A trio of Rockets try to get the ball out of North Star’s Ian Westlin’s hands. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
NEW ROCKFORD — The Rockets needed this.
After spending most of the season ranked No. 5 in Division B, they’d gotten off to an 0-2 start in District 4 play.
“We dug ourself a hole losing them first two district games,” New Rockford-Sheyenne head coach Tyler Cook said.
The Rockets beat North Star in a key matchup Thursday, allowing them to exhale a little bit.
“This was the biggest win of the year so far, to get our first district win,” Rockets point guard Easton Simon said. “And we’ve got to continue to win in the district and bounce back from the hole that we dug ourselves.”
The Bearcats (12-3, 2-1) had been rolling, winning 10 in a row and receiving votes in the poll before Thursday. The Rockets (10-3, 1-2) had suddenly fallen on hard times.
But they got back on the right track, fueled by a defensively strong second half in a 59-47 win.
“I thought our effort and energy right out of the gate was good,” Cook said. “Our defense overall was pretty dang good. They’re just so big, and a tough matchup, but we did a pretty good job on them.”
North Star, a team that carries plenty of offensive weapons, didn’t have a great shooting night.
The Bearcats’ first field goal came almost three minutes in. They had to work out of an 8-0 hole after Thomas Allmaras and Easton Benz hit threes.
“We didn’t necessarily get ourselves going right away in the first half,” North Star head coach Jesse Vote said. “It was kind of like we were stuck in the mud a little bit. … They hit some shots and jumped out on us right away, and I don’t know that we necessarily ever recovered from that lead to start the game.”
The most competitive period of the game was the second quarter. North Star had inched within two points by the end of the first, getting five from Hunter Hagler and four from Alec Peyerl. Neither team had really gotten going offensively yet.
The second quarter featured eight lead changes and four ties.
Simon broke out with a big 12-point quarter for the Rockets. He carved up the Bearcats in the paint. Easton Benz hit a pair of go-ahead triples.
On North Star’s side, Kade Mitchell made two go-ahead threes of his own. Rylen Anderson added a triple to make it 30-29 Bearcats.
But Anderson was then charged with two fouls in the final minute. Simon made 2-of-3 free throws down the stretch of a 6-0 run to close out the first half — NR-S leading, 35-30.
After the seesaw battle that was the second quarter, the Rockets pulled away in the third.
North Star scored just six points in the third quarter. The team’s usual top scorer, Ian Westlind, scored his first points of the game after nothing in the first half. He finished with a modest six on the night.
Hagler didn’t score in the second half and fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. He went 0-for-4 from the free throw line after halftime. The Bearcats made 10-of-20 free throws as a team. They only had five field goals in the second half.
“That’s probably one of our poorest shooting performances we maybe have had this year,” Vote said. “They held us off-balance. They played defense. They were in our faces. And they’re a tough, physical team.”
While the Eastons — Simon and Benz — combined for just one point in the second half, NR-S utilized its full rotation of players.
“In practice, we’ve been trying to get guys better looks, more looks throughout the whole game,” Simon said. “We’ve been pushing the pace very good, and that opens up a lot of shots, too.”
Benz, Shaun Reimche and Layton Jacobson all got into foul trouble. But Reimche and Jacobson each scored four in the second half — as did Koy Zieman and Ayden Gable off the bench. The Rockets were able to find their forwards below the basket with clean, crisp passes.
“When we’re down, we’re going to probably try to amp the pressure up a little bit,” Vote said. “And if they make a couple passes, or they elude our trap, you’re going to give up something, whether it’s a three or a layup. And they made their shots.”
Allmaras hit his second triple of the game to finish with eight points.
Simon and Benz led NR-S with 15 and 11 points, respectively, but it was the team effort that got it done in the second half.
“We had a lot of guys step up tonight,” Cook said. “Ayden Gable, off the bench, came in and made some big-time plays. Tommy Allmaras, his energy and effort tonight was key for us … Everyone that played a little bit had good moments for us.”
Mitchell was North Star’s leading scorer with 12 off the bench, but only two in the second half.
The Bearcats had been firing on pretty much all cylinders, but now they’ll need a quick reset. They still have four district games left — the next one being against Nelson County, one of the teams that beat NR-S.
“You hope that we can just move on from this,” Vote said. “Take a look at the video, and watch and see what we did well and what we need to improve on. … We still control our own destiny. And the one on Monday [against Nelson County] is our biggest game of the year.”
For NR-S, it was a much-needed confidence booster.
“They’re one of the best teams in the state right there,” Cook said of the Bearcats. “So to get a win against them is awesome. But we’re going to see them down the road again, and it’s going to be another battle.”
The Rockets have four district games left of their own. Their next one is Monday at Warwick.
“This was a huge win,” Simon said. “A lot of confidence going forward for when we play the other district games. Looking forward to it.”
