Langdon Area/Munich boys’ basketball team (Photo via NDHSAA)
Langdon Area/Munich narrowly survived the District 3 Boys’ Basketball Tournament that wrapped up on Tuesday. The Cardinals managed to squeak into the Region 2 fold.
North Star, on the other hand, came so close to joining the Cardinals but saw an upset attempt fall just short. The Bearcats’ season came to an end.
The No. 3-seeded Cardinals and No. 6-seeded Bearcats played each other in the first round last Friday at Park River High School. LA/M won a nailbiter, 54-52.
The Cardinals were led by a 34-point explosion from 6-foot freshman Eastyn Schaefer. Sophomore Alec Peyerl and freshman Ian Westlind each had 14 for the Bearcats, while junior Hunter Hagler had 13. But LA/M, which lost to North Star 62-60 during the regular season, avenged its two-point loss with a two-point margin in the other direction.
That brought the Bearcats to a loser-out matchup on Monday with No. 7-seeded North Prairie, which they dismantled 76-36. During the regular season, North Star had beaten North Prairie by a relatively closer 24.
LA/M had to face No. 6 Midway/Minto in the District 3 semifinals and lost 70-56. The Cardinals led 15-12 after the first quarter but got outscored 21-10 in the second quarter.
Schaefer put up 20 in that game for the Cardinals, while Cody Amble had 17. The Mustangs had four players in double figures, including Ezra Robinson with 20.
So, both LA/M and North Star played in region qualifier games on Tuesday, albeit with different paths to get there. And both teams played absolute barnburners.
The scoring started slowly in the Cardinals’ matchup with St. John. They trailed 9-8 after one quarter and 24-23 at halftime. A strong third quarter in which LA/M outscored St. John 19-10 gave the Cardinals an eight-point lead, but the Woodchucks managed to tie it at 51-51 by the end of regulation.
LA/M held on, outscoring St. John 12-9 in overtime to take home a 63-60 win.
Schaefer had his second 30-point performance of the tournament, while Jayden Lee added 10. Madden Parisien led the Woodchucks with 28.
North Star’s game was similarly close but it wasn’t so favorable, as the Bearcats fell by the same 54-52 score that they lost to LA/M by.
The Bearcats nearly upset North Border, the No. 2-ranked team in Class B and No. 1 seed in the tournament. On Monday, North Border had taken a 65-64 loss to Park River/Fordville-Lankin.
North Star led 14-12 after the first quarter, 27-23 at halftime and 46-32 after the third quarter. The Eagles, flirting with disaster given their ranking and expectations, turned it on in the fourth quarter and outscored the Bearcats 22-6 the rest of the way.
North Star was led by Hagler’s 20 points. Peyerl and Westlind had eight each.
The Bearcats finished the season 8-14 overall. This was a year after they were undefeated in region and district play, and ended up losing in the state championship game. They lost four of their five starters to graduation and had an almost entirely new look this year. But young players like Westlind and Peyerl stepped up to keep them afloat and lead them on a solid run.
The Cardinals (12-10) will now join teams like New Rockford-Sheyenne and Warwick in the Region 2 tournament in Devils Lake. As the No. 4 seed from District 3, LA/M’s first-round matchup will be against the District 4 champion, NR-S, on Monday at Devils Lake High School.
Warwick, the No. 3 seed from District 4, will face PR/F-V on Monday. The winners of those two games will play each other in a semifinal matchup on Tuesday.
