The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
Members of the Hornets posed as a team with the second place Region 4 plaque in Devils Lake following the conclusion of the tournament. HWC team members are, front row (L-R): Ty Jenner, Timothy Swang, Isaac Friese, Brock Fike, Avery Williams, Noah Ziegler and Teagan Tipton. Back row: Assistant Coach Jason Grossman, Tallen Thorson, Gabe Allmaras, Tate Grossman, Keaton Keller, Alex Erickson, Ashton Reimche, Madden Thorson and Head Coach Trent Roemmich.
Madden Thorson of HWC goes strong to the hoop for two points past Four Winds-Minnewaukan's Wade Nestell (20) and Jacolby Pearson (11). Gabe Allmaras (12, dark jersey) is in the foreground. Thorson would lead the Hornets with 17 points.
Tate Grossman and Madden Thorson guard a FW-M player on his drive to the basket.
Harvey-Wells County made a nice run, winning 16 of their final 19 games, but those three losses came at the hands of the top ranked and undefeated Four Winds-Minnewaukan Indians.
The Hornets won two of three in District 7 competition before falling to the Indians in the district final, and they defeated St. John and North Star in the Region 4 Tourney before falling at the hands of the Indians, once more culminating in a very respectable regional runner-up trophy.
HWC 56, North Star 49
Semifinals
If the game plan was to get a big lead and then hold off the charging opponent, then the HWC Hornets played their plan to perfection in a 56-49 Region 4 semifinal victory over North Star on Tuesday, March 8. at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
HWC, behind two threes from Madden Thorson, jumped out quickly to a 12-0 lead. The Bearcats' Parker Simon stopped the North Star drought with a three, but Thorson immediately responded with his third three of the first quarter for the 15-3 advantage. Dane Hagler connected on a three and scored the final five Bearcats' points, but the Hornets led, 18-9, after one.
North Star started the second on a 7-0 run with a three and a two-and- one from Dane Hagler and a field goal from Hunter Hagler as the lead was cut to just one. HWC's Isaac Friese and Tate Grossman responded with deuces, moving the lead back to five. Thorson's two-and- one moved the lead to 27-19, and the Hornets led at halftime, 32-23.
The second half was highlighted by clutch plays from HWC and mini-runs from North Star. The Bearcats scored six of the first eight in the third to cut the lead to 34-29, but Grossman's three moved the HWC lead back to eight, helping the Hornets lead, 40-34, after three.
Dane Hagler and Simon scored early in the fourth to cut the lead to 42-38, but the Hornets answered with a six-point run to move the lead back to 10. Dane Hagler scored 13 points in the fourth quarter trying to will the Bearcats to the win, but in the end the Hornets held off the charge with a 56-49 victory, thus earning a spot in the Region 4 final with Four Winds/Minnewaukan.
Another night of balanced scoring for the Hornets saw Thorson leading the way with 17 points, all in the first half. Thorson excelled in the second half defensively, most notably with a huge blocked shot late in the game. Grossman added 12 and Alex Erickson chipped in 10 to lift the Hornets to a 20-4 record.
Hagler was the game's high scorer with 29 on the night, but his effort couldn't get the Bearcats by HWC, as they dropped to 19-4 on the season.
FW-M 61, HWC 34
Championship
Four Winds-Minnewaukan is the number #1- ranked team in the state for a few reasons, and one of those reasons shined through in a 61-34 victory over the Hornets in the Region 4 Championship game on Thursday, March 10, at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
They say defense wins championships, and in this game, the Indian defense was stellar. FW-M had 17 steals, which they converted into a 20-point advantage off turnovers on their way to the regional title.
The Indians also pulled down 22 offensive boards and dominated the offensive and defensive boards by a count of 45-32.
These two things helped FW-M finish the season with a 24-0 record and earn the top seed in the upcoming Class B Boys Basketball Tournament.
FW-M started strong with a quick 7-0 lead with Jayden Yankton knocking down his first of three three- pointers on the night. HWC answered with four in a row, but the Indians, behind 10 from Yankton, finished the first quarter on a 13-4 run to lead 20-8 after one.
The Indians cruised in the second, opening up a 21-point lead before a five point run by HWC to close the quarter made the halftime score 35-19.
The Hornets opened the second half with four in a row to cut the lead to 12, but that is as close as the Indians would let it get. A two-and-one from Yankton propelled FW-M to a strong third quarter finish as they led, 48-27, after three. Jacolby Pearson added two three pointers in the fourth as the Indians claimed the title, 61-34.
Yankton and Pearson both had solid games with 25 and 17 points, respectively. Gabe Allmaras led the Hornets with 13 points.
With the loss, HWC finishes their best season in years with a 20-5 record.
Following the tournament, season ending awards were presented to the All-Region players. HWC's Tate Grossman was named as one of the nine players on the team.
Grossman averaged 13.3 points, eight rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2.4 assists in 25 games during the 2021-22 season.
Region 4 Boys' Basketball
Tournament, Devils Lake
Semifinals
HWC 56, North Star 49
HWC 18 14 8 16 56
N. Star 9 14 11 15 49
HWC: Madden Thorson 17, Tate Grossman 12, Alex Erickson 10, Isaac Friese 8, Gabe Allmaras 7, Keaton Keller 2.
North Star: Dane Hagler 29, Parker Simon 7, Karsen Simon 6, Brett Dilley 2, Hunter Hagler 2, Garrett Westlind 2, Drew Nicholas 1.
Championship
Four Winds-Minnewaukan 61,
HWC 34
HWC 8 11 8 7 34
FW-M 20 15 13 13 61
HWC: Allmaras 13, Erickson 8, Thorson 6, Grossman 4, Friese 3.
FW-M: Jayden Yankton 25, Jacolby Pearson 17, Deng Deng 9, Dalen Leftbear 6, Kelson Keja 4.
