Warwick’s Anthony Touche Jr. attempts to get a shot over North Star’s Hunter Hagler. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
DEVILS LAKE — North Star held Warwick without a point in the second quarter.
“I didn’t even know that, to be honest with you,” Bearcats head coach Jesse Vote said. “We’re starting to make a name for ourselves on the defensive end.”
A team more known for its offense, the Bearcats (4-2) handed it to Warwick (0-6) on Thursday in the Ramsey County Boys’ Basketball Tournament quarterfinals. North Star won 81-30, riding a 34-0 run between the second and third quarter.
“Defense probably hasn’t been a thing for us over the years, but the kids work hard on the defensive end, and they know that that’s where we’re going to win basketball games,” Vote said.
The Bearcats advanced to Friday’s semifinals. They’ll face Larimore, which beat Carrington in the final game of Thursday’s slate.
“It was good that we came out, we got our legs under us,” Vote said. “We were able to pick up the tempo a little bit and push the ball, get some easy layups at the other end.”
Ian Westlind, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, led the Bearcats with 27 points in three quarters. His first two baskets were three-pointers. He scored at least eight in each of the three quarters he played, with 3-of-4 free throw shooting.
“He’s starting to get to the basket. He’s taking good shots,” Vote said. “He’s obviously hitting some from the outside. And he’s been a threat for us from day one. And the nice thing about us, too, is we’ve had different guys hit 20 points for us throughout the year so far. So we’ve got weapons, and I guess tonight was Ian’s night.”
Anthony Touche Jr. had Warwick’s first eight points. Under first-year head coach Robert Lawrence, Touche Jr. has been doing the load of the scoring for Warwick.
“Our plan was to try to double him as much as possible and make him give up the basketball,” Vote said. “He’s a very good player.”
Warwick’s first points by somebody besides Touche Jr. came on a triple by Brooklyn Abraham. The shot cut North Star’s lead to 22-11 at the end of the first quarter.
That turned out to be Warwick’s last basket until almost midway through the third quarter.
With North Star up 56-11, Brandon Black ended the massive drought by hitting a three-pointer for Warwick.
Touche Jr. eventually got going again with nine points in the third quarter. He scored 19 of Warwick’s 30 points overall.
“He still got his chances in the lane against us,” Vote said. “So I guess if there was something bad that we did, we probably let him get in the lane too much.”
North Star showed off a deep crew of talent, which included 10 players in the scoring column.
Kade Mitchell was second on the team with 11 points off the bench, all in the first half. He had a performance of 20-plus recently.
“He can stroke the basketball,” Vote said. “He’s just another weapon that we have. And we’re trying to tinker a little bit with our starting lineup and try to figure out who we want to come off the bench. And whether it’s a game-plan thing, or just kind of a feeling thing amongst the coaching staff — but yeah, it’s good to see different guys have their nights in and out. And when they get on the floor, it’s their chance to shine.”
JD DuPreez added nine off the bench. Starter Alec Peyerl scored nine.
Senior star Hunter Hagler was limited to six, all in the second quarter. Hagler is still relatively fresh off a broken leg that sidelined him for most of football season.
“I would say his speed probably isn’t there right now,” Vote said. “But his presence for us and for other teams is there. Just defensively, and rebounding for us, and keeping everybody under control and into the game. He’s a very valuable part to our team. And he’s only getting stronger, day by day.”
Monty Redfox Jr. hit a triple in the second half for Warwick. He finished second on the Warriors with five points.
Coach Lawrence and the Warriors are still trying to figure out how to give Touche Jr. some consistent scoring support.
Polar Bears outshoot Cardinals
The long afternoon of games culminated in Carrington, the lone Class A team in the field, taking a 56-35 loss to Larimore.
The Cardinals are a region foe of Devils Lake’s varsity team. Devils Lake beat them 80-25 earlier this season.
Carrington (1-5) struggled to land shots. Larimore (3-3) had three players in double figures: Dylan Rethemeier with 15, Mason Myers with 11 and Baron Burns with 10. The Polar Bears hit six triples, including three by Braden Bacon.
Carrington particularly struggled in the middle of the game. The Cardinals hit just one field goal in the second quarter and one in the third. They trailed 38-19 at the half.
After missing numerous three-point attempts as a team, Taylen Mehring finally hit the first successful one for Carrington in the fourth quarter.
Larimore advanced to play North Star in the final game of Friday’s four-game slate, which begins at 3 p.m. Carrington will play Warwick in the second game of the day around 4:30 p.m.
