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Panthers take fourth place at regionals

By Sue Sitter - | Mar 18, 2022

Sue Sitter/PCT Panthers guard Erik Foster goes for an off-balance shot against Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood Mavericks players in the consolation round of the North Dakota Region 6 Boys Basketball Tournament.

The Rugby Panthers finished their season with a District 11 champion title and a fourth-place finish at the North Dakota Region 6 Boys Basketball Tournament on March 11.

The Panthers rose to the semifinals by defeating District 12’s 4th-seeded Our Redeemer’s Christian School with a score of 59-50 in the win-or-go-home quarterfinal round.

Next, the Panthers faced Velva Aggies, a team Rugby hadn’t battled in districts. However, Rugby had defeated the Aggies in its regular season with 59-45.

The No. 3-seeded Velva team put its defense to work, keeping top Panthers’ threat Brody Schneibel away from the paint. The Panthers struggled, trading leads with the Aggies. Panthers guards Erik Foster and Jacob Ripplinger landed three-point shots. Foster led all players in three-pointers for the game. Will Kuntz and Ripplinger eventually made their way inside the paint to give Schneibel shot opportunities, but the Aggies walked away from the game with a 41-36 win.

In the consolation round, the Panthers battled the Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood Mavericks, a team Rugby had beaten in its regular season. The Panthers had also beaten the Mavericks during their regular season with a score of 43-31.

Three-pointers worked again for the Panthers, but the Mavericks landed more, led by Jacob Undlin and Riley Morlock. Shots began to bounce away from the bucket for Rugby. The game ended with a 49-38 win for MLS and a fourth-place trophy for the Panthers. Tournament officials placed juniors Foster and Schneibel on the All-Region 6 Team.

Panthers Coach Mike Santjer said the team would miss graduating seniors Kory Vetsch, Lathan DeMontigny, Gavin Schepp, Hudson Hooker, and Kuntz, calling them “a great group of hardworking young men.”

“They came to practice every day and worked extremely hard. Many of their roles were to be aggressive defenders, which gets them overlooked at times but it was very important to the success of the team,” Santjer said. “Others were very good leaders and lead by example on and off the court.”

Santjer said he had high hopes for next year’s team and its promising group of juniors.

“It will be exciting to see how the work that they put into the offseason will help them next year,” Santjer said. “We have kids that have height and athleticism. I think if we can utilize the weight room and continue to develop our offensive skills, it should be another exciting year for Panther basketball.”