Richardton-Taylor boys basketball coach Dan Glasser said his team's weakness all season has been an inability to consistently get the ball into the post.
That weakness all but disappeared as the No. 4 seeded Raiders were carried on the shoulders of their two big men inside, Kasey Naumann and Lane Transtrom, as they defeated No. 5 Killdeer 59-49 in the first round of the District 14 tournament at Knights of Columbus Activities Center in Dickinson Friday.
"They work hard to post up and our guards also recognized that and were able to get them the ball," Glasser said. "We've been emphasizing that all week. It seems like we've been settling for 3-point shots when we don't give a chance to get the ball in the post at all."
Naumann, a 6-foot-4 senior, led the Raiders with 20 points and seven rebounds. Transtrom added 15 points and seven rebounds.
Having worked on it all year, Naumann said it was nice to see their inside game finally click.
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"We knew we could do it all year long, we were able to do it sometimes, but we weren't able to do it consistently," Naumann said. "Now that we've really emphasized it we've shown that we can do it and it worked out for us."
Raider guards Dylan and Jadon Messer got off to a slow start, but Naumann and Transtrom stepped up to score 21 of their team's 29 first-half points. The Raiders led 29-17 at the half.
Killdeer senior Ethan Harris led the Cowboys with 20 points.
Killdeer head coach Cody Beck said the talent Richardton-Taylor puts on the floor makes them a difficult matchup.
"They're a real physical team and we struggled with some of our matchups," Beck said. "They've got four guys that can play anywhere on the floor pretty easily and it's tough to matchup with that."
Richardton-Taylor (12-8) advances to play top-seeded Trinity (17-2) at 6 p.m. tonight.
Killdeer (5-15) will face the loser of the No. 2 Hazen and No. 3 Beulah matchup Monday at 4:30 p.m. in a region-qualifying game.
K 13 29 48 59
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RT 10 17 30 49
K: Ethan Harris 20, Jacob Bosley 8, Kale Oversen 7, Austy Sadowsky 6, Tanner Olsen 5, Brodie Candrain 2, Wade Trotter 1.
RT: Kasey Naumann 20, Lane Transtrom 15, Dylan Messer 13, Jadon Messer 7, Carsen Colgrove 4.
3-pointers: Harris 2, D. Messer 1. Free throws: K 11-18, RT 12-19. Total fouls: K 16, RT 15. Rebounds: K 21 (three with 3), RT 37 (two with 7). Assists: K 8 (three with 2), K 9 (Colgrove 3). Steals: K 8 (Bosley 3), RT 5 (J. Messer 2). Blocks: K 0, RT 5 (Scott Remington 2). Turnovers: K 12, RT 13.
Beulah 56, Glen Ullin-Hebron 52
Despite allowing Glen Ullin-Hebron senior Jarrod Auer to score 26 points, No. 3 Beulah held on to win in the first round of District 14 boys basketball tournament.
"The main thing when a kid like that kind of goes off on you, you just have to make sure that the other kids don't beat you," Beulah head coach Jeremy Brandt said.
The Miners were led by senior guard Josh Schank's 19 points and senior forward Andrew Just, who had 11 points and eight rebounds.
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Beulah opened up an 11-point lead in the first half, but Auer's 12 second quarter points kept the game close. Beulah led 25-24 at the half.
Brandt said close games can be expected come tournament time, but winning a close one can be good for a team's confidence going forward.
"It was hard but sometimes hard is good because it's a good learning experience for us," Brandt said.
Beulah (10-10) faces No. 2 Hazen (13-6) at 7:30 tonight. It's a matchup Brandt said he looks forward to.
"Our kids will be ready to play because we always are when we play Hazen," Brandt said. "I'm hoping a third times a charm and we can be a little more consistent throughout the game and hopefully come out on top in the end."
Glen Ullin-Hebron (5-15) awaits the loser of the Trinity-Richardton-Taylor matchup Monday at 6 p.m. in a region-qualifying game.
GUH 8 24 26 46
Beulah 12 25 34 52
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GUH: Jarrod Auer 26, Justin Wehri 7, Tyrel Rebel 6, Nathan Wanner 5, Tanner Sibla 2.
B: Josh Schank 19, Andrew Just 11, Gabe Goetz 6, Denver Unruh 5, Kasey Schmidt 3, Casey Duppong 3, Logan Kessler 3, Jon Langellers 2.
3-pointers: Auer 2, Wanner, Wehri, Schank 2, Kessler, Goetz. Free throws: GUH 12-17, B 12-23. Total fouls: GUH 21, B 17. Fouled out: Sibla, Goetz. Rebounds: GUH 34 (Wehri 8), B 27 (Just 8). Assists: GUH 2 (Auer 2), B 7 (Goetz 2, Schank 2). Steals: GUH 8 (Auer 3), B 12 (Schank 4). Blocks: GUH 0, B 4 (Just 3). Turnovers: GUH 18, B 14.
