BOWMAN -- Nate Zachmann didn't have his biggest game of the season, but the Beach senior center with perhaps his most important shot of the year on Monday night.
With time winding down in the fourth quarter, Zachmann scored the game-winning basket on a screen-and-roll pass from Derek Weinreis to give the Buccaneers a 51-50 victory over Heart River in the District 13 Tournament regional-qualifier game at Solberg Gymnasium.
"Being off and still winning, that's hopefully a good sign that he'll have a big game coming up here," Beach coach Larry Helvik said.
Zachmann was limited to eight points and eight rebounds in the win.
Jake Tescher led the Buccaneers with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, but shot 6 of 23 from the field.
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"He still gave us some big buckets at crucial times," Helvik said. "Of course the whole game was crucial."
Nolan Neice, who missed Beach's semifinal loss to Hettinger due to illness, added 10 points and three steals.
"Having Neice back made a big difference," Helvik said. "He hit some big shots early for us."
Weinreis added 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Buccaneers, who shot 21 of 63 (33 percent from the field and were just 3 of 5 from the free-throw line.
Beach improved to 13-9 and will play Mott-Regent at 6 p.m. in today's third-place game.
"At least we're headed to the next round and that's good," Helvik said.
James Duletski helped bring the Cougars back from a 27-21 halftime deficit, coming up with game highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The junior forward gave Heart River a 50-49 lead when he drove through the lane for a layup with a little more than 30 seconds to go.
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Devon Schmeling added 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Cougars, who end their season at 8-13.
Mott-Regent 43, Scranton 40
S 10 18 37 40
M-R 15 28 32 43
S: Shawn Burns 18, Trent Benischek 9, Cody Symanowski 7, Blake Honeyman 4, Casey Kromarek 2.
M-R: Devan Laufer 13, Blaise Kautzman 12, Nick Kautzman 7, Elliot Kirschmann 4, Brade Schweitzer 3, Brock Gion 2, Jay Grosz 2.
3-pointers: Burns 4, Symanowski, Laufer 2, Schweitzer. Free throws: S 7-8, M-R 2-7. Total fouls: S 12, M-R 10. Rebounds: S 32 (Burns 9), M-R 26 (Schweitzer, Kirschmann 7). Assists: S 11 (Symanowski 5), M-R 15 (Schweitzer 9). Steals: S 7 (Symanowski 3), M-R 11 (Schweitzer 5). Turnovers: S 18, M-R 8.
Mott-Regent 43, Scranton 40
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Mott-Regent senior Devan Laufer kept his team's season alive by making a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining in their regional-qualifier game.
Laufer, who led the top-seeded Wildfire with 13 points and hit two fourth-quarter 3-pointers, helped his team avoid a furious upset attempt by sixth-seeded Scranton, which led 37-32 at the end of the third quarter.
Shawn Burns led the Miners, whose season ended at 10-12, with 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Blaise Kautzman scored 12 points and had four rebounds for the Wildfire, who improved to 16-5 on the season.
Mott-Regent plays Beach at 6 p.m. today in the third-place game.
Mott-Regent 43, Scranton 40
S 10 18 37 40
M-R 15 28 32 43
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S: Shawn Burns 18, Trent Benischek 9, Cody Symanowski 7, Blake Honeyman 4, Casey Kromarek 2.
M-R: Devan Laufer 13, Blaise Kautzman 12, Nick Kautzman 7, Elliot Kirschmann 4, Brade Schweitzer 3, Brock Gion 2, Jay Grosz 2.
3-pointers: Burns 4, Symanowski, Laufer 2, Schweitzer. Free throws: S 7-8, M-R 2-7. Total fouls: S 12, M-R 10. Rebounds: S 32 (Burns 9), M-R 26 (Schweitzer, Kirschmann 7). Assists: S 11 (Symanowski 5), M-R 15 (Schweitzer 9). Steals: S 7 (Symanowski 3), M-R 11 (Schweitzer 5). Turnovers: S 18, M-R 8.
