Mike Kraft/MDN Rugby’s Kiefer Fritz attempts to knock the ball away from behind against Beulah’s Braylen Schirado during the Dale Brown Hoopster Classic at the Minot State University Dome on Saturday, Dec. 27.

Despite a blockbuster matchup looming on the horizon against the top team in Class A, the Beulah boys basketball team wasn’t going to get caught looking ahead.

Hitting seven 3-pointers in the first quarter helps.

Senior guard Braylen Schirado knocked down six 3-pointers and his younger brother Bensyn Schirado drained the other in the opening eight minutes while their head coach and father Brandon Schirado looked on from the sideline helping guide Beulah to a 62-41 victory over Rugby on the opening day of the Dale Brown Hoopster Classic on Saturday, Dec. 27, at the Minot State University Dome. Braylen Schirado would finish with 30 points, putting him near the top of the list of single-game point leaders all-time at the showcase.

“First one goes in and it gives me a lot more confidence,” Braylen Schirado said. “The hoop looks a lot bigger after that. I was just feeling it. I’ve had a couple shooting struggles the first two nights. It was good to see them go through tonight.”

Braylen Schirado’s performance comes on the heels of No. 2 Beulah’s showdown with top-ranked Devils Lake on Monday, Dec. 29, at 7:30 p.m. at the MSU Dome in what could be an early season preview of the Class A state title game. However, on Friday, their focus was solely on the Panthers.

“We did not look past Rugby one bit,” Brandon Schirado said. “They were 2-0 and looked really good on film. Now obviously, Monday night is a big one. It’s going to be a tough one for us.”

Braylen Schirado was doing his best Steph Curry impersonation, coming off ball screens and knocking down shots from distance with little to no space between him and his defender. All of his 3-pointers in the first quarter were contested, but he continued to connect as if it were pregame warmups.

“It caught me a little off guard to be honest with you,” Brandon Schirado said. “Some of the shots were contested, but when they go down like that, you don’t ever expect that, but it’s a good thing. I don’t think it’s much of a secret that people know the kids we brought back were prolific scorers and shooters, so teams guarded us really hard. That was kind of taken away from us and Braylen was a distributor the first two games rather than our scorer, so it was good to see him get the lid off the basket.”

Braylen Schirado’s 3-point barrage triggered a 22-0 run spanning most of the opening quarter, putting the Panthers in an inopportune position that they weren’t able to claw back from. Rugby managed just six points in the opening frame and trailed 39-20 at halftime.

“It took the wind out of our sails early and it’s a battle back the whole time and they are a really good team,” Rugby coach Travis Risovi said. “They are a tough team to come back against. It’s just one of those momentum things where we never got it turned to our side.”

The Panthers (2-1) were able to slow down Braylen Schirado’s scoring output in the second half, limiting him to six points and just one 3-pointer. Bennett Larson and Philip Weidner did the bulk of the Miners’ scoring in the second half, combining for 12 of their 23 points in the second half.

Unfortunately for Rugby, it couldn’t solve Beulah’s defense all night. After being limited to six points to start the first half, the Panthers managed just seven points coming out of halftime, allowing the Miners (3-0) to extend their lead to 57-27 after three quarters – their largest of the contest. The Panthers hit just five combined field goals in the first and third quarters.

“We preach on guarding very well,” Bensyn Schirado said. “If you can guard teams like that and keep them to 20 points at halftime, you should be able to win games pretty easily. Offensively, trusting our guys, trusting what we have. Me and my brother put up a lot of shots and trust in our abilities and guys around us helping us out.”

While big brother was the story of the night, Bensyn Schirado was no slouch. He was responsible for the two 3-pointers the Miners hit that didn’t belong to Braylen Schirado and finished second in team scoring on the night with 12 points.

Bensyn Schirado is more than happy to let the spotlight shine on his older brother, as he recognizes the shooting capability he possesses on a given night, even if he once thought he was the better shooter.

“With him, I don’t think I’ll be able to match him shot for shot,” Bensyn Schirado said. “Early years, I thought I was a better shooter, but he’s so poised. I don’t know how many nights I’ll match him.”

Braylen Schirado’s night nearly set a new school high for points scored at the Hoopster Classic by a Miner. Trey Brandt holds the record with a 31-point outing against Rugby in 2021. Brandt also recorded 30 points in 2021 against Enderlin. Braylen Schirado’s 30 points ties him for seventh on the all-time scoring list for the event.

“I know I’ve put in a lot of work and I know I can kind of get hot at times, but 30 points, you’re not going to bank on that every day,” Braylen Schirado said. “But I know I can score it and I’m confident in the work I’ve put in, so it was good to see it pay off tonight.”

The Panthers received scoring contributions from 10 different players, led by seven from Lucas Wentz. Brody Berndt and Kiefer Fritz each finished with six points.

“When you play against the best teams in the state, it’s always a learning opportunity and now we see what they are and where we need to get to and we’ll go back to practice and ratchet it back up,” Risovi said.

The Panthers play Dickinson Trinity on Tuesday, Dec. 30, at 2 p.m. at the MSU Dome to close out their two-game schedule at the Hoopster Classic.