FARGO — After Lakota senior Rider Schmidt helped clinch his school’s first state appearance in 50 years, he shared emotional hugs with family members on the court.
“I can’t believe it, bro,” he said after collecting himself. “It’s been so long. We’ve never seen this before at Lakota. So it’s like, ‘Wow.’ I have so many mixed emotions right now.”
The Lakota boys’ basketball team last made state in 1976.
Dakota Prairie most recently made it in 2009.
In the third year of the schools combining to form a Nelson County co-op, they’re headed back to a state tournament.
“I always said when I was just coaching Lakota, ‘You cut me, I’m gonna bleed purple,’” said Chargers head coach Tyson Ackerman. “I love that school. I love that community. I work in that school. … That’s the reason we brought these two schools together, to compete, and to compete for meaningful things.”
Nelson County (18-7) has leaned on its defense all season.
The Chargers shut out Linton/HMB (17-9) in the third quarter on Saturday, going on to win 62-47 in a state qualifier game at SCHEELS Center in the Sanford Health Athletic Complex.
“We’re bigger than they are,” Ackerman said. “We’re long. We match up with them well.”
Nelson County’s turnaround season has been fueled by the best defense, statistically, in Region 2.
Linton/HMB came in with the best offense in District 2.
The Chargers, with a massive advantage in student section turnout, came out hot.
Jaxson Joramo and Tyler Cree-Beglau hit triples as Nelson County opened with a 12-5 lead.
The Chargers’ shooting hit a dry spell. Linton/HMB’s Justin Bosch made two consecutive three-pointers to help tie it up.
Schmidt broke Nelson County’s drought with his own three in the second quarter. He scored eight in the quarter and 12 in the half.
Schmidt’s put-back had the Chargers ahead by the skin of their teeth, 26-24, going into the locker room at halftime.
And then they decided to blank one of the better offensive teams in the state over an entire quarter.
“We just locked in on defense,” Schmidt said. “Everyone knew their jobs the whole time. And we just stuck true to ourselves.”
Nelson County got stop after stop. The Lions also flung up a few airballs after hitting five triples in the first half. The Chargers rebounded well and utilized their big guys to prevent Linton/HMB from getting to the rim.
“We were tired. Longer court. Some of those situations, it felt like it was an emotional game. We were losing our legs,” Ackerman said. “So we dropped into that 2-2-1 pressure, and then into our 2-3 zone. We ran them off the three-point line, we sent them into Jaxson. And Joramo, just, he walled up and he did a great job at the rim. And that’s what really made it difficult for them to score.”
Joramo is a 6-foot-6 sophomore. He and Schmidt do a ton of the dirty work around the basket.
“Those guys are just hard-working kids,” Ackerman said. “They’re kids that everyone wants on a team. … They’re there to do the things that no one puts on the stat sheet. Do the work, set the screens, do that type of stuff.”
The Chargers also forced a shot-clock violation during the shutout third quarter. It seemed to come as a surprise to Linton/HMB, not realizing that the horn was about to sound.
“It caught them way off guard,” Schmidt said. “It got our crowd up and our crowd louder. It was just great momentum.”
Nelson County outscored Linton/HMB 12-0 in the third quarter to take a 14-point lead.
The Lions finally scored again with 6:52 left in the fourth quarter.
The quarter devolved into essentially a free throw shooting contest, with Nelson County already in a comfortable lead. The Chargers went 13-for-20 from the stripe in the fourth quarter and 19-for-31 overall. Linton/HMB went 8-for-8 in the quarter and 11-for-12 overall.
Joramo scored eight in the final period to finish with 13 points. Schmidt led the Chargers with 16. Zane Anderson had 12.
Schmidt is one of seven seniors on the team. He grinded it out with this squad through its 8-13 season last year.
He’s now reaping the rewards of sticking with it.
“It’s way sweeter,” Schmidt said. “Going from not even making regionals last year to making state this year, it’s crazy. It’s insane.”
With a quietly lethal mix of bigs and guards, the Chargers have found a formula they like.
“Our chemistry,” Schmidt said of what’s worked. “Starting from last year — that was our rebuild. We were like, ‘We might not be the best that we can be, but we’re still gonna be way better next year.’”
He was right about that.
“Our kids get better every day,” Ackerman said. “We fight each other — I wouldn’t say with the effort that we did today in these types of games. But we do drills, and they’re super competitive. Jaxson Joramo going against Rider Schmidt going against Landon Sundeen in the post. Brendan Lenz on the sideline here, he doesn’t play many varsity minutes, but he’s 6-foot-5. So we get better every day at practice.”
The Chargers know the rest of the state might still be doubting them when they get to Minot on Thursday.
After all, Nelson County never even received top-five votes during the season.
“Anytime you get the opportunity to play at the state tournament, in front of people, it’s a reward,” Ackerman said. “But I want to go out there and compete and play and show them, like, this is Chargers basketball. We’re gonna get offensive rebounds. We’re gonna work our tails off. We’re gonna run the right sets. That’s what I want to show the state.”
The tournament is being held at the Minot State Dome from Thursday through Saturday.
“I’m so excited,” Schmidt said. “I can’t wait. Really can’t wait.”
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