For the second straight night North Star turned a relatively close game into a clinic, of sorts, as the Bearcats broke away from a narrow 28-25 halftime advantage and went on to defeat New Rockford-Sheyenne 65-51 in a semifinal round game at the Region 4 tournament Tuesday at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
The win advances the top-ranked Bearcats into Thursday’s championship game where they will face Carrington, which defeated Starkweather-Munich earlier in the night.
“At this time of the year, we are getting everybody’s best shot,” said North Star coach Jeff Hagler, whose team remained unbeaten on the season and will take a 23-0 record into Thursday’s region championship game.
A pair of free throws from Jacob Hagler with 2:49 left in the third period proved to be the beginning of the end for the upset-minded Rockets. Hagler’s tosses put the Bearcats in front 39-35 and Caleb Beck’s field goal just over 30 second later increased that advantage to 41-35 giving North Star its biggest lead of the game to that point.
Tanner Komrosky’s field goal with 1:06 left in the period increased the North Star lead to 44-37 heading into the final eight minutes of play and capped a 16-12 run in the period that allowed North Star to take a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter.
Two more field goals by Komrosky and a free throw from the talented senior increased the Bearcat lead to 49-37 and virtually closed the door on any comeback hopes the Rockets may have had.
New Rockford-Sheyenne’s best shot at knock at bumping off the Bearcats came in the first half in the form of junior Stephen Guler, who had hit just 12 3-pointers this season, rained in a trio of long-range bombs in the first half to help account for 15 of NR-S’ 28 first half points. Guler finished with a game-high 25 points on the night.
Guler’s third field goal in the opening period gave New Rockford-Sheyenne its first lead of the game at 9-8 with 4:44 left in the quarter. The lead would change hands again when Guler connected on a 3-pointer from the left corner with 20 seconds to go in the first period to put the Rockets in front 14-13.
North Star grabbed the lead for good with 1:50 to go in the first half when Daniel Grande’s short jumper in the lane rattled the rim several times before falling through to put the Bearcats in front 26-25. He added two free throws with 50 seconds left in the half to provide North Star with its three-point halftime cushion.
Grande joined Komrosky in double figures. Grande, along with Grant Lindahl, both finished with 11 points in the game for North Star.
Dalton Webber tallied 10 points to join Guler in double digits for the Rockets.
New-Rockford-Sheyenne will take on Starkweather-Munich in the third-place game on Thursday. That game is scheduled to tipoff at 6 p.m. at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
North Star 13 15 16 21 - 65
NR-S 14 11 12 14 - 51
North Star (65): Tanner Komrosky 20, Daniel Grande 11, Grant Lindahl 11, Jacob Hagler 8, Caleb Beck 8, Calvin Teubner 7.
New Rockford-Sheyenne (51): Stephen Guler 25, Dalton Webber 10, Brett Allmaras 7, Jordan Seiler 5, Nate Messner 4.
3-pointers: NS 2 (Lindahl 1, Teubner 1), NR-S 4 (Guler 3, Allmaras 1). Rebounds: NS 32 (Teubner 10), NR-S 26 (Allmaras 5, Messner 5). Fouls: NS 17, NR-S 18. Fouled out: Teubner, Webber. Assists: NS 18 (Hagler 5, Komrosky 5, Teubner 5), NR-S 10 (Messner 7). Steals: NS 10 (Teuber 3), NR-S 6 (Allmaras 3). Blocked shots: NS 7 (Lindahl 4), NR-S 1 (Messner 1). Turnovers: NS 15, NR-S 13.
Records: North Star 23-0 overall, New Rockford-Sheyenne 19-5 overall.
Devils Lake, ND —
