Ellendale advances to regional with win over Carrington

Monday's region qualifier wasn't exactly the game Ellendale boys basketball had planned on playing in the District 5 tournament.

But with a chance at the title in the rearview, the Cardinals' ultimate goal of reaching the state tournament was still on the table facing Carrington at the Jamestown Civic Center. Ellendale was able to get past the northern Cardinals 70-46 and will play ninth-ranked Linton/HMB -- the District 6 champion -- next Monday in the Region 3 quarterfinals back at the civic center.

"Gotta go after them," said Ellendale senior Chance Durheim. "The goal is to get to Minot and that's what we gotta do."

It took Ellendale a few minutes to get rolling following Saturday's 65-63 overtime loss to Oakes in the semifinals. But after being tied at 7-7 in the first, a timeout by Ellendale coach Brian Vance was taken to inspire his troops.

"It was just the effort," Durheim said. "We weren't extending, we weren't on anyone."We eventually got into it in the second quarter, put on that 1-3-1 (zone defense) and we knew we had to come after them."

Ellendale outpaced Carrington 21-6 in the second quarter to put the game essentially out of reach. Durheim and sophomore Riley Thorpe each buried a pair of 3-pointers in the second to spark the charge, with the 6-foot-7 Scott Wagner adding 11 of his game-high 20 points on 5-for-7 shooting at the break.

Carrington (7-14) was already behind the eight-ball entering, playing the tournament without freshman Grady Shipman. But sophomore Hudson Topp made the game interesting in the second half even as Ellendale would push the advantage to 24.

Topp drilled six 3-pointers on nine attempts following the break, finishing with a team-high 19 points. Carrington otherwise struggled to score, shooting 38% as a team, including 2 of 14 from 3-point range without Topp's performance.

Ellendale also capitalized on Carrington turnovers, scoring 24 points off 17 throwaways by the opposition. Durheim said Ellendale's second-quarter run was what the doctor ordered.

"We just needed something to go in ... get our offense going," Durheim said. "It really opened the game up."

Thorpe finished 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and with 17 points.

Ellendale played Linton/HMB less than two weeks ago on Feb. 20 in Linton. The Lions came out winners 61-56 after the Cardinals struggled to handle Linton/HMB's pressure.

"Their press really got to us," Durheim said. "Once we got in the halfcourt we really felt we could score, but the trouble was just getting (the ball) across halfcourt."

District 5 Boys Basketball Tournament

(RV) Ellendale 70, Carrington 46

CAR 7 6 16 17 -- 46

ELL 12 21 13 24 -- 70

CAR -- Hudson Topp 19, Lucas Hendrickson 10, Hudson Schmitz 8, Jacob Seaburg 6, Jack Erickson 3. Totals: 18-47 FG, 8-29 3-pointers (Topp 6, Erickson, Schmitz), 2-6 FT, 26 Rebounds (Erickson 7), 17 Fouls, 5 Assists (Seaburg 2, Topp 2), 17 Turnovers, 3 Blocks (Erickson 2), 5 Steals (Schmitz 2).

ELL -- Scott Wagner 20, Riley Thorpe 17, Chance Durheim 9, Eric Blondo 8, Levi Reis 6, Anton Geller 4, Wyatt Henningson 2, Mason Molan 2, Jack Bommersbach 2. Totals: 24-47 FG, 7-15 3-pointers (Thorpe 3, Durheim 3, Reis), 15-20 FT, 25 Rebounds (Wagner 6), 12 Fouls, 8 Assists (Henningson 4), 11 Turnovers, 3 Blocks (Wagner 2), 9 Steals (Blondo 3).

Records: Ellendale 18-4. Carrington 7-14.

District 5 Awards

All-District Team

Ashton Biesterfeld, Oakes

Garret Meehl, Oakes

Steele Hansen, Oakes

Corban Potts, LaMoure/LM

Riley Thorpe, Ellendale

Scott Wagner, Ellendale

Alex Huber, Edgeley/KM

Paxton Mathern, Edgeley/KM

Tanner Haugen, Griggs-Midkota

Lucas Henderickson, Carrington

Max Fehr, BCN

Coach of the Year: Brian Vance, Ellendale

Senior Athlete of Year: Alex Huber, EKM

Region 3 Boys Basketball Tournament

At Jamestown Civic Center

March 8

G1: (D6-1) Linton/HMB vs. (D5-4) Ellendale, 3 p.m.

G2: (D5-2) LaMoure/LM vs. (D6-3) Strasburg/Zeeland, 4:30 p.m.

G3: (D5-1) Oakes vs. (D6-4) Napoleon/GS, 6 p.m.

G4: (D6-2) Kidder Co. vs. (D5-3) Edgeley/KM, 7:30 p.m.

March 9

G5: G1 winner vs. G2 winner, 6 p.m.

G6: G3 winner vs. G4 winner, 7:30 p.m.

March 11

Championship: G5 winner vs. G6 winner, 7 p.m.

District 5 Tournament

(Tournament seeding in parentheses)

At Jamestown Civic Center

Feb. 26

G1: (4) LaMoure/LM 56, (5) Carrington 33

G2: (2) Ellendale 59, (7) Griggs/Midkota 39

G3: (3) Oakes 56, (6) BCN 38

Feb. 27

G4: Griggs/Midkota 67, BCN 63 (OT)

G5: LaMoure/LM 49, (1) Edgeley/KM 46 (OT)

G6: Oakes 65, Ellendale 63 (OT)

March 1

Region 3 qualifier: Ellendale 70, Carrington 46

Region 3 qualifier: Edgeley/KM 66, Griggs-Midkota 50

Championship: Oakes 59, LaMoure/LM 49

District 6 Boys Basketball Tournament

At Wishek High School

(Tournament seeds in parentheses)

Feb. 26

G1: (5) Napoleon/GS 56, (4) Medina/PB 47

G2: (3) Kidder Co. 58 (6) South Border 33

Feb. 27

G3: (1) Linton/HMB 73, Napoleon/GS 35

G4: Kidder Co. 66, (2) Strasburg/Zeeland 57

March 1

Region 3 qualifier: Strasburg/Zeeland 60, Medina/PB 55

Region 3 qualifier: Napoleon/GS 54, South Border 40

Championship: Linton/HMB 55, Kidder Co. 41