While we sit inside and wait for the weather to warm up for outdoor sports, I thought I’d take a look back at the latest boys’ basketball season. Especially now that the dust has settled a little.
As with any season, there were highs and lows, accomplishments and disappointments.
Two years ago, the Devils Lake girls and boys both won state in my first few months on the job, which would have been hard to script any better. The Division A boys’ state championship last year — which the Firebirds lost to Kindred — was probably one of the most memorable games I’ve seen in person across all sports and levels. It would have been hard to top those years in terms of sheer drama and intensity.
While the 2025-26 boys’ basketball season might have had a relatively more anticlimactic ending, it still brought plenty of special moments for the local teams to be proud of.
Getting off the schneid
Two teams in particular — Four Winds/Minnewaukan and Nelson County — clinched state appearances that meant a little more.
For FW/M, it was the first at the Division A level. It might have been the last, too, unless Four Winds’ enrollment increases enough to move back up at some point in the future. In any case, it was the last season of the FW/M co-op, which had been in effect since 2010. The Indians had great teams over the first two years of the three-class system, but each season ended in heartbreak. One had to feel for them a little bit, coming so close with two groups of talented players but falling just short.
When the Indians beat Oak Grove down in Fargo, it seemed like it was a weight off everyone’s backs. Not that Rick Smith was any stranger to success — he coached two state champion teams in Class B — but it had still been a little while. Plus, they did it in the same season that Smith surpassed the 500-win threshold. Marial Deng had a big season in his last year of high school, earning Region 2 Senior Athlete of the Year honors.
I think this will be a season that Four Winds and Minnewaukan fans look back on especially fondly in the future.
With a fifth-place state finish, the Indians left Fargo with smiles on their faces despite enduring a frustrating loss in the quarterfinals.
Possibly the biggest display of community support I witnessed this season came when Nelson County clinched a spot in the Division B state tournament.
Even before the Chargers punched their ticket, the buzz around the program and what they were on the verge of accomplishing was a little different. Just making it to the region championship game — which they eventually lost — was a big deal in its own right. It seemed like they were playing with a “nothing to lose” attitude as a squad that was overlooked by the rest of the state pretty much all season.
Nelson County never even received top-five votes during the season. The Chargers had some nice wins, but they were still only the No. 5 seed going into the district tournament. They were on the verge of making it to the district championship, but they limped to the finish line against St. John and had to beat Benson County just to make it to the region tournament.
A side note: What an interesting, competitive district that was. There were five really solid teams, but the nature of the postseason is that only four teams from each district can advance to the region tournament. Somebody had to be the odd man out.
Langdon Area/Munich, with the advantage of playing on its home court, ended up being the somewhat surprising winner of the district tournament. New Rockford-Sheyenne got the short end of the stick, a year after making it to state. The Rockets certainly had a good enough team to return to the big dance — Easton Simon was the NDHSCA POWERade Outstanding Senior Athlete for all of Division B — but it turned out to not be their year.
The two teams that battled for the district championship, LA/M and St. John, were both eliminated in the first round of the region tournament. The No. 3 and 4 seeds from the district, Nelson County and North Star, both advanced. Go figure.
Nelson County ended up riding a shutout third quarter against Linton/HMB to make it to state. But the Chargers were still given the lowest seed of the eight teams. They eventually finished sixth after another battle with North Star.
No team’s state-clinching celebration was bigger or more enthused than the Chargers’. There was jumping, hugging and clapping. The student section threw ribbons onto the court. Driving along Highway 2, I noticed a “Let’s go Chargers!” banner covering one of the town names.
And you could just see the emotion in Lakota senior Rider Schmidt’s face after the game. It was an explosive mix of jubilation and relief. His school hadn’t made it to state since 1976. He can graduate saying he was a part of the team that ended the drought.
Keeping the standard
Of course, the Indians’ and Chargers’ extra special state berths don’t take away from the seasons Devils Lake and North Star had. The difference is that both of those teams had been to that stage more recently. Two years ago, Devils Lake and North Star played in the Division A and B state championship games, respectively. Devils Lake had been to the state championship game in two consecutive seasons. They’re the types of programs that expect to be playing for state titles, not ones trying to end some long drought.
Still, both teams had to fight to get where they ended up. They’ve each had a ton of roster turnover since two years ago.
The Firebirds’ season didn’t exactly go the way they drew it up after a 6-0 start. There were player absences, different lineups and losing streaks. They were ranked No. 1 in the state at times, and they weren’t even in the top five at other times.
Going into the state tournament as the No. 1 seed and losing in the semifinals, there was obviously a sense of disappointment around the team. Still, they finished the year with their heads held high, winning the third-place game after overcoming all the variables that threatened to hold them back.
One of the pleasant surprises of the season was the emergence of sophomore Ben Brodina, who earned all-state honors in his first year as a starter. The other four starters were seniors. Brodina was the least-proven one, but he ended up having the best season from start to finish. He continued the path laid out by his older siblings, who had all achieved stardom at the varsity level before Ben was even in high school.
Following the season, head coach Dustin Brodina reflected on what his program has accomplished over the last three years. Finishing first, second and third — in that order — is better than any other Division A boys’ program can say it’s done over the last three years. Brodina hopes to reverse course and get back to the top, but it’s still worth appreciating the run this program has put together. All three Region 2A championships have gone to Devils Lake.
In the end, a relatively overlooked Beulah team proved the value that defense and rebounding can have. If the Firebirds had hit just a few more shots in the semifinal, it could have been a different story. But such is the way it goes sometimes — the Miners played out of their minds in that tournament, beating Wahpeton, Devils Lake and Central Cass. For the second straight year, the state championship game was decided by one point at the buzzer. This time, it was Beulah on the victorious side and Central Cass on the heart-crushing defeated side. The Miners deserve to be acknowledged for one heck of a run.
There have now been three different champions over the last three years in Division A boys’ basketball, which has kept the competition fresh and interesting. Who knows what’ll happen next year?
Finally, North Star ended up having a very fine season after getting through some bumps along the way. The Bearcats lost a regular-season matchup with NR-S, and they were defeated by Nelson County in the first round of the district tournament. They were one loss away from not even making the region tournament.
It wasn’t like the North Star team from two years ago. Led by Dane Hagler, Parker Simon and Karsen Simon, that 2024 team was dominant. It nearly went undefeated. The Bearcats eventually lost to Westhope/Newburg in the state championship game.
Now led by Dane’s younger brother Hunter, the Bearcats went on a resilient run to squeak out of the district and region tournaments. Even their state qualifier win was close: 55-48 over Edgeley/Kulm/Montpelier.
The Bearcats’ run was special in its own way because they fought off elimination five separate times to stay alive. Nelson County’s run was actually smoother in comparison, because the Chargers were in the driver’s seat most of the way. They won their district quarterfinal and reached the region championship game. North Star did not do either of those things.
Yet both teams made it to state. North Star finished a step ahead of Nelson County in the end, as the teams took fifth and sixth, respectively.
And so another season has passed. It was an eventful one, with two area teams making it to each of the Division A and B state tournaments. There were no state championships, but there was still a lot to look back on and keep in the memory bank for years to come.
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