Tough start

The New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets kicked off their season at home with a tough battle against the No. 2 North Star Bearcats on Monday, Dec. 11.

As the second-ranked team in the state, North Star was expected to breeze past the Rockets with little difficulty. Instead, NR-S more than held their own, having maintained a lead for most of the evening.

The Rockets weren't able to hold onto their lead in the fourth quarter, however, and ultimately lost by a score of 49-43.

It became fairly evident early during Monday's matchup that it was the first of the season for NR-S, as inaccuracy and turnovers plagued the majority of their offensive possessions.

The Rockets only managed 13 points in the first quarter and even fewer in the second quarter.

Their saving grace was that North Star was hardly having a good shooting night either, allowing NR-S to enter halftime with a 21-19 advantage.

Relatively quiet in the first half was the Bearcats' Dane Hagler, who's typically their team's leading scorer. In the second half, however, Hagler woke back up.

After halftime he scored 17 points, putting him at a game-high 23 points overall.

With Hagler heating up the Rockets were unable to keep up as the second half dragged on.

A few timely shots from the Rockets' Easton Simon and Ashton Reimche kept it close in the fourth quarter, but it simply wasn't enough to avoid the loss.

On offense, the Rockets often chose to shoot from beyond the arc, but only managed to earn three 3-pointers despite their efforts. With a little more accuracy, the Rockets may well have taken down a team most expect to compete for a championship.

Simon and Reimche would end up being the Rockets' two leading scorers for the game, with 17 points and 11 points, respectively.

Bennett Meier wasn't far behind with 8 points, 6 of which were scored in the second half. Other scorers included Luke Yri and Kailar Jacobson with 3 points, as well as Easton Benz with two points.

Next up for the Rockets was the annual CNDC tournament in Harvey, N.D., beginning on Thursday, Dec. 14.

NR-S had the second seed for the event, and their results will be covered in next week's edition of the Transcript.

The Rockets won't play again until after Christmas, when they take on Harvey/Wells County on Thursday, Dec. 28 in Harvey.

Earlier in the day, the junior varsity Rockets won their game 73-36, while the 8th graders won 39-17 and the 7th graders won 31-19.

Region 2

Boys' Basketball

NR-S 43, North Star 49

Monday, Dec. 11

in New Rockford

NR-S: 13 8 10 12 - 43

North Star: 11 8 12 8 - 49

NR-S: Easton Simon 17, Ashton Reimche 11, Bennett Meier 8, Kailar Jacobson 3, Luke Yri 3, Easton Benz 2. Totals: 16 FG, 8-13 FT, 17 fouls. Fouled out: Walford, Jacobson, Benz. 3-pointers: Simon 2, Yri 1.

North Star: Dane Hagler 23, Parker Simon 11, Karsen Simon 6, Brett Dilley 6, Chas Bisbee 2, Garrett Westlind 1. Totals: 17 FG, 13-26 FT, 12 fouls. Technicals: P. Simon, 1. 3-pointers: K. Simon 2.

Junior Varsity

NR-S 73, St. John 46

NR-S: 16 15 19 23 - 73

North Star: 16 6 8 6 - 36

NR-S: Thomas Allmaras 18, Aaden Benson 12, Dashyl Bichler 11, Shaun Reimche 10, Layton Jacobson 6, Zach Dockter 5, Wyatt Dockter 4, Thaddison Wobbema 3, Kason Nass 2, Malaki Kukowski 2. Totals: 31 FG, 7-13 FT, 16 fouls. Fouled out: Jacobson. 3-pointers: Allmaras 3, Wobbema 1.

North Star: Not available.