FARGO-It took most of the season, but Hankinson's Cody Mauch is finally getting comfortable playing the post position.
"I like the 5 (position) a lot," Mauch said after he scored 25 points to lead Hankinson to a 64-53 win over Central Cass on Monday in a North Dakota Class B Region 1 boys basketball tournament quarterfinal game at Scheels Arena.
As a backup sophomore last season, the 6-foot-4 Mauch was a backup wing player while his brother Carter played the post. This season, he worked on his post moves with Hankinson assistant coach Bruce Stein and ended up averaging 19 points a game.
Against Central Cass, Mauch scored eight fourth-quarter points to help the Pirates outscore the Squirrels 26-14. After Central Cass took a 39-38 lead into the final quarter, Hankinson built a 56-46 lead with just under two minutes remaining when Mauch scored inside.
"He has become a special player," said Hankinson head coach Mike Gaukler. "He's a man among boys sometimes."
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Hankinson, which has now won nine of its past 10 games, claimed a 66-64 win at Central Cass on Jan. 28. That was a game in which Central Cass senior guard Grady Bresnahan scored 29 points. Monday night, Hankinson cooled Bresnahan down a little bit-limiting him to 22 points and only seven free throws in the final quarter.
"He has been a thorn in our side for the last few years," Gaukler said of Bresnahan, who is heading to Minnesota State Moorhead to play football.
Hankinson will take a 16-6 record into Tuesday night's semifinal game against top-seeded Northern Cass. In the season opener back on Dec. 12, Northern Cass claimed a 74-69 home victory. On Feb. 20 in a game played at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, Hankinson posted an 81-71 win.
"They can shoot a lot better than we can," Mauch said of Northern Cass. "We are going to have to make them work for those shots."
Central Cass 12 24 39 53
Hankinson 10 23 38 64
CENTRAL CASS: Bresnahan 22, Koetz 6, Morris 9, Prante 8, Ueland 6, Camas 0, Schneider 2.
HANKINSON: Hernandez 14, C. Mauch 25, Mahrer 10, N. Mauch 9, Weidner 2, Lenzen 4, Biewer 0.
