The regular season has run its course and now its time for the Chinook Sugarbeeters, Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds, Turner Tornadoes and Harlem Wildcats to turn their attention to the District 2B and 9C tournaments this weekend.

The Sugarbeeter boys basketball team put an exclamation point on the 2018-19 regular season by capping off an undefeated campaign with a resounding 57-33 win over the Fort Benton Longhorns Saturday night. With the win the 'Beeters celebrated their second straight District 9C championship on the Longhorns home court.

The 'Beeters began the weekend with a 80-46 win at home Friday night over the North Star Knights. The Sugarbeeters were in control right from the opening tip.

The 'Beeters built their lead methodically, leading 15-5 at the end of the first and 38-16 by halftime. They scored 21 in both the third and forth quarters in earning the 34 point win. Senior Cord Schneider led the way with 17 points. Sophomore Ethan Bell chipped in 15 and senior Isaac Bell added 12 in the win.

That victory set the table for the 16-1 Longhorns and the 17-0 Sugarbeeters to take the court in Fort Benton in the District 9C regular season finale with the Conference Championship going to the winner.

The Longhorns gave the 'Beeters their stiffest test of the season a couple of weeks ago in Chinook. The 'Beeters had opened up a 28-14 lead midway through the second quarter only to see the visitors claw all the way back to take the lead. The 'Beeters showed resolve in that contest, fighting back themselves to earn a hard fought 48-46 win.

Saturday night the 'Beeters came into the contest focused and ready to play. Isaac Bell got the 'Beeters on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws and then followed with a three-point bomb to give Chinook a quick 5-0 lead.

Bell then found senior Brendan Edwards for a bucket and Schneider followed with another score to push the lead to 9-0. The Longhorns would respond, closing out the first quarter with a 6-2 run to trim the 'Beeter advantage to 15-12 heading into the second.

Ethan Bell came up big for the Sugarbeeters, scoring eight of the teams 15 second quarter points to help the 'Beeters take a 30-22 halftime lead.

The 'Beeters of Head Coach Mike Seymour must have had a great halftime conversation in the locker room because when they returned to the court they played inspired basketball.

They continued to play smart, sound, offensive basketball but they ratcheted up their defense to suffocating as they didn't let Fort Benton get anything going.

Junior Hunter Neibauer began with a steal and dish to Isaac for an old fashioned three point play to begin the third. Neibauer then turned a defensive rebound into a lay-up and Edwards converted an offensive rebound for a basket.

The Longhorns quickly called timeout as the 'Beeter lead ballooned to 15, 37-22. Chinook didn't give an inch and came out of the timeout with Ethan finding Schneider at the basket for a deuce.

Moments later Schneider made a great spin move to the basket to push the lead to 43-26. It would hit 20 after Ethan converted another three-point play.

Chinooks pressure defense would limit the Longhorns to just 11 second half points as Chinook took a convincing 57-34 over the Longhorns to claim the conference crown.

Isaac and Ethan each finished with 14 while Schneider added 13 for the champion 'Beeters

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds finished the regular season with a pair of wins. Friday night the team made the trek to Roy to take on the Outlaws in a non-conference clash.

The Thunderbirds trailed 34-32 at the break but put together a huge third quarter, outscoring Roy/Winifred 28-13 to take control of the contest.

Senior Jeffrey Stiffarm knocked down a pair from beyond the arc to get the offense rolling. The Thunderbirds would give a point back in the fourth, and were able to secure a 73-61 win over the Outlaws.

Stiffarm led the Thunderbirds with 18 points. Senior Jeremy Pretty Paint added 13 and senior Gilbert Snow chipped in 12.

Saturday the Thunderbirds scored early and often as they blitzed the Box Elder Bears 74-36 to finish the regular season on a high note. Snow led the team effort with 14 points, senior Kyle Young Jr. added 12 points and Pretty Paint 11 for the Thunderbirds.

The Turner Tornadoes picked up a 70-53 win over the Box Elder Bears at home Thursday night, improving their position in the conference standings.

The Tornadoes led the Bears 20-18 after one and pushed the lead to 39-28 by intermission and maintained the advantage down the stretch to secure a 70-53 win. Senior Cody Welsh led the effort with 33 points in the contest.

Friday the Tornadoes would fall to the Big Sandy Pioneers in the regular season finale, 70-60. Welsh score 25 to lead Turner. Sophomore Shane Kimmel added 18 in the loss.

