District split

The New Rockford-Sheyenne Rockets earned an impressive home win against the Hatton/Northwood Thunder on Thursday, Feb. 1.

The Rockets essentially controlled the game from start to finish, beginning with a dominant first quarter.

The first eight minutes saw the NR-S defense hold the Thunder offense to just a single field goal and three free throws.

Meanwhile, the Rockets put up 11 points of their own, giving them a 6-point advantage after the first quarter which was largely sustained in the second quarter.

The halftime score was 21-14 in the Rockets' favor. It was clear the Thunder needed something to change, but their offensive efficiency was terrible in the first half.

Even when they got open looks, which wasn't all that often, their shots would miss the mark. In fact, nine of their 14 points by halftime were scored from the foul line – they had scored just two field goals in 16 minutes.

However, the third quarter brought no respite for the Thunder, as the Rockets enjoyed an offensive burst which finally yielded a comfortable advantage.

Doing most of the offensive lifting for NR-S was Easton Simon, who had a game high 16 points on the night.

With him leading the way, and with Bennett Meier and Luke Yri also enjoying a productive third quarter, the Rockets opened up a 43-29 lead.

Now up by 14 points, and with the Thunder offense still not posing much of a threat, the fourth quarter was largely a formality.

With two minutes left in regulation, the bench from each team came in to relive their starters, and they closed out a 52-36 final score.

The win brought the Rockets' overall record to an even 7-7, but a loss to Benson County on Tuesday, Feb. 6 once again gave them a losing record.

The Rockets kept it close against the Wildcats for much of the game, and at times even held a small advantage.

However, the third quarter saw Benson County open up a double-digit lead, and enjoy a 38-26 advantage going into the fourth quarter.

But that's when NR-S made their push for a comeback, as a run of unanswered buckets brought the Wildcats' lead down to just a single point with around three minutes remaining in regulation.

Unfortunately for the Rockets', however, that's where their comeback fell short.

Benson County closed out the game strong from there, and ultimately won by a score of 52-45.

NR-S attempted to rebound from the loss on Thursday, Feb. 8 at home against Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich, who had an 8-8 overall record as of press time.

Their next game is also at home against the Warwick Warriors on Tuesday, Feb. 13. As of press time they had a 5-10 overall record, but had won three of their last four.

District 4

Boys' Basketball

NR-S 52, H/N 36

Thursday, Feb. 1

in New Rockford

NR-S: 11 10 22 9 - 52

H/N: 5 9 15 7 - 36

NR-S: Easton Simon 16, Ashton Reimche 5, Bennett Meier 8, Kailar Jacobson 6, Luke Yri 8, Easton Benz 4, Kage Walford 5. Totals: 22 FG, 4-6 FT, 11 fouls. 3-pointers: Yri 2, Simon 1, Walford 1.

Hatton/Northwood: Derek Carpenter 10, Drew Iverson 8, Kaleb Trostad 7, Aiden Johnson 5, Westin Enger 3, Brody Johnson 3. Totals: 10 FG, 10-11 FT, 11 fouls. 3-pointers: B. Johnson 1, Enger 1, A. Johnson 1, Carpenter 1.

District 4

Boys' Basketball

NR-S 45, BC 52

Tuesday, Feb. 6

in Leeds

NR-S: 4 16 6 19 - 45

BC: 9 17 13 13 - 52

NR-S: Ashton Reimche 14, Easton Simon 13, Easton Benz 12, Kage Walford 3, Bennett Meier 2, Kailar Jacobson 1. Totals: 19 FG, 2-7 FT, 13 fouls. 3-pointers: Benz 3, Simon 1, Walford 1.

Benson County: Holdyn Jacobson 19, Macyn Olson 14, Paxton Neppl 13, Logan Maddock 4, Kaden Nelson 2. Totals: 20 FG, 9-14 FT, 10 fouls. 3-pointers: Neppl 2, Jacobson 1.