NEW ROCKFORD — For the first time since 2009, the New Rockford-Sheyenne boys’ basketball team is the champion of District 4.
The Rockets (19-3) avenged a regular-season loss to May-Port-C-G (11-11) in the district championship game on Tuesday to cap off the tournament. They won 69-53, getting 20 points from Easton Simon, 14 from Kage Walford and 13 from Alex Weisenburger.
“We feel like that was one of the best games we’ve played all season,” Simon said. “We just came out with more energy. We were on the road in May-Port; we just kind of underlooked them. They’re a really good team. And tonight we just came out; we knew what to expect.”
Head coach Tyler Cook was named the District 4 Coach of the Year after the game. Simon, Bennett Meier and Easton Benz were honored on the all-district team.
“These kids have shown so much resilience through the year. They’re finding ways to win,” Cook said. “Just so proud of how hard they played, and got over the hump. First district title since 2009 for our program, so that’s a huge deal.”
A sluggish offensive start saw the Rockets face a deficit at the end of the first quarter. They led 7-2 after a three by Simon, but got outscored 12-4 to end the frame. They struggled to finish drives and couldn’t capitalize on put-backs. Their usual leading scorer, Meier, only had two points in the first quarter as NR-S trailed 16-13.
The May-Port-C-G offense stalled for more than three minutes into the second quarter. Meier, Kailar Jacobson and Simon each found the basket to fuel the Rockets back ahead.
Bricker Johnson had an and-one for the Patriots, tying it at 23 apiece. Weisenburger came up with a pair of baskets off the bench down the stretch, helping stretch the lead to 29-24 at halftime. Weisenburger had six first-half points.
“Alex played huge minutes for us tonight,” Cook said, “and really stepped up and had a monster game.”
Simon still carried the scoring load with 13 points in the first half.
“I try to get what I can,” Simon said. “Make my teammates better. Try to get them looks, too. And I just know my shots are gonna come.”
The Rockets separated themselves in the second half with a 16-0 run. Walford, a key asset on defense, added to the scoring column too with 13 points. Simon scored seven in the third quarter.
“The whole tournament, he’s been locked in on defense,” Simon said of Walford. “He’s a big reason why we won that tournament. And he made some big shots in the third quarter to help us win.”
NR-S led by as many as 24. The performances from Weisenburger and Walford helped offset a relatively quiet eight-point night from Meier.
“You never know. We’ve got a lot of guys that can do things,” Cook said. “Kage was just resilient going to the rim. He made so many great plays for us tonight.”
Jacobson added six points for the Rockets in the fourth quarter as they cruised to the finish line.
Johnson, who was an all-district selection for May-Port-C-G, was limited to 11 points overall and just four in the first half.
“Our defense was way better,” Cook said, referring to the Rockets’ prior loss to the Patriots. “We didn’t give up easy drives. Our big game plan was keep Bricker out of the lane, and Walford did a heck of a job on him.”
The Rockets, consisting of many of the same kids who helped them win a football title this fall, head into the region tournament in Devils Lake with some confidence.
“It’s just teamwork,” Simon said. “From football, every day we went into practice; basketball, we come into practice. We just know each other. We play with each other. We trust each other. And that ultimately gets it done for us.”
