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

The final week of high school basketball in 2018 included the Chinook Sugarbeeters remaining perfect on the season with a pair of District 9C wins over the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks, 68-26 Friday night and the Box Elder Bears 79-49 on Saturday.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds also closed out 2018 strong with wins over District 9C rivals, the North Star Knights on Thursday 74-44 and the Big Sandy, 79-63 on Saturday.

The Turner Tornadoes fell in their final two outings of 2018. They were defeated by the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks Thursday night 54-44 and the Dodson Coyotes 79-38 on Friday.

The Harlem Wildcats struggled in their 2018 finale, falling to the Rocky Boy Stars 92-46.

The Sugarbeeters have been on a roll to start the season, having won every contest by at least 12 points and all but one by more than 20 and they were looking to close out 2018 in the same fashion.

The Sugarbeeters found a way to get senior Brendan Edwards established on the low block early and the big guy made use of his left hand with nine first quarter points.

Chinook had control from the start but they turned it up a notch late in the first quarter when senior Isaac Bell turned the 'Beeter press into a strip steal and a two handed slam at the one minute mark of the first quarter electrifying the crowd.

The Hawks quickly inbounded the ball and made their way down the left side of the court when senior Trajan Hannum stepped in, planted his feet and took the first of six charges the 'Beeters would accumulate on the night.

The combination of electrifying offense and great defense provided the 'Beeters with plenty of momentum and they held a 28-8 advantage entering the second quarter of action.

Chinook kept the ball rolling with Bell adding five second quarter points to their total. The 'Beeters had seven players score in the opening half with every basket, except Bell's dunk, being assisted. The 'Beeters carried a 43-16 lead into halftime.

The Sugarbeeters kept up the pressure in the second half as well and made the most of the opportunity to implement new offensive and defensive schemes in game conditions.

Chinook added 16 more points in the third quarter and nine more with a running clock down the stretch to earn a 68-26 win over the Hawks.

The balanced 'Beeter attack was led by Edwards with 13 points, senior Cord Schneider finished with 12, Isaac and Ethan Bell each finished with 10 while sophomore Reece Elliot chipped in nine and junior Hunter Neibauer eight.

The 'Beeters took the show on the road Saturday when they took on the Bears in Box Elder.

Schneider started the scoring with an offensive rebound put back. Edwards quickly followed and Schneider again converted for a quick 6-0 lead and a early Box Elder timeout.

Chinook didn't let up as Hannum knocked down a triple and Schneider added two more for an 11-0 'Beeter star.

Chinook took a 23-9 lead into the second quarter and a 32-16 advantage into halftime.

Schneider converted a pair of old fashioned three point plays moments apart in the third and Elliot scored four straight to push the lead to 48-29.

Chinook would finish strong winning 79-49 to move to 6-0 on the season and 4-0 in District 9C play. Schneider and Bell each contributed 17 points in the contest while Elliot and Neibauer each added 11.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds began the weekend with a Thursday night contest against the North Star Knights. Senior Kenneth Blackcrow Jr. scored nine first quarter points and senior Gilbert Snow added ten more in the second quarter to help the Thunderbirds power up their offense.

Hays/Lodge Pole led 20-10 after one quarter and 40-19 by halftime. Snow scored six more in the third to help the Thunderbirds push the lead to 59-32 at the end of three. The Thunderbirds cruised through the fourth and secured a 74-44 conference win over the Knights.

Snow finished the game with 20 points while Blackcrow totaled 15. Jeremy Pretty Paint chipped in ten in the win.

Saturday the Thunderbirds were in Big Sandy to take on the Pioneers and closed out 2018.

Hays/Lodge Pole started a bit sluggish putting up just 10 in the first eight minutes of action. They would find their rhythm a bit more in the second quarter, scoring 19 but the defense allowed 18 and the Thunderbirds led just 29-23 at the break.

The Thunderbirds were able to find their mark in the second half, scoring 29 in the third quarter and 23 more in the fourth to earn a 79-63 win over the Pioneers.

Pretty Paint led the attack with 20 points, Snow added 15 and Blackcrow Jr. 10.

The Turner Tornadoes struggled in their final two games of 2018 and were with out the services of senior Cody Welsh, a major part of their offensive and defensive scheme.

Turner fell to the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks on Thursday night 54-44 in a hard fought contest.

Junior Jack Harmon scored 11 for the Tornadoes, sophomore Shane Kimmel led the effort with 14 points and senior Tracer Heilig added 10.

