The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

Chinook wins 9C crown with 62-56 win over North Star. Play Winnett/Grass Range this morning at 9:30 a.m. in Northern C opener

The Chinook Sugarbeeters can cross another goal off their list after capturing the District 9C championship Friday night in Havre.

The Sugarbeeters opened the tournament with a 60-29 thumping of the Big Sandy Pioneers on Wednesday. Thursday trailed the Fort Benton Longhorns 28-27 midway through the third quarter when they stepped on the gas and opened up a big lead, winning 59-41 to advance to the Championship.

In the final the Sugarbeeters held a 58-40 lead over the North Star Knights with under two-minutes to go but a flurry of baskets and a half court heave by the Knights made the final 62-56 score appear a little closer than it really was.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds picked up an opening round win over the Box Elder Bears 67-39 and were defeated by the Knights 53-47 in semifinal action Thursday night. Friday morning the Thunderbirds outlasted the Turner Tornadoes 79-69 to advance to the consolation final.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds owned two one point wins over the Fort Benton Longhorns from the regular season but Friday night at the District 9C it just wasn't meant to be as the Longhorns steadily built a lead and defeated the Thunderbirds 68-52 ending their season.

The Turner Tornadoes fell in a thrilling opening round contest to the Fort Benton Longhorns 70-63. Thursday morning the Tornadoes opened up a big lead over the Big Sandy Pioneers before holding on for a 65-63 win to advance. Friday morning their season ended with a 79-69 loss to Hays/Lodge Pole.

The Harlem Wildcats entered the District 2B tournament as the No. 5 seed and faced the Glasgow Scotties in a winner take all play-in game. The two teams split their regular season games and Thursday in Wolf Point the Wildcats saw their season end with a 60-53 loss to the Scotties.

The Sugarbeeters split their opening weekend games at the Chester preseason tournament, falling on a last second shot to the Sunburst Refiners. Since then they have rattled off 19 straight wins and are heading to the Northern C Divisional as the District 9C No. 1 seed.

The Sugarbeeters began the tournament with a first round contest against the Big Sandy Pioneers. Big Sandy came ready to play at the District 9C and played probably their best basketball of the season but the Sugarbeeters were too much.

Chinook led 15-5 after eight minutes and pushed their advantage to 33-16 by intermission. The Sugarbeeters outscored the Pioneers 27-13 in the second half to earn a 60-29 win.

Junior Isaac Bell scored 16 in the win. Junior Brendan Edwards added 15, junior Cord Schneider 10 and freshman Reece Elliot chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds.

The 'Beeters then faced the Fort Benton Longhorns in the semifinals. These two teams played two thrilling down to the wire games during the regular season with the Sugarbeeters winning both by a combined 10 points.

Thursday nights contest seemed headed for another nail biting finish after Fort Benton took a 28-27 lead midway through the third quarter but a 12-0 run by the Sugarbeeters gave all the momentum to Chinook as they rolled to 59-41 win to advance to the championship.

Schneider dominated the paint in the win over the Longhorns scoring 25 points and securing 15 rebounds in the win while also limiting the Longhorns ability to go inside.

Bell added 14 points and 13 rebounds in the 'Beeter win and Kellam contributed six points and 11 boards.

The Sugarbeeters began their championship game against North Star with a steal and coast to coast finish by Schneider to even things up at 2-2. Edwards and Bell followed with offensive rebounds and scores to give Chinook a 6-4 advantage early. Schneider used a nice hop step to put Chinook up 14-9 and Bell ended the first with a huge block.

Schneider and Kellam each scored to begin the second and Bell scored nine of the 'Beeters next eleven as Chinook opened up a 33-18 lead. Schneider recorded blocks on back to back possessions midway through the third and knocked down a free throw to keep Chinooks lead in double digits, 42-32.

Bell connected from long range to push the 'Beeter lead to 55-40, Schneider followed with another huge block and the Bell knocked down another triple putting Chinook up 58-40 with 3:40 left in the contest.

The Knights came out of a time out and score five straight points but a steal at mid court led to a Schneider breakaway where he slammed the door on any comeback with a one handed dunk for a 60-47 'Beeter lead.

Bell converted an offensive rebound into points with :55 left. North Star added a couple of layups and a half court heave to make the final 62-56.

