Blue Jay Boys End Regular Season In Rugby
Stanley’s varsity boys’ basketball team had their last regular season game in Rugby on Monday, Mar. 2. The game had been rescheduled from February 17 due to weather conditions.
Rugby held a six point lead at the end of the first quarter and used a strong second quarter to extend that lead to 22 at the half. Although the Blue Jays outscored the Panthers in the second half, it was not enough as Rugby claimed the 64 to 48 victory.
Head coach Kory Anderson said, “The final regular season game was a preview of the first round of the Regional Tournament as we took on Rugby who will be our first round opponent in the regional tournament. Rugby puts a lot of height and athleticism on the court. They play multiple defenses that the boys had to prepare for. Rugby got hot the second quarter and that was enough to pull away. We were able to win the second half but couldn’t fully recover from the first half that Rugby had. Preparing for the Regional tournament, we’ll have to do a better job taking care of the ball. We’ll need to have fewer than 10 turnovers in order to be successful versus Rugby. We’ll have to do a better job knowing our matchups and taking away the three point shot from a couple of their guys.”
As a team, the Blue Jays made 9 of their 24 two point and 8 of their 25 three point attempts. They converted 6 of their 11 free throw attempts. The Panthers made 14 of their 43 two point, 11 of their 27 three point and 3 of their 4 free throw attempts.
Stanley had 4 offensive and 29 defensive rebounds. They had 14 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. They committed 16 turnovers. Rugby had 15 offensive and 28 defensive boards, 12 assists, 12 steals, 5 blocks and committed 9 turnovers.
Austin Kanenwisher led the team with 21 points, followed by Ben Hynek with 13, Landon Hunting and Tyke Barstad with 3 each, and Ashton Peterson, Landon Goettle and Jevon Johnson with 2 each.
Ben Hynek had 9 rebounds, followed by Austin Kanenwisher with 7, Jevon Johnson with 5, Ashton Peterson with 4, Landon Hunting with 3, Henry Sorenson with 2 and Landon Goettle with 1.
Jevon Johnson had 6 assists, followed by Ben Hynek with 3, and Austin Kanenwisher, Ashton Peterson, Landon Hunting, Henry Sorenson and Landon Goettle with 1 each.
Austin Kanenwisher, Ashton Peterson and Landon Goettle each had 1 steal.
Ben Hynek and Henry Sorenson each had 1 block.
Stanley 11 13 13 11 - 48
Rugby 17 29 12 6 - 64
The Blue Jays are in action in the Region 3 boys’ basketball tournament at the Minot State University Dome this week. First round action was on Monday, Mar. 9 with Turtle Mountain claiming the first game over Nedrose. Rugby topped Stanley in the second game of the day. Bottineau defeated South Prairie Max and Dunseith claimed the victory over DLB.
Tuesday’s action was set to see Rugby facing off with Turtle Mountain in the first semifinal, followed by Bottineau against Dunseith. Losers advance to the third place game on Thursday, Mar. 12 starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by the winners facing off in the championship game.
State qualifying games are set for Saturday, Mar. 14 at the Minot Auditorium. The second place team will play the Region 4 third place at 1:00 p.m. followed by the third place team facing Region 4’s second place team. Winners of those games will earn the right to advance to the State Tournament set for March 19 through 21 at the Fargodome.