Ian Westlind looks towards the North Star bench during the Bearcats’ region qualifier game against New Rockford-Sheyenne. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
LANGDON — Ian Westlind hadn’t been playing his best basketball.
As the Ramsey County tournament MVP’s production wavered, so did North Star’s.
After losing to Nelson County in the quarterfinals, the Bearcats faced elimination twice in the district tournament.
And then, on Tuesday, they faced an early deficit to New Rockford-Sheyenne. Their season was on the precipice of ending if they didn’t get it together.
Westlind decided he’d had enough of that.
“I just knew that I wanted to keep the season going,” Westlind said. “I had to play for my boys.”
North Star (17-5) eliminated NR-S (17-5) in a battle of teams that, in a different district, probably would have both made the region tournament. But, after NR-S lost to Langdon Area/Munich in the semifinals, either the No. 4 or 2 seed was guaranteed to go home early.
It turns out, the defending district champion and No. 2 seed is done.
Westlind exploded for 32 points in a 57-40 win for the Bearcats in Tuesday’s region qualifier game at Langdon Area High School.
“The kids proved to everybody what they’re capable of,” North Star head coach Jesse Vote said. “The intensity level was turned up. … Just so proud of these kids. They don’t stop fighting. They drive us nuts, but they’ll be there for you in the end.”
The Bearcats played a Diamond and One defense to key in on Rockets star Easton Simon, who was named the District 4 Senior Athlete of the Year.
“We played a defense that we’ve pretty much had zero practice on,” Vote said. “Easton Simon’s one of the best players in the state. And we knew we had to control him as much as possible, keep him out of the lane and just hope that they miss shots.”
Simon was held to 13 points, all in the first three quarters.
NR-S had an early 7-2 lead after a triple by Shaun Reimche. From there, North Star went on a 10-0 run.
Westlind scored eight of those points singlehandedly.
“Getting to the hoop was going good,” Westlind said. “I knocked down a couple three-balls in the beginning of the game — that helped me, too.”
The Bearcats’ bench, after a nervous start, was rocking.
NR-S’s Thomas Allmaras — who has a penchant for timely threes — hit two in the first quarter, one that tied it and one that gave the Rockets a 15-14 lead.
Westlind hit a go-ahead triple to get the second quarter started.
The Rockets didn’t score until almost three minutes into the quarter. They didn’t have a field goal until 4:44.
But they made a couple of baskets in succession, from Simon and Reimche.
North Star took a timeout, then got back in its rhythm. Westlind tied it with a mid-range jumper, then hit a step-back three to give the Bearcats a 23-20 lead.
“Confidence-wise, he’s been off lately,” Vote said. “And obviously we’ve got some shooters — we just hope that one of them stays hot. And it was his turn tonight.”
NR-S was still within two at the half, 26-24.
But the Rockets’ scoring hit a major drought in the third quarter. They struggled to get inside or land shots.
With eight points from Westlind and six from Kade Mitchell, the Bearcats extended their lead to 42-27.
Westlind scored exactly eight points in each quarter.
He didn’t hit any threes in the second half, but he had six deuces and made 4-of-6 free throws.
Vote said that Westlind came over to the bench and asked, “Can I keep attacking?”
Vote’s response, as he recalled, was “I wish you would keep attacking, because we need that.”
Vote added: “We don’t have a lot of guys that can just put their heads down and try to make something happen at the rim. [Westlind] found the confidence, and yeah — just super proud of the way he played tonight.”
The Rockets, meanwhile, nearly went the entire third quarter without a field goal. Simon got them off the schneid by making a jumper with three seconds left.
Still, it was a remarkable defensive display from North Star.
“The kids came out in the third quarter; we challenged them and said, ‘Do you want to be done, or do you want to continue on to the next step?’” Vote said. “They dug their heels in. And they believed. I wish we would have played this way some other nights, but they stepped up when the time was needed.”
Allmaras got going again in the fourth quarter with a pair of three-pointers. They were his first points since the first quarter. But NR-S never cut its deficit closer than 11.
All told, the Rockets scored just 16 points in the second half.
It was a disappointing end to an otherwise strong season for NR-S. Coming off a state appearance from last year, the Rockets spent some time ranked No. 5 in Division B and went into the district tournament with the No. 2 seed.
But only four teams from the district can advance to the region tournament. There were five teams with winning records, meaning one team was guaranteed to be the odd man out. And it turned out to be NR-S.
The Rockets had two seniors on the all-district team, with Simon and Easton Benz.
Westlind and Hunter Hagler were named to the all-district team for North Star.
The Bearcats will represent District 4 as the No. 4 seed in the region tournament in Devils Lake next week.
“We’re pumped,” Westlind said. “Keeping Hunter and Levi [Borstad]’s season going, we’re pumped.”
As if there were any doubts to Westlind’s statement, the cheers of triumph and loud music blaring from the locker room after the game proved as much.
“I mean, listen to the locker room right now,” Vote said. “The excitement is there. Obviously, they know the work isn’t done. We’re going to have to turn around and prepare. The other district is going to be waiting for us. It’s going to be a battle, all four games next Monday.”