Saturday the Tornadoes were defeated by the Dodson Coyotes 79-38 in a game in which they stayed close early trailing 19-16 after one.

Sophomore Austin Welsh scored 13 in the game , Harmon added 10 and Kimmel and Heilig each scored seven.

Thank you to all the coaches and administrators for sending in all of your stats, quotes and what have you. Also a huge thank you to Randy Perez for all the wonderful photos and for helping us capture the moments of our high school athletes.

Boys Basketball

Hays/Lodge Pole 74 North Star 44

North Star 10 9 13 12 — 44

Hays/Lodge Pole 20 20 19 15 — 74

North Star: Austin Hansen 0 0-0 0, Bailey Spicher 6 4-6 17, Caden Rettig 3 0-1 6, Payne Ditmar 3 0-1 8, Hayden Massar 2 0-2 0, Frank Nerat 0 0-0 0, Rhett Wolery 1 0-0 3, Ethan Federspial 2 0-0 4. Total Fouls 9. Team Totals 17 4-10 44.

Hays/Lodge Pole: Gilbert Snow 9 2-2 20, Jeffrey Stiffarm Jr. 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Pretty Paint 5 0-0 10, Kenneth Blackcrow Jr. 6 2-3 14, Kyle Young Jr. 4 0-1 9, Desmond Shambo 2 0-0 4, Siris Grandchamp 0 0-0 0, Moke Cliff 0 0-0 0, Deshon Shambo 3 0-0 6, Wyman Bringinggood 3 0-0 7, James Brockie 1 0-0 2. Team Fouls 13. Team Totals 32 4-5 74.

Chester/J-I 54 Turner 44

Turner 11 4 15 14 — 44

Chester/J-I 8 12 10 24 — 54

Turner: Austin Welsh 2 0-0 5, Jack Harmon 4 0-0 11, Kurt Calvert 1 0-0 2, Charlie Calvert 0 0-0 0, Cody Welsh 0 0-0 0, Shane Kimmel 4 4-9 14, Trevor Kimmel 0 0-0 0, Shay Humphreys 0 0-0 0, Chantry Jorgenson 0 0-0 0, Trevor Heilig 3 2-5 10. Team Fouls 13. Team Totals 14 6-14 44.

Chester/J-I: Lane Fisher 0 0-0 0, Andrew Woods 8 1-2 17, Kyle Harmon 0 0-0 0, Noah Bender 0 0-2 0, Spencer Richter 3 2-3 8, Bryce Ghekeire 0 0-0 0, Evan Dalinden 2 4-4 8, Bryce Kammerzell 0 0-0 0, Jordan Bender 0 0-0 0, Trevin Grammar 0 0-0 0, Kealy Haaland 0 0-0 0, Jarrett Green 1 0-0 2, Tyler Wanken 9 0-1 18. Total Fouls 17. Team Totals 22 7-12 54.

Chinook 68 Chester/J-I 26

Chester/J-I 8 8 4 6 — 26

Chinook 28 15 16 9 — 68

Chester/J-I: Lane Fisher 0 0-0 0, Andrew Woods 5 0-0 10, Kyle Hermon 0 0-0 0, Noah Bender 1 0-0 3, Spencer Richter 1 4-8 6, Bryce Ghekeire 0 0-0 0, Evan Dalinden 0 0-0 0, Bryce Kammerbull 0 0-0 0, Jordan Bender 0 0-0 0, Trevin Grammar 0 0-0 0, Kealy Haaland 0 0-0 0, Jarrett Green 0 0-0 0, Tyler Wanken 1 5-7 7. Team Fouls 16. Team Totals 8 9-15 26.

Chinook: Isaac Bell 3 4-4 10, Ethan Bell 4 2-2 10, Hunter Neibauer 4 0-0 8, James Christensen 0 0-0 0, Trajan Hannum 0 2-2 2, Toby Niederegger 1 0-0 2, Reece Elliot 3 3-7 9, Ethan MacLeod 0 0-0 0, Riley Kellam 0 2-4 2, Brendan Edwards 6 1-3 13, Cord Schneider 5 2-3 12. Team Fouls 16. Team Totals 25 16-25 68.

