North Star’s performance in its quarterfinal round game against Warwick in the Region 4 tournament Monday bordered on being more of an exhibition than a game.
The No. 1-ranked Bearcats traded leads with the Warriors four times in the first quarter before getting things in gear. By the time the dust had settled, thanks in large part to a 30-10 burst in the second quarter, North Star was in complete and utterly unstoppable command and went on to defeat Warwick 88-59 to move one step closer to an appearance in Thursday’s region championship game.
The Bearcats will take on New Rockford-Sheyenne in one semifinal game Tuesday, while Carrington and Starkweather-Munich will face each other in Tuesday’s other semifinal game.
North Star led 15-13 heading into the second quarter before Kyle Ironhawk’s basket from inside the lane tied the game for the final time at 15-15 with 7:21 left in the period. He added a 3-pointer 26 seconds later to put the Warriors in front for the final time at 18-17.
From there it was all North Star, but players and coaches both insisted it was more of what went wrong in the first quarter than what proved to be the pivotal second period.
“We played a little tight,” senior guard Tanner Komrosky said of his teams’ opening period performance. “We came out a bit sluggish, but when Calvin (Teubner) hit those three’s and Daniel (Grande) started pounding the ball inside the way we’ve been taught, that’s when we got things going.”
North Star coach Jeff Hagler agreed.
“We finally loosened up,” said Hagler, whose team improved to 22-0 on the season. “(Teubner’s) three’s really got us going.”
Caleb Beck’s field goal at 6:37 put the Bearcats in front to stay at 19-18 and started a 28-5 run to close the first half and put North Star in front 45-23 at the intermission.
North Star’s domination took place inside and outside. On defense and on the boards. Wherever the Bearcats needed it.
Senior guard Tanner Komrosky scored 12 points in the first half and finished with 18 points. Center Grant Lindahl, a junior, also reached double figures by halftime with 10 points and finished with a game-high 20 points in the game.
North Star finished with a total of four players in double figures as Teubner and Beck finished with 18 and 11 points, respectively, for the Bearcats.
Warwick 13 10 18 18 – 59
North Star 15 30 17 26 – 88
Warwick (59): Kyle Ironhawk 14, Melvin Langstaff 14, Shandy Brown 12, Rock Baer 6, Alden Black 5, Collin Delorme 4, Mitchell Owlboy 2, Coltan Littleghost 2.
North Star (88): Grant Lindahl 20, Tanner Komrosky 18, Calvin Teubner 18, Caleb Beck 11, Jacob Hagler 8, Daniel Grande 7, Colton Braun 4, Brooks Larson 2.
3-pointers: Warwick 4 (Ironhawk 4), NS 6 (Komrosky 2, Teubner 2, Grande 1, Beck 1. Rebounds: Warwick 31 (Langstaff 4, Baer 4), NS 41 (Komrosky 9). Fouls: Warwick 23, NS 11. Fouled out: none. Assists: Warwick 13 (Langstaff 5), NS 22 (Hagler 8, Komrosky 7). Steals: Warwick 9 (Langstaff 3), NS 7 (Hagler 2, Komrosky 2). Blocked shots: Warwick 1 (Black), NS 0.
