Nathan Beitler/MDN Rugby High School freshman Levi Wentz (No. 21) takes a jump shot while Stanley High School senior Ashton Peterson (No. 2) attempts to block during their quarterfinals match of the 2026 NDHSAA Region 3A Boys Basketball Tournament on Monday, Mar. 9, at the MSU Dome.

The Rugby High School Panthers came into their quarterfinals game of the 2026 NDHSAA Region 3A Boys Basketball Tournament against the Stanley Blue Jays as the favorites. The Panthers had a record of 13-8 on the season coming into the game on Monday afternoon while the Blue Jays had a season record of 4-17.

Though their regular season records were vastly different, the Panthers had their work cut out for them though their first round of district play.

Both teams struggled through the first quarter of play. Though the Panthers took an early 4-0 lead in the leading minutes of the game, the Blue Jays slowly worked their way up to a tie at the end of the quarter at 9-9.

The two teams stayed neck and neck for most of the second quarter of play as well through to a 20-19 lead for the Panthers, but with less than three minutes remaining in the half, the Panthers went on a 12-point score streak that gave them a strong edge over the Blue Jays heading into half time. The score was 32-23 at the end of the second quarter.

Junior Benjamin Hynek led the Blue Jays in scoring thought the first half with eight points to his name while the Panthers were led by sophomore Brayden Solem with seven. For the first half of the game, the Panthers led with their sheer numbers. The Blue Jays earned a higher score percentage than the Panthers, but the number of shots taken by the Panthers let them brute force their way to a lead. The second half of the ball game was largely the same.

The Blue Jays turned up the pressure through the third quarter of play, outscoring the Panthers 9-14. The fourth quarter saw the Blue Jays work their way back up to a close game at just a two-possession deficit. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, the Panthers went on another scoring streak, capped off by two two-handed slam dunks by junior Brody Berndt in two back-to-back steals.

The Panthers ended their night with a decisive 62-51 victory over the Blue Jays, earning themselves a spot in the Region 3A semifinals against the first-seeded Turtle Mountain Community High School Braves.

Coming off of their close victory against theBlue Jays, the Panthers were looking to work their way to the championship after falling last season in the region semifinals.

Last season’s Region 3A Tournament saw the Panthers and the TMCHS Braves face off in the semifinals as well. Falling to the Braves 51-37 last season, the Panthers were ready for a second go at a post-season bout.

With the way the first quarter of the game was going, it looked like the Panthers would have their revenge. The Braves scored the first basket of the game and took an 0-2 lead, but the Panthers quickly responded with a basket of their own. From there, the Panthers took and kept the lead, creating as much as a seven point deficit over the Braves before the end of the first quarter. By the end of the first quarter, junior Kiefer Fritz already earned half of the Panther’s score on his own. The Panthers outscored the Braves 14-10 after the first eight minutes of play.

TMCHS came out of the gates in the second quarter looking to make things even. They scored the first goal of the quarter once again to get the game within one possession. The Panthers held off the Braves and drove up their own score through most of the quarter, but a late scoring run culminating in the team’s first three-pointer of the game tied the score for the Braves at 21-21 as the first half ended.

The Braves outscored the Panthers in the second quarter 7-11. Fritz was still leading the Panthers with nine points.

Heading into the third quarter of play, both the Braves and the Panthers fought hard to maintain dominance.

Turtle Mountain Community took their first lead of the game since their 0-2 lead at the beginning of the game to start the third. The Panthers were able to tie the game and eventually take their lead back just a few possessions later. The rest of the quarter was much the same. The teams battled back and forth, tying the score and trading the lead back and forth until the dust settled with the Braves leading at the end of the quarter for the first time that game.

The Braves out-scored the Panthers for the second quarter in a row at 11-13. In a bid to try and quickly even the score, the Panthers made some easy errors towards the end of the quarter, costing them the lead heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was just as hard-fought as the third. Both teams scored back and forth, trading places until the Braves took a definitive lead with just over two minutes remaining. The Braves kept their lead and ended the game with a 50-55 victory over the Panthers, defeating them in post-season region play for the second year in a row and advancing to the Region 3A championship for the second year in a row.

The Panthers took on the Bottineau Braves in the Region 3A third-place match on Thursday, Mar. 12. The two teams had not yet met at deadline.