Nelson County’s Brody Rainsberry looks up at the scoreboard during the Chargers’ win over Benson County on Tuesday. (Photo by Mojo Hill)
LANGDON — The Chargers weren’t satisfied after losing Monday’s district semifinal.
They were on the precipice of reaching the district championship. Instead, after blowing a 14-point lead to St. John, Nelson County had to play Benson County in a region qualifier on Tuesday at Langdon Area High School.
“We came into this tournament thinking that we had a chance to win it all,” senior guard Brody Rainsberry said. “And I honestly still think that we did. But we didn’t play very well yesterday. And today, we came out and I think there was a little bit of fire under our butts.”
A 15-point second half sunk the Chargers on Monday.
So how did they come out on Tuesday?
By scoring 53 in the first half.
“We scored three points in the fourth quarter yesterday. That’s not us,” Nelson County head coach Tyson Ackerman said. “Our kids were not excited about that. We wanted to play in this game right now.”
Nelson County (15-6) advanced to the region tournament with a 77-30 rout of Benson County (3-18). Six Chargers had at least nine points, including two players off the bench.
It was Nelson County’s second-best offensive performance of the season, behind only a 78-point night against Enderlin on Jan. 17.
“We just moved the ball,” Ackerman said. “Everyone kind of got into the business. … As long as we can move it and set our feet and get our spacing right, we’re tough to beat in those zone situations. And we become zone busters and quick hitters and those type of things for a reason.”
Two of Nelson County’s top two scorers weren’t the usual suspects.
Rainsberry scored 12 in the first half, including a 4-for-5 performance from the free throw line. He had 14 points overall.
“I think we’re a team that really likes to get out and run and apply pressure so we can get our offense going,” Rainsberry said. “That helps us a lot.”
The other was Landon Sundeen, who came off the bench and got to the rim repeatedly in the second quarter. His 10 points led the Chargers in a 29-point quarter.
“When good things happen to those kids, it doesn’t surprise me,” Ackerman said. “Because they work their tails off every day at practice. I see it. We don’t see it as much on game days and those type of things. But Brody’s our leader, and he gets into things. And he’s so athletic, and he gets downhill. And Landon, I mean, it’s tough to watch him and not see his passion and his effort and all that stuff.”
Nelson County’s 6-foot-2 hybrid, Zane Anderson, also had 10 points in the first half and 12 overall.
Rider Schmidt, Jaxson Joramo and Taven Huso played their parts with seven each. Schmidt got going more in the second half, adding 10 points to finish with a game-high 17.
Schmidt and Joramo were both all-district selections for the Chargers.
Huso added 11 points in three quarters of play.
The Chargers got to the rim with ease to fuel their attack. They added three triples in the first half.
Grant Haagenson led Benson County with 12 points, nine of which came in the first half. He had no two-pointers in the second half.
“[Joramo] just plays behind him and lets him make a move, and doesn’t jump early and stays on his feet,” Ackerman said. “We played them earlier, and he had the same type of game.”
Benson County’s Aiden Rodriguez, a day after his eight-triple performance, hit two in the first half on Tuesday. But he didn’t score for the rest of the game.
The Chargers had a 53-21 lead at halftime, then made three layups in the first minute of the second half.
They started sprinkling in their backups in the third quarter. The teams played a running-clock fourth.
It was the latest step in this redemptive season for Nelson County, winner of just eight games last season.
“We were in a bunch of games, but we just didn’t win games,” Ackerman said. “And that’s the same squad. We had two seniors playing on that squad. So we’re legitimately bringing everyone back with that same type of experience, and not wanting that feeling again — not wanting to lose two games in a district tournament by less than five points. … Our kids learn from that.”
The Chargers will be the No. 3 seed from District 4 in the Region 2 tournament next week in Devils Lake.
“We’re going to have a good week of practice, and we’re going to prepare for whoever we get out of that other district,” Rainsberry said. “And we’re going to come in with a good mindset. I think we’ve got a chance to make a deep run.”
At the end of the day Tuesday, Nelson County learned it will be playing Drayton/Valley-Edinburg, which lost the District 3 championship to Park River/Fordville-Lankin.
The Chargers beat PR/F-L during the regular season but did not play D/V-E.
“I’ve watched tape on them, like scouted them against teams that we’re going to play,” Ackerman said. “I’d like to do a deeper dive into them.”
Ackerman said he has a good feeling with this group compared to past region tournaments he’s been a part of.
“I played in the regional tournament before, where we drew the No. 1, Four Winds, day one. We got beat by 50 day one,” Ackerman said. “That’s not one of those feelings I have going into the regional tournament this year.”
It gets going Monday at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
