Stars rise to a third-place finish at state

It was a tumultuous season to say the least for the Rocky Boy boys basketball team. But, when it was all said and done, the Stars still ended up walking away with a trophy from the Class B state tournament.

After losing to Huntley Project on Thursday at the Class B state tournament, the Stars were going to need to win three straight games to come back and get third at the state tournament and that’s exactly what they did, capping the run with a 78-76, double overtime win over Columbus Saturday in Great Falls at the Four Seasons Arena.

Rocky Boy was able to close out the victory thanks to a put back by Cecil LaFromboise with two seconds remaining to beat Columbus. Yet, it was not LaFromboise’s only game-winner of the weekend.

On Friday, in loser-out action, the Stars found themselves trailing Big Timber by two points with just 3.7 seconds remaining. Rocky Boy had to go the full length of the floor and seemingly needed a miracle.

Luckily, LaFromboise was there to provide it. After catching the inbounds pass at about mid-court, the senior took a dribble and fired the ball toward the Stars’ basket, where it found the back of the net, giving Rocky Boy an improbable 54-53 victory.

LaFromboise, who led the Stars with 15 points and 10 rebounds, helped the Stars erase a five-point deficit going into the fourth quarter of the Friday afternoon game. Skylar Parisian added 12 points for the Stars, while Junior Day Child had 11.

The win over Big Timber propelled the Stars into a loser-out game Saturday morning against defending Class B state champion Bigfork for the right to play for third place Saturday night.

The Stars led throughout the game and looked like they would completely run away from the Vikings at one point, but a 25-7 run by Bigfork helped trimmed the Rocky Boy lead down to 74-71 with under two minutes to play.

Yet, the Stars answered. First, Isiah Murie connected on a 3-pointer and then Bubby Gopher made four clutch free throws in the final minute to salt away the 83-75 victory for Rocky Boy. Gopher was the high scorer for Rocky Boy with 17 points, Parisian contributed with 12.

The win meant the Stars got to play a final game at the Four Seasons Saturday night for third place against Columbus and just like against Bigfork, the Stars flew out of the gates, hitting from beyond the arc four times to build a 15-6 advantage and at the end of the first quarter, leading 23-14.

Early in the second quarter, the Stars owned their biggest lead of the game as a trey by Gopher and a two from Shadow LaForge put Rocky Boy in front 31-16. Yet, Columbus, the 2014 runner up in Class B, closed the half strong getting to 36-25 at the break.

Rocky Boy maintained the lead, at least for part of the third quarter and even went up as much as 15 when Lonnie Plain Bull connected from deep to make the score 43-28 in favor of the Stars. But, the Cougars refused to go quietly and finished the third on a 12-0 run to get within three at 43-40 going into the fourth quarter.

The two teams exchanged baskets for much of the fourth quarter and traded the lead back and forth six times. The Cougars found themselves leading 58-57 with 24 seconds left and at the free throw line shooting a 1-and-1. But, Columbus missed the free throw, which allowed Parisian to get to the free throw line, where he would tie the game and send it into overtime.

Gopher opened the extra frame with a 3-ball to put the Stars up 63-60. Columbus scored the next four, but a two by Plain Bull put the Stars ahead 65-64. It was 67-65 Rocky Boy after a jumper by Day Child. Yet, the Cougars tied the score with 21 seconds left and the Stars were unable to convert on their final possession, which meant a second overtime.

In the second extra session, the Stars quickly went in front by four on hoops by LaFromboise and Plain Bull. Columbus got back within one but Plain Bull nailed a three and Rocky Boy led 76-72 with 1:14 to go.

However, the Cougars would not go away. They scored to get within two, then tied the game with under 20 seconds left after a missed three throw by Parisian. Instead of calling timeout after the tying free throw, the Stars played it out and despite missing the first shot-attempt, LaFromboise was there to grab the offensive rebound and the game-winning put back.

Plain Bull had his coming out party with 27 points in the win, while LaFromboise was solid as always with 14 points and nine rebounds. Gopher added 11.

The victory put a final stamp on the Stars’ run of redemption and put an end to a season that included nine forfeited wins, a challenge game to get to state and a third-place trophy once it was all over.

“I think it brought out the best in us. I really think it was a blessing in disguise,” Rocky Boy head coach Adam Demontiey said. “I expected a lot from this team. But I think maybe me and coach (assistant Charles LaFromboise) and the players were the only ones.”

Rocky Boy 54, Big Timber 53 (lo)

Big Timber 13 13 7 20 -- 53

Rocky Boy 7 14 17 16 -- 54

Big Timber – Walker Lavoy 2-8 1-2 6, Brent Finn 8-23 4-5 22, Cody Hathaway 0-3 0-0 0, Ryan Morgan 4-6 0-2 12, Luke Rech 2-9 3-4 7, Drew Pike 2-9 2-2 6. Totals: 18-58 10-15 53.

Rocky Boy – Bubby Gopher 2-7 0-0 6, Skylar Parisian 5-7 2-6 12, Junior Day Child 5-14 1-2 11, Shadow LaForge 2-6 2-5 6, Lonnie Plain Bull 1-7 2-2 4, Cecil LaFromboise 7-10 0-2 15. Totals: 22-51 7-17 54.

3-point goals – Big Timber 7-23 (Lavoy 1-5, Finn 2-11, Hathaway 0-2, Morgan 4-5); Rocky Boy 3-12 (Gopher 2-5, Parisian 0-1, Day Child 0-2, Plain Bull 0-3, LaFromboise 1-1). Total fouls – Big Timber 19, Rocky Boy 19. Fouled out – Hathaway.

Rocky Boy 83, Bigfork 75 (lo)

Bigfork 15 17 26 17 - 75

Rocky Boy 17 29 19 18 - 83

Bigfork - Matt Farrier 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Jordy 4-14 4-9 13, Joseph Fotkonjak 2-8 0-0 6, Isaac Martel 7-16 3-6 19, Tyler Piazzola 2-4 0-1 4, Jonathan Landon 5-15 6-7 17, Josh Sandry 3-14 6-13 13, Ryder Trent 1-6 0-0 3, Grant Ozegovich 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-77 19-36 75.

Rocky Boy - Bubby Gopher 4-7 6-6 17, Isiah Murie 1-3 2-2 5, Skylar Parisian 3-9 5-8 12, Jr. Day Child 6-9 6-8 21, Shadow Laforge 0-2 0-0 0, Lance Parker 0-1 0-1 0, Lonnie Plain Bull Jr. 8-13 0-0 19, Kordall Small 0-0 0-0 0, Colen Shane 1-1 0-0 2, Sage Gopher 0-0 1-2 1, Cecil Lafromboise 2-6 2-4 6. Totals: 25-51 22-31 83.

3-point goals - Bigfork 8-26 (Jordt 1-5, Potkonjak 2-5, Martel 2-7, Landon 1-4, Sandry 1-1, Trent 1-4), RB 11-20 (B. Gopher 3-5, Murie 1-2, Parisian 1-4, DayChild 3-3, Laforge 0-2, Plain Bull 3-4). Fouled out - Jordt, Piazzola, Sandry, Parker, Lafromboise. Rebounds - Bigfork 45 (Sandry 13, Team 10), RB 35 (Team 7, DayChild 6). Assists - Bigfork 9 (Jordt 4), RB 13 (Parisian 5). Total fouls - Bigfork 23. RB 23. Technical fouls - Martel, