Rapid River sophomore Lane Olson goes to the basket for a layup against Superior Central on Feb. 26, 2025 at Big Bay de Noc School. (Adam Hinch/Daily Press)

GARDEN CORNERS — A pair of boys Division 4 district semifinal games took place at Big Bay de Noc School here Wednesday as North Dickinson took down Big Bay de Noc 70-14 and Rapid River took down Superior Central 37-26.

In game two the Rockets got off to a fast start as sophomore Lane Olson drove to the basket for a layup. After Eddie Forslund split a pair of free throws, Forslund drove to the basket for a layup off a Cougars turnover. Moments later Rowen Flath knocked down a mid-range jumper to put the Rockets up 7-0.

“We wanted to get to the district final,” Flath said. “We knew we had to contain 33 and play strong physical defense.”

The Cougars responded with a pair of 3-pointers by senior Zander Bigger as well as a powerful drive to the basket for the basket and the foul and the Cougars tied the game at 11.

A layup by sophomore Joesph Thorbahn put the Rockets back in front 13-11. Eddie Forslund extended the lead to 15-11 on a layup late in the second quarter.

Bigger answered with a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to cut the deficit to 15-14 going into halftime.

The Rockets came out of the halftime break, with a mid-range jumper by Forslund to extend the lead to 17-14.

“We played well as a team tonight,” Forslund said. “We spaced the ball well and got some good looks on the offensive side.”

Cougars sophomore Ryder Kroupa hit a triple to tie the game at 17.

“It was there, “ Cougars coach Adam Ely said. “You have to make shots to win the game and we don’t do that. They sit in a compact zone. If we made shots we would have won by 20.

Flath responded with a drive to the basket for a layup and the foul but missed on the free throw and the Rockets led 19-17.

Drew Begovac hit a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 19. Moments later Olson drove through the lane for a layup to put the Rockets back in front 21-19.

A pair of free throws by Blake Tanner tied the game at 21, Moments later Forslund made a nice move to the basket for a layup and the Rockets finished the game on a 16-5 run.

“They drew a couple charges on Rowan,” Rockets coach Brent Lundquist said. “He kept driving on them and they started packing the lane and it opened up kick outs for open shots and our guys did a good job of making shots.”

In the first game the Nordics came out on fire and never looked back as Mason Anderson knocked down a 3-pointer. Moments later Trenton Kramer drove to the basket for a layup and the Nordics led 5-0. Spencer Kramer had seven of his 22 points in the first quarter and the Nordics led 19-0 after one stanza.

“We knew we had to keep our defensive intensity up and run the floor,” Spencer Kramer said. “We play well as a team and we get turnovers that lead to high percentage shots.”

The Nordics led 45-8 early in the third quarter, when they went on a 21-0 run highlighted by eight points from Richard Haney and a 3-pointer by Jason Graham to cap off the run and put the Nordics up 66-8.

“I’m very happy with our effort tonight,” Nordics coach Chris Mattson said. “We lost one of our best players to an illness. We had to have our focus right off the bat and the team really stepped up big for us tonight.”

Parker Pederson led the way for the Black Bears with six points.

“Losing sucks,” Black Bears coach Gunnar Mickelson said. “They are a good team. They run the floor well and they are big in size and that really hurt us.”

Rapid River and North Dickinson will play in the district final game at 7 p.m. Friday at Big Bay de Noc.