Sue Sitter/PCT Seth Derheim of the Nedrose Cardinals fights through a crowd of Towner-Granville-Upham Titans for a shot in the District 11 Class B Boys’ Basketball Tournament in Rugby on Monday.

Four District 11 Class B teams fought on the basketball court in Rugby High’s Hanneman Gym for a berth at the Region 6 Boys Basketball Tournament, set for Mar. 7 in the Minot State Dome.

The closest battle took place in the fourth place play-in round, when the Nedrose Cardinals took on their Highway 2 rivals, the Towner-Granville-Upham Titans.

TGU would jump to an early 12-6 lead before the Cards swooped back, trailing by only two possessions at halftime, thanks in part to Joseph Roberts, who led all scorers with 18 points. The Cards would outscore the Titans by 14 points to TGU’s 12, trailing 20-24. The Cards edged even closer in the third quarter, when they added 16 to their 20-point first half total in the third quarter. Fans on both sides sat on the edge of their seats as both teams fought, steal for steal. As the last seconds of the game ticked away, the Cards turned a four-point TGU lead into a one-possession game after Roberts drew a foul, making one of two free-throws. One bucket stood between a TGU win and an overtime game when a Nedrose foul brought Blake Latendresse to the free throw line. Two buckets by Latendresse gave the Titans a 53-49 win and the fourth District 11 seed at regionals against Bishop Ryan.

Titans Coach Billy Seright gave credit to the Cards for a “tough battle. We’re going to have to focus on our guards on Monday to take on (Bishop Ryan),” he said.

Cardinals Coach Matt Norby said after the game, “We didn’t make some shots that we should have. Kudos to TGU. They’re a tough team.”

The third place game between Westhope Newburg Sioux and Velva Aggies looked like a possible upset until the Aggies recovered from a 12-7 deficit to roar back with 29 points in the second quarter. The Aggies held a commanding lead, finishing the game with a 66-44 win. The Aggies will take on the Surrey Mustangs March 7 at regionals.

Aggies Coach Isaac Sondrol credited the Sioux’ Anthony Lee with doing a good job to prepare his team. “We had to settled down a little bit.

“We started out really well,” Lee said. “That second quarter made the difference in the game but I thought our kids battled and played hard. I’m very proud of them.”

The battle for the first seed at regionals almost matched the intensity of the fourth place game. The Bottineau Braves battled to a razor-thin 10-9 lead over the Rugby Panthers in the first quarter of the championship game until the Panthers’ offense got to work. Rugby would outscore the Braves in the remaining three quarters but the Braves stayed on their heels. The Panthers would take the District 11 title with a 65-56 win after the Braves turned up their intensity, forcing turnovers. Brody Schneibel led all scorers for the Panthers with 17 points, while Bottineau’s Carson Haerer led Bottineau’s point total with 24.

“We had a couple of costly turnovers at the end,” Panthers Coach Mike Santjer said. “Bottineau didn’t quit and they kind of shrunk the gap. I think we went from an 18-point lead to ten, and we even went to eight, so the kids fought hard and finished it. It’s been a while since we fought a complete 32 minute game and I thought the kids battled a complete 32 minutes, which is good to see going into a tournament.”

Panthers will face Our Redeemers’ Knights in the first round of regionals. Bottineau will play MLS in regionals.

Players named to District 11’s All-District Team were: Roberts, Nedrose; Latendresse, TGU; Walker Braaten, Westhope/Newburg; Braden Bailey, Westhope/Newburg; Ben Schepp, Velva; Preston Kraft, Velva; Kaden Chadwick, Velva; Haerer, Bottineau; Ryder PollmanErik, Bottineau; Foster, Rugby; Schneibel, Rugby and Kory Vetsch, Rugby.

Velva’s Chadwick was named District 11’s Powerade Senior Athlete of the Year. Santjer of Rugby was named District 11 Coach of the Year.