Bell had a huge night for the Sugarbeeters scoring 33 points while hitting on 11-17 from the field including 3-4 from beyond the arc. Bell also led the team with nine rebounds and four assists in the win. Schneider added 16 points and five blocks.

"I'm really proud of this team, they rose to the occasion and met the moment head on, it wasn't too big for them," said head coach Mike Seymour. "I'm very proud of the fortitude of this team. We've had seven different starting lineups due to injuries and such and to be 20-1 going into Divisional is a testament to their willingness to step into rolls they weren't accustomed to."

With the rotation changing as much as it has, the game plan has to adjust as well. "We've had to change our philosophy on offense and defense completely from the start of the season and are still adjusting," added Seymour. "We've yet to play a game where we had all our players available and we're still 20-1, its a testament to their willingness to buy in and do whats asked of them for the benefit of the team."

As far as this week in Great Falls, Seymour and his team are focused, "We need to play smart, take care of the basketball and play within ourselves. If we can do that we'll be alright. I'm really proud of this team and everything we have accomplished but we have goals still within our reach," concluded Seymour.

The Sugarbeeters open play this morning against the Winnett/Grass Range Rams at 9:30 a.m. The top two teams from the Northern C Divisional will advance to the State Tournament in Butte, March 1-3.

District 9C Boys

Basketball Box Scores

First Round Games

Chinook 60 Big Sandy 29

Big Sandy 5 11 9 4 - 29

Chinook 15 18 14 13 - 60

Big Sandy: Ryan Roth 3-8 3-4 9, Elijah Wagoner 0-0 0-0 0, Parker Proulx 0-1 0-0 0, Brady Pleninger 1-2 0-0 2, Tevin Haugen 0-2 0-0 0, Brock Proulx 2-9 2-4 6, Cameron Schwarzbach 0-0 0-0 0, Jeremiah Genereau 0-1 0-0 0, Kade Strutz 3-10 2-3 9, Clint Darlington 0-4 3-4 3. Team Totals 9-37 10-15 29.

Chinook: Isaac Bell 6-14 2-4 16, Ethan Bell 1-6 1-2 3, Damon Hannum 0-2 0-0 0, James Christensen 0-1 2-4 2, Reese Elliot 4-9 2-6 10, Ethan MacLeod 0-0 0-0 0, Riley Kellam 1-3 2-4 4, Sam Dumas 0-1 0-0 0, Brendan Edwards 7-7 1-2 15, Cord Schneider 5-16 0-2 10, Erik Pula 0-1 0-0 0, Tamer Jamieson 0-1 0-0 0. Team Totals 24-60 10-24 60.

Three Point - Chinook 2-10 (Isaac Bell 2), Big Sandy 1-8 (Kade Strutz 1); Rebounds - Chinook 42 (Reece Elliot 9), Big Sandy 30 (Kade Strutz 8); Assists - Chinook 8 (Ethan Bell 4), Big Sandy 3 (Brock Proulx 2); Total Fouls - Chinook 16, Big Sandy 19; Fouled Out - None.

Fort Benton 70 Turner 63

Fort Benton 19 10 13 28 - 70

Turner 17 6 14 26 - 63

Fort Benton: Damon Bird 3-8 0-0 7, Jace Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Stephen Gannon 0-0 0-0 0, Billy Ullery 0-0 0-2 0, Hayden Diekhans 5-10 3-3 15, Max Lane 0-4 0-0 0, Logan Giles 4-11 3-7 11, Andy Giles 1-8 5-7 7, Garrett Diekhans 11-17 7-11 30, Stetson Lefurgy 0-0 0-0 0, Joey Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Jace Pimperton 0-0 0-0 0. Team Totals 24-58 18-30 70.

Turner: Austin Welsh 0-2 1-2 1, Jack Harmon 0-0 0-0 0, Kurt Calvert 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Welsh 6-13 2-4 16, Shane Kimmel 5-13 6-7 16, Ethan Heilig 0-0 0-0 0, Eddie Harmon 7-13 5-7 20, Tracer Heilig 4-10 0-0 10. Team Totals 22-51 14-20 63.

