar Jacobson 4, Kage Walford 3, Bennett Meier 2. Totals: 19 FG, 7-9 FT, 22 fouls. Three-pointers: Weisenburger 2, Knatterud 1, Yri 1.

Griggs-Midkota: James Woodstead 23, Brady Haugen 12, Kyle Johnson 8, Eli Larson 6, Isaac Stadler 6, Benjamin Edland 5, Gavin Nelson 1. Totals: 14 FG, 15-26 FT, 12 fouls. Three-pointers: Woodstead 5, Haugen 1. Fouled out: Larson.

C-Squad

NR-S 39, Griggs-Midkota 32

NR-S 4 11 11 13 39

G-M 8 4 9 11 32

NR-S: Kendrick Hopfauf 11, Brody Weisenburger 11, Alex Weisenburger 6, Easton Benz 4, Kailar Jacobson 3, Kage Walford 2, Easton Simon 2. Totals: 13 FG, 4-8 FT, 11 fouls. Three-pointers: B. Weisenburger 3.

Griggs-Midkota: Will Spickler 12, Kindle Carlson 8, Isaac Stadler 7, Levi Kautzman 3, Colten Walker 2. Totals: 10 FG, 6-10 FT, 12 fouls. Three-pointers: Spickler 2.

8th Grade

NR-S 47, Griggs-Midkota 20

NR-S 22 2 19 4 47

G-M 6 0 8 6 20

NR-S: Easton Benz 17, Shaun Reimche 9, Easton Simon 9, Alex Weisenburger 6, Zachary Dockter 4, Layton Jacobson 2. Totals: 18 FG, 5-11 FT, 7 fouls. Three-pointers: Reimche 1, Simon 1.

Griggs-Midkota: Cole Vincent 6, Lakin Ronningen 4, Cooper Timm 2, Isaac Johnson 2, Wayland Sabinash 2, Cale Spitzer 2, Sawyer Larson 2. Totals: 10 FG, 0-4 FT, 8 fouls.

7th Grade

NR-S 34, Griggs-Midkota 19

NR-S 7 7 14 6 34 

G-M 3 1 8 7 19

NR-S: Thomas Allmaras 15, Malaki Kukowski, Layton Jacobson 5, Kason Nass, Aaden Benson 4. Totals: 14 FG, 3-12 FT, 12 fouls. Three-pointer: Allmaras 1.

Griggs-Midkota: Trace Spickler 9, Lakin Ronningen 5, Cale Spitzer 2, Sawyer Larson 2, Brady Dewald 1. Totals: 5 FG, 6-12 FT, 10 fouls. Three-pointer: Spickler.