Sheyenne Mustangs: Championship Season

We are looking at the State Champions from AA in this article!   The Mustangs had a wild run during tournament time, they certainly played their best basketball when it mattered most. Sheyenne won the big dance and brought home the first State Championship for boys' basketball in school history.   Congrats to the West Fargo Sheyenne Mustangs on a historic & epic season....   State Tournament   WIN 75-70 over Bismarck   WIN 64-59 over Fargo Davies   WIN 78-62 over Fargo North   Shout-out to [player_tooltip player_id='1310206' first='Tommy' last='Ahneman'] for being named State Tournamnet MVP, All-Tournament Team at State, All-EDC, [player_tooltip player_id='1306390' first='Caleb' last='Duerr'] for All-Tournament Team at State, All-EDC, and [player_tooltip player_id='1179065' first='John' last='Angau'] for All-EDC.   See below for a Q&A session with coach Brandt, player stats, and team numbers.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/SHEYENNE-MUSTANGS-LOGO-HI-RES.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/SHEYENNE-MUSTANGS-LOGO-HI-RES.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2383878" style="width:231px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   Team: West Fargo Sheyenne   Mascot: Mustangs   Head Coach: Tim Brandt   Class: AA   Region/Conference: Eastern Dakota Conference (EDC)   Record: 20-7   Finish: State Champions   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/SeaonReview-.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/SeaonReview-.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-1842251" style="width:264px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   Q&A with coach Tim Brandt   PHD: How would you sum up the season for your squad?   "Unforgettable. I'm so proud of every single one of the kids in our program, top to bottom. We were able to win the freshmen tournament, the 'C' tournament, and the first-ever Sate Championship for this program. I don't think it gets much better than that."   PHD: Do you have any fun memories to share from the season?   "We had a team outing and went to the NDSU vs Oak Hills Christian game. Needless to say, that was interesting."   "My oldest son, Drake, sat on the end of the bench for a lot of games this season. He was on the bench for all three State Tournament games. He was the first person I was able to hug after the buzzer sounded in the State Championship game. Having him around all of our players and seeing the way they treated him and made him feel like one of the guys was probably the most special thing to me."   PHD: How did your team overcome adversity?   "Mental toughness was something that was talked about a lot this season. We showed some of that early, having to battle back to beat BHS in the first game of the season, and then having a shot in the air to tie it at the buzzer against Minot High after being down 13 in the second half of the second game of the season. Things aren't going to be great all the time, you have to be able to fight through some things. We had to be more consistent with it. I think that's something that greatly improved throughout the season, and it definitely showed."   PHD: Can you talk about a few things your team improved on throughout the season?   "We had a tendency to turn the ball over a little too frequently at times. That was something I knew we had to clean up if we wanted to make a run. I think early in the season we were averaging close to 20 TO's a game, and by the end that was down to 15. Which 15 is still too high, but its a lot better than 20!"   "We also improved a tremendous amount defensively. We gave up more than 72 points only once after January and held teams to an average of 61.8 points in our 6 post-season games."   PHD: Can you talk about your seniors?   "I'm honestly just going to miss having them around. They're all good basketball players, and I could speak on that, but the truth is they're just such an awesome group of guys. This is my 11th year coaching basketball at Sheyenne. Those kids were in 2nd grade when I got here. I've watched them grow up from little kids to young men. Seeing the type of people they've grown up to become is the best part."   PHD: Who are some up-and-comers to look out for in the future?   "There are honestly too many to mention, and I wouldn't want to leave anyone out. But with winning both the freshmen and C tournaments, you can imagine I'm excited about our future."   PHD: Who was your best defensive player?   "It's hard to choose one. [player_tooltip player_id='1310206' first='Tommy' last='Ahneman'] set the single-season record for blocks with 60, so people had to think twice about coming to the rim. [player_tooltip player_id='1306390' first='Caleb' last='Duerr'] was sort of our jack of all trades. He is long and athletic enough to pretty much guard anyone. [player_tooltip player_id='2060101' first='Barry' last='Kpeenu'] is so strong and athletic that it was tough for anyone to get by him. [player_tooltip player_id='2137637' first='Noah' last='Olson'] was a guy we would put on a team's best player and just have him bother them all game. [player_tooltip player_id='1167609' first='Sullivan' last='Ihry'] is a great positional defender and has a very high defensive IQ. He takes great angles and always puts himself in the right spot."   PHD: Any last comments/thoughts on the season?   "It was an incredible year. I couldn't be happier about what we achieved as a program. I'm looking forward to building upon that."   Stat Leaders   <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td>Player</td><td>Year</td><td>Team</td><td>GP</td><td>EFF_PG</td><td>PPG</td><td>RPG</td><td>APG</td><td>SPG</td><td>BPG</td><td>3FGM</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1306390' first='Caleb' last='Duerr']</td><td>Senior</td><td>WF Sheyenne</td><td>27</td><td>13.7</td><td>10.8</td><td>7.1</td><td>3.1</td><td>1.9</td><td>0.3</td><td>47</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1168180' first='Jaxson' last='Miller']</td><td>Senior</td><td>WF Sheyenne</td><td>27</td><td>4.1</td><td>4.1</td><td>1.6</td><td>0.9</td><td>0.4</td><td>0.0</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1179065' first='John' last='Angau']</td><td>Senior</td><td>WF Sheyenne</td><td>27</td><td>17.6</td><td>17.3</td><td>6.7</td><td>2.6</td><td>1.2</td><td>0.3</td><td>61</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='2137637' first='Noah' last='Olson']</td><td>Senior</td><td>WF Sheyenne</td><td>27</td><td>8.5</td><td>8.0</td><td>3.1</td><td>1.2</td><td>1.1</td><td>0.0</td><td>51</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1167609' first='Sullivan' last='Ihry']</td><td>Junior</td><td>WF Sheyenne</td><td>27</td><td>5.7</td><td>5.6</td><td>3.0</td><td>1.7</td><td>0.8</td><td>0.1</td><td>24</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1310206' first='Tommy' last='Ahneman']</td><td>Junior</td><td>WF Sheyenne</td><td>27</td><td>28.7</td><td>20.3</td><td>13.3</td><td>1.9</td><td>0.9</td><td>2.1</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1164105' first='Turo' last='Moni']</td><td>Senior</td><td>WF Sheyenne</td><td>27</td><td>5.1</td><td>5.1</td><td>2.9</td><td>0.9</td><td>0.2</td><td>0.1</td><td>26</td></tr><tr><td>[player_tooltip player_id='2060101' first='Barry' last='Kpeenu']</td><td>Senior</td><td>WF Sheyenne</td><td>26</td><td>7.1</td><td>8.0</td><td>2.5</td><td>2.8</td><td>0.7</td><td>0.1</td><td>18</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>   Team Stats   PPG: 80 OPPG: 70 RPG: 41.2 APG: 15.3 SPG: 7.2 FG%: 45.7 3FG%: 34.1 3FGM: 248 FT%: 70.3 FTM: 324   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/SHEYENNE-MUSTANGS-LOGO-HI-RES.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/SHEYENNE-MUSTANGS-LOGO-HI-RES.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2383878" /></a></figure>

We are looking at the State Champions from AA in this article!