Jimmy Lafakis/MDN Powers Lake junior guard Noah Fredrickson dribbles the ball during the second quarter of Thursday night's game against Nedrose in Minot. The Ranchers earned a 63-48 victory.

Carter Rystedt felt the energy in Nedrose’s gym.

With the Powers Lake faithful behind him, Rystedt led the Ranchers (4-0) to a 63-48 victory over the Cardinals (3-2) in Thursday night’s game in Minot. Powers Lake’s junior center scored 12 points in the road victory.

After the hard-fought win, Rystedt credited the Ranchers’ team chemistry.

“We’ve been playing with each other since we were in third grade,” he said. “We’ve grown through our bond, and we’ve become a really good basketball team. You know where everybody is going to be and when they will be there.”

The Ranchers’ camaraderie also extends off the court.

According to Powers Lake head coach Jordan Carlson, about 220 people inhabit the town. The Ranchers made their presence felt, as nearly half the community trekked an hour and 30 minutes for Thursday night’s game.

“It’s amazing that they come all the way from Powers Lake just to watch a game,” Rystedt said. “Whenever somebody scores or we do something good, it just gets loud in the opponent’s gym.”

Those fans had plenty to cheer about early on. Powers Lake forced several Nedrose turnovers and sprinted with the ball in transition.

Early in the game, the Ranchers turned the action into a track meet. Nedrose fought back in the second quarter, but Powers Lake held a 32-22 advantage at the intermission.

“We’re showing spurts where we’re doing a good job,” Carlson said. “And then, we just have letdowns. We’re still trying to figure out our complete identity. In spurts, we can be really tough defensively. We just haven’t put four quarters together yet.”

The second half played out much like the first. Although the Cardinals pushed the tempo late in the fourth quarter, the deficit proved too large.

Powers Lake never trailed in the contest and gained their advantages through ball distribution. Four Ranchers finished with double-figure scoring totals.

Junior guard Noah Fredrickson paced Powers Lake with 14 points, while senior forward Isaac Nordloef and Rystedt contributed 12 apiece. Junior forward Noah Schroeder added 10.

“The posts just did a good job finding each other,” Carlson said. “Offensive rebounds, everyone’s just clicking and working hard right away. We kind of fell apart when we started missing some shots. We got frustrated forcing stuff, and that second quarter was kind of our big struggle.”

A pair of Nedrose senior guards did some damage in the scoring column. Sam Overton scored a game-high 15 points, while Jethro Lauron chipped in with 11.

“We didn’t come out with very good intensity,” Nedrose head coach Matt Norby said. “We got down 20 points in the first quarter. From there, it was a pretty good game. But we can’t come out with a lack of intensity and lack of urgency that we did. If you go through the motions and try to win a basketball game, it’s not going to happen.”

The Cardinals will travel to Max (1-4) for a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Saturday, while the Ranchers will host White Shield (3-3) at 6 p.m. on Monday.

“Every win feels good, but Nedrose is a really good team,” Carlson said. “Hats off to them, they played really well. We’re just happy to be on the winning end.”

Jimmy Lafakis covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JJLII30.