Learning together: New England seniors prepare for final journey together

NEW ENGLAND - Change is never easy.
Luckily for the New England boys basketball team, the five seniors haven’t dealt with too many differences.
The New England seniors have been on the same team since they were sixth-graders. However, Daniel Prince - the Tigers’ 6-foot-4 senior forward and leading scorer - said it wasn’t until they reached junior high that the team began to feel it had the tools to one day contend for a spot at the Class B state tournament.
“Ever since we won the seventh-grade tournament, we’ve been really motivated to work at basketball,” said Prince, who averages 15.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. “We wanted to be good at it, so we put in a lot of work to get where we are right now.”
New England’s five seniors include Prince, John Urlacher, Ty Nordy, Mason Stang and Gavin Fitterer. Prince, Urlacher and Nordby are starters, while Fitterer and Stang are normally one of the first players off the bench.
The seniors are averaging 45.3 of the team’s 60.1 points per game. Nordby is averaging 11 rebounds and 9.9 points per game. Urlacher supplies 11.2 points and 5.4 rebounds, while Fitterer and Stang combine to average 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds.
“When I think of those guys, even when this is over and done with, is all the success they have gotten so far was earned,” New England head coach Luke Powers said. “It wasn’t something that was given to them. They spent a ton of time in the gym. We played 45 games over the summer, we have open gyms three days a week, they do acceleration at Dickinson State three days a week over the summer and if they aren’t in here playing basketball, they are at the (Dickinson) rec center playing basketball. They are five really good kids.”
Though the seniors have continually built chemistry on the floor since they were sixth-graders, the Tigers received two big boosts to their inside game this season. New England had a pair of transfers in 6-6 junior forward Christian Kilwein and 6-8 sophomore forward Cody Holt. Kilwein transferred from Hettinger, while Holt moved from Texas.
The returners and two big newcomers have helped the Tigers to a 19-2 record, the top seed in the Region 7 Tournament and the No. 5-ranking in Class B.
New England was saddled with two losses in the first seven games of the season - the first against Dickinson Trinity and the second was Shiloh Christian. The Tigers have since rattled off 14 straight wins to close out the regular season - the longest win streak in Class B.
“We had a really good regular season,” Prince said. “It prepared us for the regional tournament coming up. We lost a couple games early, but those two losses made us ready for big region games we had.”
Last year, the Tigers ended with a 19-5 record and placed fourth in Region 7. New England didn’t fret as the team returned its five starters and first two players off the bench.
With the two transfers, the Tigers believe they have nine players capable of playing important varsity minutes.
Needless to say, Stang said this is easily the most talented team he has ever played with.
“We have talent through the roof,” Stang said. “We just had a bit of a rocky start. Every day in practice and every game helped us get better and better.”
Despite having the top seed in the region tournament, Nordby knows there isn’t going to be an easy game.
New England plays No. 9 seed Hazen (15-7) in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Monday at Knights of Columbus Activities Center
“It’s definitely a target on our back,” Nordby said about having the top seed in the region tournament. “We have to go out there and play our best every game. Everyone is going to give us their best shot.”
Urlacher added: “Whenever you are rated in the state or the top seed, other teams are always out to get you.”
Fitterer said the final week of practice before the region tournament is about staying mentally focused.
“We are taking (this week of practice) slow, making sure everyone is healthy and just working hard,” Fitterer said.
Many of the coaches in Region 7 believe it’s the toughest in the state.
Powers agrees with the majority of coaches that any team playing in Monday’s quarterfinals has the ability to reach the state tournament.
“They are playing in arguably the toughest region in the state,” Powers said. “You can’t take a night off. We’ll have Hazen in the first round and there are tough teams all over the bracket. All eight that make it (to the quarterfinals) are capable of having a shot to win three in a row. You have to go into it with a win-or-go-home attitude. That’s what we are going to do and we are prepared for it.”
Most of this year’s team wasn’t even alive the last time the Tigers won the region championship. That was in 1997 when the team was still in a co-op with Regent.
“I feel that we have the talent,” Stang said. “We just have to play hard. It will be challenge, but we can do it. We can get to state and bring the glory back to New England.”