North Dakota Catchup: Region 5 Preview
Postseason at the Class B level starts next week. With region races winding down, it’s time to turn attention towards the playoffs. Some teams are peaking. Others are hoping the postseason can serve as a fresh start. And some just…
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Continue ReadingPostseason at the Class B level starts next week. With region races winding down, it’s time to turn attention towards the playoffs. Some teams are peaking. Others are hoping the postseason can serve as a fresh start. And some just need the year to be over. It’ll all happen quickly. Here are things to know about Region 5
Favorite: Shiloh Christian
This one is fairly cut and dry. Shiloh Christian went into the year as a bonafide state title contender and the favorite by a healthy margin to win Region 5 and much of that hype remains the same. The Skyhawks may not be a state title favorite at this point but they are right up there with the rest of the state’s elite.
It starts in the frontcourt as Jaden Mitzel and McCauley Young form the best 4-5 pairing in the state. Mitzel’s emerged as a all-state type player, averaging better than 20 points per game while Young has been a consistent double-double force in the paint. That’s something few teams around the state can contend with.
The key for the Skyhawks will be the play of their guards. Canaan Fagerland, Matthew Reep and Trey Brunelle play a heavy bulk of the minutes on the perimeter and while none of the three does a lot of scoring, they’ll need to provide enough outside shooting plus consistent floor game for the Skyhawks to continue to advance. Smaller teams will undoubtedly try to speed them up or pack the paint and force Shiloh to beat them one of those two ways. It’ll be interesting to see how the Skyhawks combat that.
Contender: Flasher
The team probably best equipped to take down Shiloh out of Region 5 is Flasher. The Bulldogs lost to the Skyhawks by 26 a few weeks ago and 12 earlier in the year but they’ve been good most of the season. After winning just nine games a year ago, this team has taken big steps forward.
In the Mix: New Salem-Almont, Turtle Lake-Mercer/McClusky
New Salem-Almont is 0-3 against Shiloh and Flasher combined but went 12-3 over the rest of the year. The Holsteins have a young team, so this postseason experience should be very valuable for them.
TLMM finished third last year in the region, losing to Shiloh in the semifinals by just five points. The Trojans have a number of key guys from that team still around and a lot of young talent still in the program. So while their record hasn’t been great this season, they are dangerous. Trapper Jacobs is one of the best guards in Class B. Gunnar Jacobs and AJ Ketterling are solid underclassmen to watch as well.