Devils Lake JV’s Egan Laite subs out during the first game of the 2026 Ramsey County Boys’ Basketball Tournament. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
DEVILS LAKE — Devils Lake JV and Nelson County will meet in the semifinals of the 2026 Ramsey County Boys’ Basketball Tournament.
Devils Lake JV, the defending champion of the tournament, got this year’s slate started with a win over Benson County Thursday at the Devils Lake Sports Center. Nelson County followed by fending off a Griggs/Midkota comeback attempt.
Laite leads JV Firebirds
The Devils Lake varsity team has a different look to it this year. That trickles down to the junior varsity.
“I’ve had kind of a solid team for the last two or three years,” said Devils Lake JV head coach Patrick Thomas, who’s also an assistant on the varsity. “Our varsity’s been so strong that the same guys have been playing JV for a bit. So yeah, definitely a different year, but it’s good getting new guys in, being able to teach them new things and seeing that development.”
One of the biggest names that’s emerged this year is Egan Laite. The sophomore has already been getting some varsity time, and he led the JV team with 24 points on Thursday.
The Firebirds beat Benson County (0-3) by a score of 70-50.
“I liked the effort for most of the game,” Thomas said. “We had some patches where we kind of defensively dropped off. … I like the intensity that we showed, and just being in attack mode the whole game, which is what we practice a lot of.”
Laite scored 14 in the first half, which included 4-of-4 free throw shooting. He added 10 points on three triples in the second half.
Fellow varsity player Anthony Ironheart added 14 off the bench, hitting four triples.
“That’s helping,” Thomas said of his players’ varsity experience. “Obviously not the best situation with the varsity right now, but seeing those other guys get some more time, some more confidence, that’s the silver lining of this.”
Also starting Thursday was Alex Hammond, who’s recently been thrown into an unexpected starting role on varsity. A couple early fouls limited his playing time, but he scored seven points in three quarters.
“It’s good to get him some reps,” Thomas said. “Just to get him some confidence, get him to keep playing.”
Benson County stayed within a single-digit deficit in the first half, mostly because of 6-foot-6 junior Grant Haagenson. The big center led the Wildcats with 23 points, including 13 in the first half.
“He’s a big boy, right?” Thomas said. “We’ve got [6-foot-5 junior] Casey Brown. He’s a big boy, too. But it’s hard to move those guys. And he did really well getting in position down low. So yeah, we’ve got to shore that up, especially for the rest of the season and the rest of this tournament, and make sure that we’re being a bit more physical down low.”
Aiden Rodriguez added 11 points in the first half for Benson County. But he only scored two in the second half. The Wildcats made just three non-Haagenson field goals in the second half as Devils Lake pulled away.
The Firebirds had 11 players in the scoring column.
They’ll head to Friday’s semis looking to take the next step towards repeating as tournament champions.
“It’s been a good time for our JV guys to get a little light shined on them, and have the crowd watching them, which is fun,” Thomas said. “It’s awesome. I love playing the Ramsey County. It’s been fun all four years that I’ve been here.”
Chargers hold on after big lead gets away
Nelson County led 41-23 at the half.
Less than four minutes later, it was 41-41.
“We’ve got some young kids playing some basketball,” Nelson County head coach Tyson Ackerman said. “I’m starting two sophomores, playing three sophomores pretty big minutes. And they’re going to make these mistakes early. And I’d rather make these mistakes today than make them in a district tournament or something later on in the year.”
Suddenly battling in a close game, the Chargers (3-1) held on to win 68-61 over Griggs/Midkota (0-4). Nelson County beat G/M 67-47 in December. The Titans gave them much more of a fight this time.
“We played them in Glenfield, and Glenfield is a really small gym. So we ran that 1-3-1 trap, and we trapped the baseline corners. And they turned it over a bunch,” Ackerman said. “But that’s the difference between the Devils Lake Sports Center gym and the Glenfield gym. They’re just two different sizes.”
Rider Schmidt and Taven Huso each scored 18 to lead the Chargers.
Schmidt was the most consistent throughout the contest. The 6-foot-3 forward had 10 in the first half and eight in the second.
“He’s one of those guys that does everything the right way,” Ackerman said. “Works hard. He’s the glue guy. He’s our leader. He’s a kid you want on every team. Every team wants a Rider Schmidt.”
Huso, a sophomore, got hot in the first half with three triples and 13 points. He fueled an early 12-0 run that put Nelson County in the driver’s seat.
“He’s a gym rat,” Ackerman said. “He’s ready for moments like that.”
Nelson County’s lead was as large as 39-20. With Schmidt, Huso and Zane Anderson all in double figures at the half, the Chargers were rolling.
G/M came out of the locker room with some extra fire and completely took over the momentum of the game.
The Titans got down the floor for some quick baskets and forced turnovers, their bench erupting with every positive play. Trace Spickler and Cooper Timm each hit a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter as G/M caught the Chargers on their heels.
But Nelson County settled back in and played a mostly back-and-forth game for the remainder. Anderson made back-to-back layups to help Nelson County gain a little ground with an 8-1 run.
G/M still got back within a point, as Sawyer Larson hit two threes off the bench in the fourth quarter.
With Schmidt, Huso and Anderson each totaling at least 17 for Nelson County, the Chargers managed to outlast the Titans by a hair.
Last year, they struggled. They went 8-13, although four of those wins were consecutive, extending into the district tournament. Now, they’ve won three of their first four this season.
“Our chances of being competitive are great,” Ackerman said. “It’s one of those things where some of the times I say, in the huddle, I’ll be like, ‘We’re the only team out here that can beat us if we don’t play it the right way. That’s how we lose.’ … All those things that we learned hard last year, we already know.”
Devils Lake JV and Nelson County are set to square off in the third game of the day Friday, with the four-game slate starting at 3 p.m. at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
