Photo via New Rockford-Sheyenne Public School Facebook
New Rockford-Sheyenne finished fifth in last weekend’s Class B boys’ basketball state tournament at the Minot State Dome.
It was the fourth state appearance for the NR-S co-op. The Rockets were state champions in 2005 and had most recently made a tournament appearance in 2019. They fell in the first round of this year’s field, but won their next two games to go home with the consolation championship. Bishop Ryan won the Class B title, beating defending champion Westhope/Newburg.
NR-S was seeded eighth out of eight teams after beating LaMoure-Litchville/Marion in a state qualifier game. The Rockets had to face the No. 1 seed, Wilton-Wing, to start the tournament on Thursday.
They hung around for a while and trailed by only three at the half. But the Miners pulled away, extending their lead to 10 by the end of the third quarter and ultimately taking down the Rockets 69-53.
Easton Simon led NR-S with 14 points, and Kailar Jacobson had 12. Bradon Wallace had 19 for Wilton-Wing, while DonTaye Fetzer had 13 and Teigan Earsley had 10.
The Miners ended up losing in the semifinals to No. 5-seeded Westhope/Newburg, the defending champion and eventual state runner-up. The Sioux’s Walker Braaten was named Class B Senior Athlete of the Year. One of the finalists was Warwick’s Elijah Feather Jr., the Region 2 winner.
In the consolation semifinals on Friday, NR-S beat No. 4-seeded North Border 46-38. Simon led the Rockets with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Bennett Meier added eight points. NR-S trailed 16-14 after the first quarter, took a four-point lead by halftime and then found itself down 35-31 after three quarters.
The Rockets outscored the Eagles 15-3 in the fourth quarter to grab the win. They’d previously lost 55-46 to North Border during the regular season. Simon was named PSP Network’s Sportclips of Minot MVP.
NR-S wrapped up the tournament by beating Hankinson 59-57 in Saturday’s fifth-place game. An early 18-7 lead got trimmed to 46-43 at the end of the third quarter, but the Rockets held on for the two-point victory. Simon scored 20 points to finish with 53 over the three games. Meier added 17 points and seven rebounds, earning Sportclips of Minot MVP honors.
The Rockets finished the season 24-5 overall. Their roster consisted of many of the same kids who won a nine-man football state title in the fall. They were head coached by Tyler Cook, who was an assistant coach on that football team.
