Sue Sitter/PCT Surrounded by St. John Woodchucks, Rugby Panthers center Garrett Sullivan jumps for a bucket Dec. 19 at Rugby High School.

Region 4 teams ruled the day at a basketball jamboree held in place of the Central North Dakota Conference (CNDC) at Rugby High School Saturday, Dec. 17.

Major winter storms postponed, then canceled the CNDC before tournament organizers decided to invite all teams to a special jamboree on what would be the tournament’s final day instead.

Five teams from Region 4 – St. John, Dunseith, Harvey and New Rockford-Sheyenne and North Prairie played against three Region 6 teams – Rugby, TGU and Glenburn.

All Region 4 teams won games against their Region 6 opponents. Harvey trounced Glenburn 95-41, while St. John topped TGU 65-43. Dunseith’s Dragons won their game against regional rivals New Rockford-Sheyenne.

Rugby fell to the North Prairie Cougars 54-60.

The Panthers held a narrow lead against North Prairie in their game’s first quarter before the Cougars went on the attack, forcing fouls by Rugby. The pattern would continue until Rugby center Garrett Sullivan and forward Brody Schneibel eventually fouled out of the game.

The Cougars would make four trips to the free-throw line in the second quarter, hitting five of seven attempts. Buckets came from Cougars Nicholas Mears and Blake Mattson. Nate Tastad and Mitchell Leas also landed shots.

Rugby’s Bryceton Deplazes broke through Cougars’ defense to land two buckets, then sank a three-pointer. Schneibel, Erik Foster and Rylan Hildenbrand also managed to break to the inside for two points each.

The Panthers’ 13 points scored in the second quarter weren’t enough to hold Rugby’s lead. North Prairie scored 19. The half ended with North Prairie leading 28-24.

Rugby battled back in the third quarter with Hildenbrand sinking a three-pointer and a one from inside the paint. Guard Jacob Ripplinger added a buzzer-beating bucket to the Panthers’ 21-point total that put Rugby back on top 45-41 before the fourth quarter began.

Both teams turned up the heat. Rugby players began turning over the ball. Fouls racked up for the Panthers again, resulting in 13 trips to the free throw line for the Cougars. Eight points resulted for the Cougars.

North Prairie logged 19 points in the final minutes of the game. The Panthers came up with nine points.

Panthers fall

to Woodchucks 55-48

On Monday, Dec. 19, Rugby hosted St. John at home.

The Panthers began their game against the Woodchucks ready for battle. Ripplinger and guard Logan Harner penetrated the paint with two-point shots, their speed keeping them ahead of St. John defenses.

Foster drew a foul, hitting one of two free throws. Center Garrett Sullivan led the Panthers offensive with seven points scored, one from a three-pointer and four from drawing a foul on a bucket.

The Panthers led the Woodchucks 12-8 at the close of the first quarter.

The Woodchucks turned up the pressure, forcing turnovers and holding the Panthers to just eight more points in the second quarter. Foster led in points scored, making two shots and drawing a foul, resulting in two free throws made. The other two points came from Deplazes.

Meanwhile, St. John’s Brayton Baker moved inside the paint with ease, landing four shots, plus a three-pointer from the outside. With buckets landed by Greyson Greybear and Ethan Decoteau, plus a three-pointer from Isaac Charbonneau, the Woodchucks put 18 points on the board for the second quarter, putting them in the lead 26-20.

The Panthers’ defense stayed on the Woodchucks’ tails, and this time, out of foul trouble.

Both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter. Rugby upped its game in Q4, with Foster bringing a three-pointer and hitting two free throws.

Rugby Head Coach Mike Santjer sent in forward Dane Heidbreder, whose movement into the paint drew fouls. Heidbreder hit two of two free throws.

Harner, whose quick moves also made him a target, hit one of two free throws. Woodchucks surrounded Sullivan, cutting off opportunities for shots, but giving him a chance at free throws.

The Panthers’ defense stayed tenacious to the end, limiting shot opportunities to Baker and Charbonneau. Cashmyn Belgarde stepped up for the Woodchucks, drawing a foul on a bucket. Like his teammates, Belgarde hit 100% of his free throw attempts.

The game ended with a slim 55-48 victory for the Woodchucks.

After the game, Santjer said he expected Region 4 to be a challenge all season. The region had brought Four Winds-Minnewaukan to a state class B championship in 2021-22.

“Absolutely,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of good teams in Region 4, so in that region, they’re always battle-tested.”

Santjer described the early season as a “learning process” for the Panthers. “We knew the first couple of games weren’t going to be easy, and that’s okay,” he said. “We’d rather play really good teams and have to do that.”

He added when the Panthers fell behind in both games, “We fought our way back. We just had a couple too many turnovers in big spots when we needed another bucket instead of a turnover.”

“But,” he added, “tonight was better than the last game, so we’re making progress.”

Santjer said Region 6 and District 11 games would count the most for the Panthers in their season.

“We want to win every game and play as well as we can, but we’re more concerned about the games we’re playing at the end of the year,” he said. “Are we playing in the region, are we playing in the region championship. Those are the games we really want to play in.”

“So, these are learning experiences,” he said of the non-region games. “We’ve still got a lot of guys who are learning, so, we’re hoping to get there.”

“Offensively, we’ve got to make sure that we pound it inside and knock those outside shots down when we get the opportunity,” he added. “Defense, I think we played pretty good. I’m okay with our defense.”

The Panthers would travel to Mohall to take on the MLS Mavericks before facing the Beulah Miners in Minot Dec. 27.

Results from those games will appear in the Dec. 31 Pierce County Tribune.