Three Point - Fort Benton 4-16 (Hayden Diekhans 2, Garrett Diekhans 1, Damon Bird 1); Turner 5 (Cody Welsh 2, Tracer Heilig 2, Eddie Harmon 1); Rebounds - Fort Benton 35 (Garrett Diekhans 10), Turner 39 (Eddie Harmon 12, Cody Welsh 10); Assists - Fort Benton 8 (Hayden Diekhans 3, Andy Giles 3), Turner 8 (Eddie Harmon 4); Fouls - Fort Benton 16, Turner 25; Fouled Out - Turner (Austin Welsh, Cody Welsh, Eddie Harmon).

Hays/Lodge Pole 67 Box Elder 36

Box Elder 6 10 10 10 - 36

Hays/L.P. 30 8 23 6 - 67

Box Elder: Nacona Limberhand 1-5 2-2 4, Zander Parisian 0-2 0-0 0, Kadyn Duran 1-5 0-0 3, Chris Burns 2-11 0-0 5, Jerel Anders 2-9 0-0 5, Peyton Gardipee 3-5 0-0 6, Malique Rosette 1-6 0-0 3, Quintin Limberhand 3-6 0-0 6, Seth Duran 1-8 2-2 4, Kobe Sutherland 0-0 0-0 0. Team Totals 14-57 4-4 36.

Hays/L.P.: Sage Bradley 0-1 0-0 0, Moke Cliff 2-5 0-0 5, Michael Ball 2-4 0-0 5, Siris Grandchamp 0-0 0-0 0, Damian Bradley 3-4 0-0 8, Isiah RunsAbove 2-7 1-4 5, Jeff Stiffarm 6-12 1-3 15, David Main 5-10 2-3 12, Jasper Doney 1-4 0-0 2, James Brockie 0-0 0-0 0, Chance Main 6-14 2-2 15. Team Totals 27-61 6-12 67.

Three Point - Hays/L.P. 7-17 (Damian Bradley 2, Jeff Stiffarm 1, Moke Cliff 1, Michael Ball 1, Chance Main 1); Box Elder 4-21 (Kadyn Duran 1, Chris Burns 1, Jerel Anderson 1, Malique Rosette 1); Rebounds - Hays/L.P. 49 (David Main 11, Chance Main 10), Box Elder 28 (Chris Burns 7); Assists - Hays/L.P. 13 (Chance Main 4), Box Elder 3 (Three with 1); Fouls - Hays/L.P. 7, Box Elder 11; Fouled Out - None.

Loser Out

Turner 65 Big Sandy 63

Big Sandy 6 18 14 25 - 63

Turner 18 16 10 21 - 65

Big Sandy: Ryan Roth 5-16 2-4 15, Parker Proulx 3-8 0-0 6, Brady Pleninger 0-3 0-0 0, Brock Proulx 3-13 1-4 8, Cameron Schwarzbach 0-0 0-0 0, Kade Strutz 8-17 2-5 19, Clint Darlington 7-13 1-1 15. Team Totals 26-70 6-14 63.

Turner: Austin Welsh 0-1 2-2 2, Jack Harmon 1-1 0-0 3, Kurt Calvert 1-2 0-0 2, Cody Welsh 7-17 3-3 18, Shane Kimmel 2-6 2-2 7, Eddie Harmon 8-18 8-10 26, Tracer Heilig 2-7 3-6 7. Team Totals 21-52 18-23 65.

Three Point - Big Sandy 5-18 (Ryan Roth 3, Kade Strutz 1, Brock Proulx 1); Turner 5-10 (Eddie Harmon 2, Cody Welsh 1, Shane Kimmel 1, Jack Harmon 1); Rebounds - Big Sandy 41 (Clint Darlington 15), Turner 14 (Cody Welsh 10, Tracer Heilig 13); Assists - Big Sandy 12 (Ryan Roth 4), Turner 10 (Tracer Heilig 5); Fouls - Big Sandy 21, Turner 15; Fouled Out - None.

Semifinal

Chinook 59 Fort Benton 41

Fort Benton 7 10 13 11 - 41

Chinook 11 12 14 22 - 59

Fort Benton: Damon Bird 1-3 1-2 3, Jace Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Hayden Diekhans 2-9 2-2 6, Max Lane 2-7 4-6 8, Logan Giles 0-2 0-0 0, Andy Giles 3-6 1-3 10, Garrett Diekhans 6-17 1-2 14. Team Totals 14-44 9-15 41.