The Harlem Wildcats suffered a pair of setbacks over the weekend. Friday they fell to the Shelby Coyotes 85-68 with junior Brad Cichosz scoring 22. Saturday the team was in Poplar where the were defeated by the Indians 80-70. Cichosz again led the team, this time with 21.

The District 9C boys tournament gets underway Thursday at the Havre High School gymnasium, and will conclude Saturday night with the championship set to tip off at 8:30 p.m. The Sugarbeeters will begin play Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. as the No. 1 seed against the No. 8 seeded Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks (2-12, 3-13). The 'Beeters own a pair of lopsided wins against the Hawks and a win Thursday would send them into a semifinal contest Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. The No. 4 Big Sandy Pioneers (7-7, 10-8) will take on the No. 5 seeded North Star Knights (4-10, 7-11) at 12:30 p.m. Thursday with the winner of that contest filling out the other half of the semifinal. The losers of those two games will play Friday morning at 8:00 a.m.

On the other side of the bracket the No. 3 Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds (9-5, 12-6) will take on the No. 6 Turner Tornadoes (4-10, 5-13) at 4:00 p.m. This is an interesting match-up, considering the Tornadoes picked up a two point win in Hays two weeks ago. The Thunderbirds will be looking to respond in a big way while the Tornadoes will be out to justify the win.

In the final contest of the day the No. 2 Fort Benton Longhorns (12-2, 16-2) will challenge the No. 7 Box Elder Bears (4-10, 5-13) with tip off at 5:30 p.m. The winners will face each other in the other semifinal Friday night at 5:30 p.m. Losers will play Friday morning at 9:30 p.m.

The district 9C championship will be played Saturday night between the two semifinal winners at 8:30 p.m. The consolation game will tip off at 7:00 p.m. The top three finishers at the District 9C Tournament will advance to the Northern C Divisional in Great Falls. The divisional tournament will be played at the Four Seasons Arena, February 20-23.

The Harlem Wildcats will begin their post season Thursday night in Glasgow at the District 2B Tournament. Harlem will take on the Glasgow Scotties at 6:30 p.m. with the winner continuing on in the tournament and the loser seeing their season come to an end. The winner will also qualify for the Northern B Divisional in Shelby February 28-March 2. The top two teams at each divisional will advance to the state tournament.

Boys Basketball

Turner 70 Box Elder 53

Box Elder 18 10 17 14 - 53

Turner 20 19 15 16 - 70

Box Elder - Jayden Jilot 2 5-6 9, Zander Parisian 3 0-1 6, Kadyn Duran 2 0-2 5, Chris Burns 4 5-5 13, Elkin Big Knife 0 0-0 0, Malique Rosette 3 1-4 8, Tayce St. Pierre 1 0-0 2, Joe Rosette 0 0-0 0, Kobe Sutherland 3 4-6 10, Hunter Raining Bird 0 0-0 0, Jasper Mitchell 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 18 15-24 53.

Turner: Austin Welsh 0 2-2 2, Jack Harmon 2 0-0 4, Kurt Calvert 1 1-2 3, Charlie Calvert 0 0-0 0, Cody Welsh 13 5-6 33, Shane Kimmel 7 3-8 17, Trever Kimmel 0 0-0 0, Shay Humphreys 0 0-0 0, Spencer See 0 0-0 0, Chantry Jorgenson 0 0-0 0, Tracer Heilig 4 2-2 11. Team Totals 27 13-20 70.

Three Point Field Goals: Box Elder 2 (Kadyn Duran, Malique Rosette), Turner 3 (Cody Welsh 2, Tracer Heilig); Team Fouls: Box Elder 18, Turner 15; Fouled Out: Kadyn Duran (Box Elder), Kurt Calvert (Turner); Technical Fouls: Kadyn Duran (Box Elder).

Chinook 80 North Star 46

North Star 5 11 16 14 - 46

No. 6 Chinook 15 23 21 21 - 80

North Star: Austin Hansen 2 7-8 12, Bailey Spicher 2 2-2 6, Caden Rettig 3 0-0 8, Garrett Spicher 4 0-1 10, Payne Ditmar 0 1-2 1, Hayden Massar 1 2-2 4, Rhett Wolery 1 0-0 2, F. Nerat 1 0-0 3. Team Totals 14 12-15 46.

Chinook: Isaac Bell 4 2-5 12, Ethan Bell 6 1-1 15, Hunter Neibauer 2 1-2 5, James Christensen 1 0-0 2, Trajan Hannum 2 1-2 5, Reese Elliot 2 0-0 4, Ethan MacLeod 1 0-0 2, Riley Kellam 4 0-3 8, Brendan Edwards 2 2-3 6, Cord Schneider 6 5-8 17, Damon Hannum 1 1-2 4, Toby Niederegger 0 0-0 0, Benton Elliot 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 31 13-26 80.

Three Point Field Goals: North Star 6 (Caden Rettig 2, Garrett Spicher 2), Chinook 5 (Isaac Bell 2, Ethan Bell 2); Team Fouls: North Star 16, Chinook 15; Fouled Out: Bailey Spicher (NS); Technical Fouls: Coach (NS)

Shelby 85 Harlem 68

Harlem 17 18 14 19 - 68

Shelby 20 25 21 19 - 85

Harlem: Brad Cichosz 9 3-4 22, RJ Ramone 3 3-4 11, Daniel Lawrence 2 0-1 5, Lane Allen 4 3-4 11, Trenton Main 3 6-8 12, Truth Brockie 1 0-2 2, Cassius Johnson 2 0-0 5, Sonny Gray 0 0-0 0, Hunter Gray 0 0-0 0, Teagan LeValdo 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 24 16-22 68.

Shelby: Rhett Reynolds 10 4-6 24, Tucker Tustain 3 0-0 8,Tanner Watson 0 0-0 0, Tanner Parsons 7 4-6 20, Taylor Parsons 0 0-0 0, Ryan VanTine 4 0-0 8, John Pastrana 1 0-0 3, Logan Leck 5 4-6 15, Damon Irvin 2 3-4 9. Team Totals 33 15-22 85.

Three Point Field Goals: Harlem 5 (RJ Ramone 2, Daniel Lawrence 1, Brad Cichosz 1, Cassius Johnson 1), Shelby 9 (Tanner Parsons 3); Team Fouls: Harlem 14, Shelby 16; Fouled Out: None

Hays/Lodge Pole 73 Roy/Winifred 61

Hays/Lodge Pole 18 14 28 13 - 73

Roy/Winifred 20 14 13 14 - 61

Hays/Lodge Pole: Gilbert Snow 4 3-3 12, Jeffrey Stiffarm Jr. 8 0-0 18, Jeremy Pretty Paint 5 3-4 13, Kenneth Blackcrow Jr. 4 1-2 9, Desmond Shambo 0 0-0 0, Kyle Young 2 0-2 5 Moke Cliff 5 0-0 14, Deshon Shambo 0 0-0 0, Wyman Bringinggood 1 0-0 2. Team Totals 29 7-11 73.

Roy/Winifred: Bryer Schultz 1 0-0 2, Brody Greer 6 0-1 17, Justin Stulc 5 1-1 11, Ryan Russell 0 0-0 0, Tyler Fordyce 10 0-0 20, Blake Dornsbach 3 5-7 11. Team Totals 25 6-9 61.

Three Point Field Goals: Three Point Field Goals: Hays/L.P. 8 (Moke Cliff 4, Jeffrey Stiffarm 2), Roy/Win 5 (Brody Greer 5); Team Fouls: Hays/L.P. 14, Roy/Win 10; Fouled Out: None.

Chinook 57 Fort Benton 33

No. 6 Chinook 15 15 21 6 - 57

Fort Benton 12 10 4 7 - 33

Chinook: Isaac Bell 5 3-3 14, Ethan Bell 6 2-2 14, Hunter Neibauer 1 2-4 4, James Christensen 0 0-0 0, Trajan Hannum 0 0-0 0, Reese Elliot 1 0-0 2, Riley Kellam 3 0-0 6, Brendan Edwards 2 0-0 4, Cord Schneider 5 3-4 13. Team Totals 23 10-13 57.

Fort Benton - Damon Bird 1 0-2 2, Jace Thompson 0 0-1 0, Stephen Gannon 0 0-0 0, Ethan Pfice 1 0-0 3, Garrett Diekhans 4 4-6 12, Nick Marias 0 0-0 0, Hayden Deikhans 1 2-4 4, Max Lane 0 0-1 0, Logan Gills 1 3-4 5, Billy Ullery 1 1-2 3, Jace Pimperton 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 9 10-19 33.

Three Point Field Goals: Chinook 1 (Isaac Bell), Fort Benton 0; Team Fouls: Chinook 14,Fort Benton 12; Fouled Out: None; Technical Fouls: Cord Scneider (CHI).

