North Border Reaches Region 2 Finals

Grand Forks Herald Link

North Border 63, Park River 54:

With both teams struggling to find consistency on offense, North Border's domination on the boards was crucial.

The Eagles, despite being outrebounded by six in the first quarter, finished with a 48-38 edge on the boards. Senior 6-foot-4 Paul Meyer (12 points, 13 rebounds) and 6-4 sophomore Mike Smith (13 points, 10 rebounds) each had a double double to lead the Eagles' inside game.

"We couldn't get into a flow on offense," North Border coach Cooter Symington said. "It was kind of a sloppy offensive game for both teams. Defensively, we played well, and so did Park River. But we were able to hold them to one shot and out a lot, and we had some big offensive boards."
Said Aggies coach Rob Scherr: "We got very few second-chance shots. And (rebounding) is their forte. We knew we had to eliminate their second shots and make our first ones."

Park River never led after North Border went on a 9-2 run to end the first quarter with a 17-13 advantage. The Eagles led 27-17 at halftime and 44-39 after three.

Two mid-range jump shots from the right side by Tanner Carpenter, who led the balanced Eagles with 14 points, put North Border on top 53-45 with 3:38 left.

"It was hard to get a knockout punch," Symington said. "They wouldn't go away. But Tanner hit a couple of key hoops to stretch the lead out."

Nick Chaput also reached double figures for the Eagles with 11 points.

Max Otto had 18 points and Ryan Waechter and Jay Jelinek each scored 11 for the Aggies. Park River was hurt by the limited playing time by standout Justin Moe, who was playing on an injured ankle and also was in foul trouble most of the game. "The ankle was bothering him," Scherr said.

North Border - 17 10 17 19 63
Park River - 13 4 22 15 54

North Border - Dan Gunderson 2, Michael Mathison 9, Mike Smith 13, Nick Chaput 11, Dustyn Chale 2, Tanner Carpenter 14, Paul Meyer 12
Park River - Justin Moe 3, Kellen Dobmeier 1, Ryan Waechter 11, Nathan Carda 3, Max Otto 18, Ryne Anderson 5, Jay Jelinek 11, Ben Hylden 2

MIDWAY-MINTO 47, MAY-PORT-C-G 46

Midway-Minto vs North Border 7:45 p.m. championship game
Thursday, Betty Engelstad Arena, Grand Forks.

North Dakota Class B Boys Sweet 16

Fargo Oak Grove vs. Hankinson
Midway-Minto vs. North Border
Linton vs. BCN
Wells County vs. Four Winds
Shiloh vs. Center-Stanton
Dunseith vs. Minot Ryan
Hazen vs. DickinsonTrinity
Parshall vs. Watford City