High School Notebook: Though Bowman County is struggling, Fischer brothers have remained consistent

• Fischer brothers

Brandon Fischer, left, and Tanner Fischer, right.

Talk about it

Brothers fight. When they’re on the same team, they tend to compare stats. The Fischer brothers from Bowman County very much fit that mold.

But at the end of the day, all they want to do is make each other better.

Brandon and Tanner Fischer, two starters for the Bulldogs’ boys basketball team, look to each other on and off the court.

“It just seems like another teammate,” Tanner said. “After the games, we are always comparing how we did and competing against each other in that way. Competing with each other makes us better basketball players.”

“It’s definitely an experience being able to play with my brother,” Brandon added.

Brandon, a senior forward, is averaging 7.4 points per game, while Tanner, a junior forward, averages 9.9. Both have been atop their teams’ rebounding leaders the past two seasons.

Bowman County first-year head coach Steve Shahan said Brandon and Tanner bring a good presence at both ends of the court and they aren’t afraid of boxing anyone out for a rebound or a loose ball.

“It’s great having those two,” Shahan said. “They provide a good combination of inside and outside play. We can post either one of them up or they both can knock it down from perimeter.”

Bowman County senior guard Michael Palczewski, who is the Bulldogs’ second leading scorer with 13.5 points per game, said at times it’s entertaining to watch the Fischer brothers.

“Oh you know, you have the brother feud going,” Palczewski said. “Tanner is the shy one out of the two. Brandon being the older one is the vocal one.

“Brandon has been kind of banged up all year, but he’s probably our main rebounder this year. Tanner is the young one out of all the starters. He’s learning with us. They are pretty good contributors to our team.”

Though the Bulldogs (3-6, 0-1 District 13) have lost five in a row, Tanner said it’s all about being consistent from start to finish. Bowman County’s last win was 72-62 against Richardton-Taylor in the semifinals of the Roughrider Tournament on Dec. 12.

“We’ve been struggling a lot with our consistency,” he said. “We’ve been continually getting better. Our coach sees the improvement, but we have to be more consistent throughout the game.”

Brandon, however, said taking runner-up in the Roughrider Tournament against No. 3-ranked Dickinson Trinity helped boost the Bulldogs’ confidence and showed a glimpse of the team’s potential.

“It definitely boosted our confidence knowing we can be up there with those teams,” he said. “It might not being going well right now, but we know that we can compete with teams.”

Palczewski also mirrored the fact that the Bulldogs aren’t worried about winning every game this season. They want to win when it matters the most — at the District 13 and Region 7 tournaments.

“We’re kind of in a slump right now,” he said. “We’re trying to do this new offense. … Hopefully we’ll be ready by tournament time and that’s all that really matters.”

DHS gymnastics team battling through injuries

After finishing runner-up in the Class A state meet the last four years, the Dickinson High gymnastics team was eager to start a season returning a host of solid competitors.

The competitors included freshman Acacia Fossum, the two-time defending all-around state champion.

However, the Midgets have hit a bump in the road as Fossum and their No. 2 all-around gymnast, junior Mikeala Kessel, are both sidelined by injuries.

“With the situation of nursing competitors, it’s hard to tell somewhat where our team stands,” head coach Kent Van Ells said. “In the Fargo meet, where we didn’t have Acacia or Mikaela, we were still able to do pretty well. It would indicate we’re in pretty good shape with those two ladies back.”

Kessel suffered a concussion during her first event, the uneven bars, at Fargo North on Saturday, while Fossum continues to nurse a pulled muscle.

“It’s not something that’s a major injury,” Van Ells said of Fossum’s pulled muscle. “But it’s a major irritant. We don’t want her to aggravate it.

“(Mikaela) did have a concussion and she’ll be taking this week off. She also has some concerns with her back. When she fell, she landed hard on her back. In her case, we’ll have to wait and see about the back. The concussion should be something that’s predicable.”

With injuries to its top two gymnasts, Dickinson is looking at seniors Chantel Urlacher and Mckenzie Kostelecky and freshman Keana Kudrna to lead at the way.

It didn’t take long for one of the three to make a direct impact. Kudrna stepped in and claimed her first career varsity all-around win at the Fargo Davies Invitational last Saturday with a score of 37.050. The freshman also won the balance beam and uneven bars.

“Keana truly had a breakout meet, but that has to be balanced with she didn’t have a very good meet the night before,” Van Ells said. Those three girls are the center right now.”

“We didn’t have the best meet on Friday, so I just wanted to clear my mind and just start fresh,” Kudrna added.

The Midgets continue their season by traveling to Wahpeton at 5 p.m. Friday. Kessel will take the week off, while Fossum is still a meet-time decision.

Van Ells knows his team’s potential. Everyone just has to be healthy first.

“I think we are a really strong team with everybody,” he said. “We just don’t have everybody right now.”

After long layoff, New England girls start district season with Mott-Regent

Last year the New England girls basketball team compiled a 5-17 overall record.

This year the Tigers, despite being 26 days removed from playing their last game, are off to a 2-1 start and head coach Jason Jung said it’s a step in the right direction.

“So far I’m really happy with the season,” Jung said. “We’ve have some injury and sickness issues, which I know a lot of other teams have had, and we’ve had a lot of other girls step up. I think throughout that we’ve developed some depth.”

The newly found depth comes just in time for New England’s first District 13 game traveling to Mott-Regent (3-4) at 7 p.m. today.

“We know that every game in the district is going to be competitive,” Jung said. “Most of the teams seem that they are about even. Beach is probably the favorite, but after that it seems like everybody is even.”

The Tigers’ lone loss this season was a 52-38 against Killdeer during the opening round of the Roughrider Tournament, its season opener. New England then defeated Heart River and Richardton-Taylor to take fifth place at the tournament.

Leading the Tigers is Hannah Nordby with 10.3 points per game, while the team is averaging 46.3 points per game.

Today, New England faces the top scorer in Region 7, Marah Friez, who is averaging 17.7 points per game.

“The district games are going to be very important this year,” Jung said. “The rivalry we have with Mott-Regent adds to it as well. We’re taking this game very seriously as one of the most important games of the season, because it’s a district game. Every district game is going to affect the standings in a big way. We’ve been really focus and motivated.”

Tags: bowman county bulldogs, tanner fischer, dickinson midgets, brandon fischer, new england tigers, mott-regent wildfire, sports, preps