Boys hoops teams getting ready for Region 1 tourney
Mar. 2—JAMESTOWN — Hankinson and Edgeley/Kulm-Montpelier are the favorites heading into the Region 1 boys' basketball tournament that begins at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 4.
The tournament's first game will see the top seed from District 1 Hankinson take on the No. 4 seed from District 2 LaMoure/Litchville-Marion at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 4. Hankinson Pirates head coach Carter Mauch said in order to win his team needs to play tight defense and put the ball in the hoop.
"The one thing when you talk about LaMoure you gotta talk about Max Musland right off the bat, he's one of the best players in the state," Mauch said. "He can do it all, bring the ball up, shoot, battle with you down low as well. We're gonna have to find a way to stop him but not only just him, but they play really good defense."
The Hankinson Pirates come into the tournament with an 18-3 overall record and have won eight of their last nine games as of Feb. 29.
"Every team wants to play their best basketball come tournament time and I've continuously preached to the boys the last month or so here, we gotta take steps up, we can't take steps down or we can't take steps forward," Mauch said. "We gotta take steps up, bring it to a new level every single game, every single practice and ultimately doing that will prep us for tournament season."
The top seed from District 2 is the Edgeley/Kulm-Montpelier Rebels, who will face No. 4-seed Wyndmere/Lidgerwood. The two teams previously played on Feb. 13 with the Rebels getting a 67-31 win.
"I think they played three different defenses for sure that I can think of," Rebels head coach Kevin Strobel said. "We gotta be ready for that, different looks. We got some guys that can make some shots against a zone. We gotta recognize what they're in defensively and go about attacking it the right way. ... There was three different zones they threw at us so we gotta handle that, take care of the ball and continue with our pressure defense."
The Rebels have won the district tournament three out of the last four years and finished fourth in the region last year.
"I think it does make a difference," Strobel said. "I know over the course of the years you've had teams where they have the experience and it does seem to show come tournament time. This group of kids, obviously we won the district last year, they played in that regional tournament so hopefully some of that carries on they lead us. ... When things are going good it's fine, but when things are a little rough and we're not shooting the ball, well then that's when that experience shows and keeps the group together."
The Rebels are trying to make their first appearance at the state tournament since 2021.
"It would be tremendous," Strobel said. "I think all eight teams there are looking to win that tournament and advance to state. I guess even now with the three-class system, if you don't win the region you still do have or could possibly have an opportunity to get to state with the three class, which is kind of a nice wrinkle, I think. I don't think there's any doubt any one of the coaches you talk to, their goal is to win that region. I know it was one of our goals to start the season."
Ellendale (14-8) enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed out of District 2. Cardinals head coach Brian Vance said his keys to the tournament are very simple.
"We gotta not turn the ball over is the biggest one," Vance said. "The next one we gotta rebound with the big boys and the third one is we gotta quit getting so uptight, worrying about our mistakes, one mistake leads to two or three more."
Sargent County (16-6) comes into the tournament as the No. 2 seed out of District 1. Bulldogs head coach Ryan Weber said he is looking for big performances from Kolten Kadoun and Nick Hanson.
The Bulldogs open their tournament against No. 3 seed Linton/HMB, who previously beat the Bulldogs 53-41 on Jan. 6. Weber said to get the win his team needs to grab defensive rebounds and limit the impact of the Lions' Jace Jochim and Gentry Richter.
"We played them in January, we didn't have Josh Wittich, he got hurt in a game earlier in the season ...," Weber said. "So that'll be a big, big key having him out there. He's a double-double guy, so that's somebody that they're gonna have to key on and watch out for. So I think having him out there is gonna add another element that they have to watch out for."
One of the unique challenges that the Rebels and Sargent County have to face in the lead-up to this tournament is practice time as they balance with their girls' basketball teams who are in the state tournament.
"We'll just work on stuff that we do well, continue to work on that and of course, we'll start putting in stuff, watch a little more film on Wyndmere/Lidgerwood and work on stuff that they throw at us," Strobel said.
During the District 2 championship game, the Rebels used a full-court press and forced the Cardinals into 22 turnovers and they scored 28 points off those turnovers. Vance said his team is working in practice to be ready if their first-round opponents Barnes County North try a similar defensive method.
"The biggest thing is we gotta trust our teammates," Vance said. "We think we gotta dribble through a press and when we dribble our head goes down and we just have to pass the ball, find the open guy, relax, 10 seconds is an eternity to get it back into the front court."
