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

Fans of the Chinook Sugarbeeters, or simply fans of great basketball certainly got their monies worth following the Chinook Sugarbeeters and their journey through the Northern C Divisional basketball tournament.

In what essentially was a play in game, the District 9C No. 3 seeded Sugarbeeters opened play Wednesday evening against the Denton-Geyser-Stanford Bearcats, the District 8C No. 3 seed. The winner would advance to the quarterfinal round to face the District 10C No. 1 seed, Sunburst Refiners. The Bearcats brought a 18-3 record into the contest while the Sugarbeeters came into the Northern C with a 16-6 mark.

The opening contest of the boys tournament at the Northern C Divisional featured a bit of everything and laid the foundation for what would be a truly entertaining tournament.

The 'Beeters opened up a early 9-3 lead only to see the Bearcats claw back even at 9-9. Sophomore Isaac Bell then found senior Wade Schneider under the basket for his seventh point of the contest and a 11-9 Chinook lead. Sophomore Rylee Kellam pushed the lead to four with a steal and basket.

The teams would trade the lead six times over the next four minutes with buckets from Bell, off a offensive rebound and Wade Schneider giving Chinook back the lead. Wade Schneider scored his twelfth point of the contest on a old fashioned three point play for a 20-16 lead.

In a game of runs it was the Bearcats who put together a 9-0 run midway through the second quarter that was ended by Cord Schneider converting a offensive rebound into points to bring Chinook within three at 25-22.

The 'Beeters quickly followed with bucket from Bell and an offensive rebound put backs from sophomore Brendan Edwards and senior Kyle McMaster to finish off a Chinook 8-0 run and a 28-25 halftime lead.

The Bearcats opened the second half with six straight points before Wade Schneider scored inside to cut the Bearcat lead to one, 31-30.

The Bearcats again pushed the lead, this time to 35-30 which led to a Chinook spurt that included a bucket from Bell, a nice block from Edwards, and a triple from Bell to tie the score at 37-37. Bell finished the quarter with a bucket, foul and made free throw with four tenths of a second on the game clock to give Chinook a 41-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bearcats retook the lead and held it until a basket from Cord Schneider gave Chinook a 46-45 advantage. Bell's fifteenth point of the second half came from beyond the arc to giving Chinook a 53-47 advantage with time running down.

Cord again gave the 'Beeters back the lead, 56-55 and the defense forced the Bearcats into a five second violation. Cord knocked down a pair of free throws from the charity stripe and Bell went 4-4 from the line to secure a 63-58 win.

The game featured 17 lead changes and six ties in a thrilling win for the 'Beeters. Bell tallied 24 points in the win while Wade Schneider added 15 and Cord Schneider contributed 13 points and five blocks in the contest.

In quarterfinal action Chinook took on the District 10C No. 1 seed Sunburst Refiners in another exciting contest. Bell found McMaster early for a bucket and Cord Schneider scored in the paint to give Chinook a quick 8-0 lead. The Refiners answered with eight of their own before Kellem corralled the offensive rebound and scored for a 10-8 Chinook lead.

Keri Hanson

Isaac Bell

The Schneider brothers each scored down the stretch helping the Sugarbeeters maintain a 21-19 advantage by halftime. Bell opened the third quarter with a triple and Cord scored inside for a 26-21 advantage but the Refiners finished the quarter with six straight sending the teams to the fourth with Sunburst up 27-26.

Cord scored late for Chinook and Bell connected for two points with :09.2 left in regulation to tie the game at 36-36. The 'Beeter defense held and the game headed for overtime.

Cord scored the 'Beeters only bucket of the frame off a nice spin move to even the contest at 38-38. Cord then calmly stepped to the line after being fouled with 0.6 seconds showing on the clock for a one and one, knocking down the first for a 39-38 win over the Refiners and a spot in the semifinals of the Northern C.

Cord finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in the win. Bell added eight points and Wade Schneider and Trajan Hannum each collected five rebounds.