Hays/Lodge Pole 74 Box Elder 36

Box Elder 5 19 8 4 - 36

Hays/Lodge Pole 9 21 25 19 - 74

Box Elder - Jayden Jilot 0 0-0 9, Zander Parisian 0 0-0 0, Kadyn Duran 0 0-0 8, Chris Burns 0 0-0 3, Malique Rosette 0 0-0 5, Tayce St. Pierre 0 0-0 4, Hunter Raining Bird 0 0-0 2, Kobe Sutherland 0 0-0 0. Total Fouls N/A. Team Totals 0 0-0 0.

Hays/Lodge Pole: Gilbert Snow 0 0-0 14, Jeffrey Stiffarm Jr. 0 0-0 9, Jeremy Pretty Paint 0 0-0 11, Kyle Young Jr. 0 0-0 12, Kenneth Blackcrow Jr. 0 0-0 4, Desmond Shambo 0 0-0 7, Siris Grandchamp 0 0-0 0, Moke Cliff 0 0-0 3, Tyshawn Shambo 0 0-0 5, Wyman Bringinggood 0 0-0 2, James Brockie 0 0-0 3. Team Totals 0 0-0 0.

Three Point Field Goals: Box Elder 0 (xx), Hays/L.P. 0 (xx); Team Fouls: Box Elder 0, Hays/L.P. 0; Fouled Out: None.

Poplar 80 Harlem 70

Harlem 19 18 12 26 - 70

Poplar 13 20 31 16 - 80

Harlem: RJ Ramone 4 3-5 13, Daniel Lawrence 6 0-0 13, Lane Allen 3 2-3 10, Brad Cicohsz 9 2-3 21, Truth Brockie 4 4-6 11, Cassius Johnson 1 0-0 2. Team Totals 27 11-17 70.

Poplar: Jay Feuerherm 1 0-0 3, Kenny Smoker 5 1-2 14, Wynn Main 6 0-0 12, Logan Young 1 1-2 4, Wilfred Lambert 8 2-3 23, Darryl Joe 7 0-0 15. Team Totals 28 4-7 80.

Three Point Field Goals: Harlem 6 ( Lane Allen 2 RJ Ramone 2), Poplar 10 (Wilfred Lambert 4, Kenny Smoker 3); Team Fouls: Harlem 11, Poplar 15; Fouled Out: None

Big Sandy 70 Turner 60

Turner 9 6 20 25 - 60

Big Sandy 15 16 17 22 - 70

Turner: Austin Welsh 2 2-5 5, Jack Harmon 1 0-2 3, Kurt Calvert 0 0-0 0, Charlie Calvert 0 0-0 0, Cody Welsh 12 1-2 25, Shane Kimmel 5 6-9 18, Shay Humphreys 0 0-0 0Spencer See 1 2-2 5, Tracer Heilig 1 1-2 3. Team Totals 22 12-22 60.

Big Sandy: Brock Proulx 7 1-2 15, Ryan Roth 9 9-13 28, Kody Strutz 0 2-4 2, Crawford Terry 2 0-0 4, Austin Haugen 0 0-0 0, Parker Proulx 0 0-0 0, Jeremiah Genereux 0 0-0 0, Kade Strutz 6 9-11 21. Team Totals 24 21-30 70.

Three Point Field Goals: Big Sandy 1 (Ryan Roth), Turner 4 (Shane Kimmel 2, Jack Harmon, Tracer Heilig); Team Fouls: Big Sandy 15, Turner 18; Fouled Out: None.

District 2B Boys Standings

Team Conf Overall

Poplar 6-1 14-3

Wolf Point 6-2 11-7

Malta 3-5 6-11

Harlem 2-6 4-14

Glasgow 2-6 4-14

District 9C Boys Standings

Team Conf Overall TP

#6 Chinook Sugarbeeters 14-0 18-0 +112

Fort Benton Longhorns 12-2 16-2 +91

Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds 9-5 12-6 +37

Big Sandy Pioneers 8-6 11-7 -14

Box Elder Bears 4-10 5-13 -36

North Star Knights 4-10 6-12 -45

Turner Tornadoes 4-10 5-13 -58

Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks 1-13 2-16 -87

Senior Cord Schneider scores a big third quarter basket to push the 'Beeter lead to 39-22. The Sugarbeeters finished the regular season undefeated going 14-0 in District 9C play and 18-0 overall.