George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com
The Rocky Boy Stars made their last-ever game in the District 9C boys basketball tournament a memorable one. And their arch rival, the Big Sandy Pioneers, had a little something to do with that too. On Saturday night at the Havre High gymnasium, the No. 2 Stars staged a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback to upend Big Sandy 64-58 in the 9C boys championship game. The win kept the Stars unbeaten this season and gave them their second straight 9C championship. “I’m really happy right now and proud as heck of this team,” Rocky Boy head coach Tim Henry said. “We’re 20-0 right now and it’s awfully tough to be 20-0 in this league. So I’m really proud of my boys and proud of what they have achieved so far this season.” But staying unbeaten didn’t come easy for the Stars. Except for the first three minutes of the game, Big Sandy was in full control for most of the night. The Pioneers led 36-28 at halftime, and behind two late scores from Blake Brumwell in the third quarter, the Pioneers took a 49-45 lead into the final stanza. But midway through the fourth quarter, Rocky Boy’s pressure finally got to the Pioneers, and Erik Schildt scored two straight baskets off steals on the inside. Still, when Big Sandy’s Corbin Pearson drilled a 3-pointer at the 4:41 mark, the Pioneers held a sixpoint lead at 56-50. From there however, the Stars outscored the Pioneers 14-2. Rocky Boy scored six straight points off turnovers to tie the game at 56-56, and then with 1:59 left, Lyndsey Eagleman drained a wide-open three to give the Stars the lead for good. The Pioneers would have chances in the final minute to come back, but couldn’t convert and Rocky Boy’s Mike Sangrey Jr. Salted the game away with free throws and a run out layup. “We were making a little run, but we knew we had to keep scoring points,” Eagleman said. “They were paying a lot more attention to Mikey (Sangrey Jr.) Then they were to me, and I’ve always been coached to take the open shot when I have it, so when I was open, I just took it. My teammates and my coaches all have a lot of confidence in me, and luckily, the shot fell. Said Henry: “I think down the stretch we got a little more patient. And we started to get the ball inside to Erik (Schildt) more. That was a big factor. And then Lyndsey Eagleman made a really big shot for us. Three-pointers don’t get any bigger than the one he hit in my opinion. “I knew from day one this season that Big Sandy was going to be a really tough team this year,” Henry added. “They have three kids who have been to the state tournament every year they’ve been in high school. And we knew coming into this game that it was going to be tough to beat them three times in a row. Talent-wise, they are loaded. And they played us really tough tonight. They gave us a heck of a game and we’re really happy we were able to come out on top.” Indeed. After Rocky Boy grabbed an 8-2 lead behind two three’s from Jerod Parker to start the game, the Pioneers played flawlessly for the next two quarters. Pearson drove to the basket consistently, Brumwell was nearly unstoppable on the inside and Ryne LaBuda and Justin Hernandez hit big shots from the outside. Big Sandy was in command at halftime and into the third period. But all that changed late in the game, and Rocky was able to beat the Pioneers in the 9C title game for a second straight season. “We did play really well for much of the game,” Big Sandy head coach Sonny Broesder said. “But we made some poor decisions, poor choices towards the end of the game. We forced some things instead of letting them come to us, and against a team like Rocky Boy, those mistakes will cost you. Brumwell was a force for the Pioneers in the loss, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Big Sandy also got 13 points from Hernandez, 11 points and eight rebounds from Pearson and 10 points by LaBuda. The loss means the Pioneers (15-6) will have to face Chinook tonight at 6 for the right to go to the Northern C Divisional tournament later this week in Great Falls. “We were in control of the game,” Broesder said. “But hopefully we will take this and learn from it. We have the opportunity to go into a challenge game on Monday night and learn from the mistakes we made in this game. If we can do that and move on, maybe we’ll have the chance to play them (Stars) again.” Meanwhile, the Stars (20-0) are heading back to the Northern C tourney thanks in large part to a balanced effort on Saturday night. Sangrey Jr. Was the catalyst for the Stars against Big Sandy, scoring 17 points, grabbing seven rebounds and coming up with four thefts. Schildt and Glen Doney added 13 points each and Parker finished with 11. Rocky Boy will open the Northern C Thursday at the Four Season’s Arena in Great Falls against 8C runner-up Centerville at 11 a.m. The Stars finished second to Winifred last season at the Northern C and Saturday night’s game was the first step in claiming bigger and better things in what will be the last few weeks in Class C for the Stars. “This was the ultimate test tonight,” Eagleman said. “Big Sandy gave us a tough game. We knew they would. But we have talked all season long about playing it one game at a time. Now we have to go to divisionals and do that. Said Henry: “This team has been motivated by last year since the first day of practice this season. Unfinished business has been these boy’s motto this season, and to be 20-0 at this point and to be district champions again, I’m just really proud of them for that.”