Chinook: Isaac Bell 6-19 0-2 14, Ethan Bell 1-2 2-2 4, James Christensen 0-3 2-2 2, Reese Elliot 0-0 0-0 0, Riley Kellam 1-4 4-6, Brendan Edwards 3-5 2-2 8, Cord Schneider 10-22 5-8 25. Team Totals 21-55 15-22 59.

Three Point - Chinook 2-8 (Isaac Bell 2), Fort Benton 4-19 (Andy Giles 3, Hayden Diekhans 1); Rebounds - Chinook 49 (Cord Schneider 15, Isaac Bell 13, Riley Kellam 11), Fort Benton 19 (Hayden Diekhans 10); Assists - Chinook 6 (James Christensen 3), Fort Benton 5 (Hayden Diekhans 2); Total Fouls - Chinook 16, Fort Benton 17; Fouled Out - None.

Semifinal

North Star 53 Hays/Lodge Pole 47

North Star 11 22 10 10 - 53

Hays/L.P. 13 17 9 8 - 47

North Star: Dylan Miller 4-16 8-11 17, Dane Miller 2-3 0-0 6, Caden Rettig 2-5 0-1 6, Payne Ditmar 2-3 1-1 7, Hayden Massar 0-0 0-0 0, Devon Miller 7-10 0-1 14, Thomas Nerat 1-2 1-2 3. Team Totals 18-39 10-16 53.

Hays/L.P.: Moke Cliff 0-4 1-2 1, Michael Ball 2-5 0-0 6, Damian Bradley 3-3 0-0 9, Kenneth Blackcrow 1-4 1-2 3, Isiah RunsAbove 1-1 0-2 2, Jeff Stiffarm 5-15 0-0 10, David Main 7-10 0-2 14, Chance Main 0-7 2-2 2. Team Totals 19-49 4-10 47.

Three Point - Hays/L.P. 5-19 (Damian Bradley 3, Michael Ball 2); North Star 7-13 (Dane Miller 2, Caden Rettig 2, Payne Ditmar 2, Dylan Miller 1); Rebounds - Hays/L.P. 25 (David Main 9), North Star 34 (Caden Rettig 10); Assists - Hays/L.P. 7 (Chance Main 4), North Star 16 (Caden Rettig 9); Fouls - Hays/L.P. 18, North Star 7; Fouled Out - None.

Loser Out

Hays/Lodge Pole 79 Turner 69

Turner 9 20 20 20 - 69

Hays/L.P. 26 22 16 15 - 79

Turner: Austin Welsh 2-4 2-6 6 Jack Harmon 1-4 0-1 2, Kurt Calvert 1-2 0-2 2, Cody Welsh 6-11 0-0 14, Shane Kimmel 4-17 6-6 14, Eddie Harmon 10-21 4-6 25, Tracer Heilig 2-6 2-3 6. Team Totals 26-65 14-24 69.

Hays/L.P.: Sage Bradley 1-3 0-0 2, Moke Cliff 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Ball 5-9 0-2 13, Damian Bradley 1-6 0-2 2, Kenneth Blackcrow 5-11 0-0 10, Isiah RunsAbove 0-5 4-8 4, Jeff Stiffarm 7-16 6-8 21, David Main 3-7 0-1 6, Jasper Doney 1-2 0-0 2, Chance Main 6-12 7-8 19. Team Totals 29-71 17-27 79.

Three Point - Hays/L.P. 4-19 (Michael Ball 3, Jeff Stiffarm 1); Turner 3-19 (Cody Welsh 2, Eddie Harmon 1); Rebounds - Hays/L.P. 37 (David Main 8), Turner 52 (Eddie Harmon 14); Assists - Hays/L.P. 8 (Jeff Stiffarm 5),Turner 11 (Cody Welsh 6); Fouls - Hays/L.P. 20, Turner 20; Fouled Out - Turner (Shane Kimmel).

Consolation Final - Winner Advances

Fort Benton 68 Hays/Lodge Pole 52

Fort Benton 18 17 20 13 - 68

Hays/L.P. 11 9 15 17 - 52

Fort Benton: Damon Bird 5-9 0-0 12, Jace Thompson 0-0 0-2 0, Stephen Gannon 0-0 0-0 0, Billy Ullery 0-0 0-0 0, Hayden Diekhans 4-9 8-11 16, Max Lane 1-4 0-0 2, Logan Giles 1-3 4-8 6, Andy Giles 6-10 2-4 17, Garrett Diekhans 5-8 5-7 15, Stetson Lefurgy 0-0 0-0 0, Joey Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Jace Pimperton 0-0 0-0 0. Team Totals 22-43 19-32 68.

