Jamestown, ND (NewsDakota.com) – The District 5 Boys’ Basketball Tournament wrapped up on Monday night with two Region qualifying games and a District Champion crowned. The Region 3 Tournament is set to begin Monday, March 8th at the Jamestown Civic Center, with the winner qualifying for the State Tournament. All of those games will be broadcast on Thunder Country 98.3 fm.
(#2) Ellendale Cardinals 70 – (#5) Carrington Cardinals 46
The first game of the day was a battle of the Cardinals with a trip to the Region Tournament on the line, and Ellendale came out on top in a game they led early then cruised to a victory.
After leading just 12-7 at the end of the first quarter, Ellendale came out with a big second quarter to take control for good. Ellendale led by 20 at halftime, and they did enough to hold Carrington at bay throughout the second half.
Big man junior Scott Wagner led Ellendale in scoring with 20 points, and sophomore Riley Thorpe hit three three-pointers on his way to 17. Ellendale had a fairly balanced second wave of offense, with four players scoring between four and nine points.
As Carrington trailed in the second half, they came out firing looking for an unlikely comeback. Sophomore Hudson Topp shot 40% on three-pointers on a high volume (6-15 shooting), but Carrington could never make a serious run. Topp led Carrington with 19 points, and junior Lucas Hendrickson had 10.
Ellendale will enter the Region Tournament as the #4 seed from District 5, and they will take on the Linton-HMB Lions, the top seed from District 6, in the first game of action Monday at 3 pm.
(#1) Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier Rebels 66 – (#7) Griggs-Midkota Titans 50
The second Region qualifying game of the day pitted the top seed in the tournament against the bottom seed, but a game that looked lopsided on paper turned out to be more competitive than expected.
The Rebels were up 16-9 at the end of the first quarter and looked poised to make a run, but the Titans stuck in the game, getting to 24-22 midway through the second quarter. From that point, however, the Rebels went on a 10-2 run to end the half with a double-digit lead, and the game was never closer than that.
The teams played a fairly even second half, as the Rebels were never able to pull away but also never let the Titans get too close for comfort.
Senior Alex Huber (who was awarded the Senior Athlete of the Year award at the end of the night) led the Rebels with 16 points and five steals. The Rebels had a balanced attack, as fellow seniors Chayse Entzi and Jorgen Paulson scored 14 and 12, respectively, and junior Adam Nitschke added 11.
Senior Hunter Gronneberg led the Titans with 14 points, while fellow senior Jayden Sherrard (three three-pointers) and junior Jaxon Gronneberg each had nine.
The Rebels move onto the Region 3 Tournament as the #3 seed from District 5, and they will play the #2 seed from District 6, the Kidder County Wolves, in the final game Monday night, set to begin around 7:30 pm.
(#3) Oakes Tornadoes 59 – (#4) LaMoure-Litchville-Marion Loboes 49
After upsetting the top two seeds in the tournament on Saturday, both in overtime, the Tornadoes and Loboes had already qualified for the Region Tournament, but they battled for District supremacy in the main event of the night, with the Tornadoes coming out as District 5 Champions.
The game was close throughout the entire contest (and closer than the final score would indicate), as the Tornadoes led by two at halftime and by just one point entering the fourth quarter.
The Loboes took 12 more shots than the Tornadoes, but they failed to capitalize on the chances, shooting under 36% (19-53 from the field). The Tornadoes made up for the difference by shooting 12 more free throws than the Loboes, although they shot under 60% on those attempts (10-17).
Senior Garret Meehl carried the Tornadoes through stretches, leading all players with 25 points (4-7 on three-pointers), seven assists, and four steals. It was the Senior Show for the Tornadoes, as only four players scored, and they were all seniors. Other than Meehl, Ashton Biesterfeld scored 14, Dalton Schmit had 11, and Steele Hansen added nine.
The Loboes also had only four players score, led by junior Landon Piehl with 15 points while shooting 4-14 on three-pointers. Fellow junior Corban Potts did a little bit of everything, adding 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Sophomore Colton Ness, who led the team in scoring in each of the first two games of the tournament, had 11, and freshman Carter Bowman had nine.
The Loboes enter the Region Tournament as the #2 seed from District 5 and will play the third-seeded Strasburg-Zeeland Clippers from District 6. That will be the second game on Monday, set the begin around 4:30 pm. The Tornadoes will play the #4 seed from District 6, the Napoleon-Gackle-Streeter Imperials, in the third game Monday, set to begin around 6 pm.
You can find the wrap-up of the first day of action here.
You can find the wrap-up of the second day of action here.