Rick Sturn has seen lots of New Salem boys basketball in his 54 years.

But it's been 30 years since he last saw a Holsteins' boys team play for a region tournament title.

"We were there in 1978," said Sturn, a New Salem native who has coached the Holsteins' boys team since the 2005-06 season. "We lost the game, but it was still fun to be there. A chance to play for state. … That's what you hope for."

Sturn's 2007-08 team broke the long drought Tuesday night with a 52-44 win over two-time defending champion Shiloh Christian in the Region 5 semifinals. The Holsteins and Turtle Lake-Mercer will meet for the region title tonight at U-Mary's McDowell Activity Center.

"This is big. … I can't begin to tell you how much," New Salem sophomore Jarad Wolf said following Tuesday night's win. "Our program has come a long way this year. We went into the year hoping to get a chance to play for state. Now we have that chance."

Wolf, who had 24 points in the win over Shiloh, is part of a youth movement that has revitalized New Salem's boys basketball program. Three other underclassmen join Wolf in the starting lineup - sophomore Jared Kautzman, and juniors Ty Kruger and Nate Messerschmidt. The other starter, Jason Dittus, is the lone senior on the roster. Top reserve, Ethan Karch, is a junior.

Wolf, Kautzman and Kruger are averaging 14.1, 13.1 and 10.3 points, respectively.

"A lot of kids got thrown to the dogs early, and they've been learning as they go," Sturn said. "You can see the improvement, though. It's one step at a time, and we've taken some big steps this year. We have a winning record (16-8), the best one we've had in years. We made it to the regionals for the first time in six years. We won our first region tournament game in 30 years (on Monday), and now we're in the region title game. Regardless of what happens (on Thursday), enough has happened to get these kids excited about the future."

The Holsteins will try to get back to the boys state tournament for the first time since 1949.

Meanwhile, TL-M also hopes to end a long state tournament drought. The Trojans last qualified for state in 1977.

"The kids have worked hard to get this far. … They're ready to go after it," TL-M coach Joi Anderson said.

The high-scoring Trojans (76 points per game) have won 22 straight games since dropping their season opener to Berthold 78-75. They breezed by their first two region tournament opponents - Grant County 80-51 on Monday, and Washburn 75-46 on Tuesday. Four players are averaging double-figure scoring in tournament play - Cameron Malzer 25.0, Evan Nelson 13.5, Grant Singer 13.5, and Tyler Stradinger 10.5. Frankie Lopez had 14 points on Monday, but sat out most of Tuesday's win because of foot problems.

The Trojans have been deadly from beyond the 3-point arc in this tournament. They connected for nine treys on Monday, and 10 on Tuesday.

"We're doing the things we've been doing all year," Anderson said. "We're running the floor, shooting the ball well, and we're getting balanced scoring. And our defense has played pretty well, too."

Tonight's title game pits two teams with contrasting styles - a more deliberate New Salem vs. a more uptempo TL-M.

"(The Holsteins) like to slow things down. … They like to be patient and work it inside," Anderson said. "They did a nice job of that against Shiloh. They also did a nice job defensively."

Sturn said TL-M is much like Shiloh.

"(The Trojans) have a bunch of kids who can shoot the three and they have a pretty tough inside game with that Singer kid," he said. "We have to find ways to keep them under control. We can't let them get on a big run and get away from us."

In other regions, Mott-Regent and Richardton-Taylor will clash for the Region 7 title. Mott-Regent nipped Hazen 43-41 on Tuesday, while Richardton-Taylor downed Beach 48-43.

On Monday, Beach defeated Dickinson Trinity 55-36 to end the Titans' seven-year region reign.

Neither Mott-Regent nor Richardton-Taylor has made it to a state tournament as a co-op. Mott last went in 1979. Regent went as part of the New England-Regent co-op in 1996 and 1997.

Richardton's last trip to the state tournament was in 1974. Taylor sent teams to the 1935, 1936 and 1937 tournaments.

M-R coach John Butterfield hopes to take a team to the state tournament for the first time since 1983. That year, he guided Hettinger to the state title. He also played in the state tournament for Hettinger in 1957 and 1958.

M-R defeated R-T 55-34 during the regular season.

No. 1-ranked Watford City and Divide County will meet in the Region 8 title game. The Wolves, who outlasted Williston Trinity Christian in overtime in Tuesday's semifinals, are 23-0 and seeking their first state tournament berth since 2000.

In Region 3, LaMoure is in the title game for the fourth time in six years. A win over South Border - the Ashley-Wishek co-op - tonight will put the Loboes in the state tournament for the first time since 1992.

Ashley last went to the state tournament in 1972. Wishek never qualified for state.

There will be a new Class B state champion this year as Parshall fell to Trinity Christian in the quarterfinals of the Region 8 tournament.

New champions will be crowned in at least five other regions - Region 1 (Lisbon vs. Central Cass), Region 2 (Grafton vs. Park River), Region 3, Region 5, and Region 7.

A pair of 2007 state-tournament participants are still alive - Four Winds in Region 4, and Minot Ryan in Region 6.