Hays/L.P.: Sage Bradley 1-4 0-0 3, Moke Cliff 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Ball 2-4 0-0 5, Siris Grandchamp 1-1 0-0 2, Damian Bradley 2-3 0-0 5, Kenneth Blackcrow 0-0 2-2 2, Isiah RunsAbove 2-4 0-0 4, Jeff Stiffarm 1-6 0-0 2, David Main 6-13 3-6 16, Jasper Doney 0-0 0-0 0, Chance Main 6-9 0-2 13. Team Totals 21-44 5-10 52.

Three Point - Fort Benton 5-13 (Andy Giles 3, Damon Bird 2); Hays/L.P. 5-17 (Chance Main 1, David Main 1, Sage Bradley 1, Michael Ball 1, Damien Bradley 1); Rebounds - Fort Benton 22 (Max Lane 7), Hays/L.P. 30 (Chance Main 6, David Main 6); Assists - Fort Benton 13 (Damon Bird 4, Andy Giles 4), Hays/L.P. 6 (

Michael Ball 2); Fouls - Fort Benton 11, Hays/L.P. 25; Fouled Out - Hays/L.P. (Chance Maine).

District 9C Championship

Chinook 62 North Star 56

North Star 9 15 12 20 - 56

Chinook 14 21 9 18 - 62

North Star: Austin Hanson 1-1 0-0 2, Dylan Miller 10-16 5-7 25, Dane Miller 1-2 0-1 3, Caden Rettig 3-8 0-0 8, Payne Ditmar 0-0 0-0 0, Hayden Massar 1-3 0-0 2, Devon Miller 5-13 4-6 14, Thomas Nerat 1-1 0-0 2. Team Totals 22-44 9-14 56.

Chinook: Isaac Bell 14-21 2-6 33, Ethan Bell 0-3 0-0 0, James Christensen 1-2 0-0 2, Reese Elliot 0-1 0-0 0, Riley Kellam 3-5 0-0 6, Brendan Edwards 2-3 0-0 4, Cord Schneider 8-14 1-2 17. Team Totals 28-49 3-8 62.

Three Point - Chinook 3-7 (Isaac Bell 4), North Star 3-9 (Caden Rettig 2, Dane Miller 1); Rebounds - Chinook 22 (Isaac Bell 7), North Star 27 (Dylan Miller 8); Assists - Chinook 10 (Isaac Bell 4), North Star 12 (Caden Rettig 7); Total Fouls - Chinook 17, North Star 10; Fouled Out - Chinook (Ethan Bell).

District 2B Boys

Basketball Box Scores

Play In Game

Glasgow 63 Harlem 50

Harlem 8 17 10 15 - 50

Glasgow 11 25 10 17 - 63

Harlem: Taggert Devaney 0-0 0-0 0, Samual Main 2-6 0-1 4, Brad Cichosz 6-14 5-5 18, Desmond Shambo 1-4 0-0 2, Truth Brockie 0-0 0-0 0, Zane Fox 0-0 0-0 0, Lane Allen 3-6 0-3 7, Kyle Young Jr. 6-15 1-3 15, Ryle Foote 2-7 0-0 4. Team Totals 20-52 6-12 50

Glasgow: Kobe Sibley 6-13 0-0 13, Tayson Hoerster 0-0 0-0 0, Alec Boland 6-10 2-4 17, Bryce Legare 0-1 0-0 0, Cade Myrick 5-16 10-18 21, Chevy Boos 1-3 0-2 2, Paul Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Blaine Myrick 3-8 0-0 9, Alex Fransen 0-2 1-2 1. Team Totals 21-54 13-26 63.

Three Point - Harlem 4-19 (Kyle Young Jr. 2, Lane Allen 1, Brad Cichosz 1), Glasgow 8-22 (Alec Boland 3, Blaine Myrick 3); Rebounds - Harlem 20 (Ryle Foote 5), Glasgow 23 (Cade Myrick 11); Assists - Harlem 3 (Brad Cichosz 2), Glasgow 8 (Cade Myrick 3); Total Fouls - Harlem 21, Glasgow 10; Fouled Out - Harlem (Lane Allen, Brad Cichosz).