Chinook 79 Box Elder 49

Chinook 23 11 19 26 — 79

Box Elder 9 7 16 17 — 49

Chinook: Isaac Bell 7 2-2 17, Ethan Bell 2 0-0 5, Hunter Neibauer 3 5-11 11, James Christensen 0 0-0 0, Trajan Hannum 3 1-2 8, Toby Niederegger 1 0-0 2, Reece Elliot 4 3-4 11, Ethan MacLeod 0 0-0 0, Riley Kellam 1 0-0 2, Cord Schneider 7 3-6 17. Team Fouls 18. Fouled Out - Brendan Edwards. Team Totals 31 14-25 79.

Box Elder: Jayden Jones 1 0-0 2, Zander Parisian 3 0-0 9, Kadyn Duran 4 4-6 13, Chris Burns 1 3-4 5, Nacona Limberhand 4 2-2 12, Malique Rosette 1 0-0 3, Quentin Limberhand 0 2-2 2, Kobe Sutherland 1 2-3 4. Total Fouls 23. Team Totals 15 13-17 49.

Rocky Boy 92 Harlem 46

Harlem 9 13 14 10 — 46

Rocky Boy 21 23 26 22 — 92

Harlem: RJ Ramone 0 0-0 0, Daniel Lawrence 4 2-2 12, Lane Allen 10 0-0 20, Truth Brockie 1 3-7 5, Cassius Johnson 0 1-2 1, Tyler Cichosz 2 1-2 5. Team Fouls 12. Team Totals 17 7-13 46.

Rocky Boy: J. Demontiny 6 1-1 13, M. Sutherland 3 0-2 7, F. Bacon 10 3-5 25, W. Caplette 5 1-2 12, O. Arkinson 1 3-4 5, B. Cantrell 2 1-2 5, J. Tinner 5 0-1 10. B. Crebs 4 1-1 9. Team Fouls 15. Team Totals 36 10-18 92.

Dodson 79 Turner 38

Turner 16 9 3 10 — 38

Dodson 19 22 21 17 — 79

Turner: Austin Welsh 5 3-7 13, Jack Harmon 5 0-2 10, Kurt Calvert 0 1-6 1, Charlie Calvert 0 0-0 0, Cody Welsh 0 0-0 0, Shane Kimmel 3 0-0 7, Trevor Kimmel 0 0-0 0, Shay Humphreys 0 0-0 0, Spencer See 0 0-0 0, Chantry Jorgenson 0 0-0 0, Trevor Heilig 2 2-6 7. Team Fouls 14. Team Totals 14 6-21 38.

Dodson: Micah Janis 2 0-0 4, Kaden Racine 0 0-0 0, Caleb Ditmer 4 0-0 8, Tyrese Messerly 1 1-2 3, Julian Benson 0 0-0 0, Jeremiah Benson 1 1-4 3, Corbin Lonebear 12 3-6 27, Sam Main 7 0-0 15, Shaun Ball 4 1-2 11, Alex Werk 0 1-2 1, Landis Wallcer 0 1-2 1, Dwight Werk 3 0-0 6. Total Fouls 22. Team Totals 34 8-18 79.

Senior Trajan Hannum keeps the offense rolling in third quarter action against the Hawks.

Hays/Lodge Pole 79 Big Sandy 63

Hays/Lodge Pole 10 19 27 23 — 79

Big Sandy 5 18 18 22 — 63

Big Sandy - Brock Proulx 6 0-3 12, Wyatt LaBuda 0 1-2 1, Ryan Roth 13 1-2 28, Kody Strutz 1 1-2 3, Crawford Terry 2 5-7 9, Austin Haugen 0 0-0 0, Parker Proulx 1 2-2 4, Jeremiah Genereux 0 2-5 2, Brayden Cline 0 0-0 0, Kade Strutz 1 1-2 42. Team Fouls 17. Fouled Out - Brock Proulx. Team Totals 21 13-25 63.

Hays/Lodge Pole: Gilbert Snow 5 5-9 15, Jeffrey Stiffarm Jr. 2 4-6 8, Jeremy Pretty Paint 10 0-1 20, Kenneth Blackcrow Jr. 4 2-5 10, Kyle Young Jr. 2 0-0 4, Desmond Shambo 2 0-0 5, Siris Grandchamp 1 2-2 4, Moke Cliff 0 0-0 0, Deshon Shambo 2 1-2 5, Wyman Bringinggood 3 0-0 6, James Brockie 2 0-0 4. Team Fouls 25. Fouled Out - Kyle Young Jr. Team Totals 33 14-25 79.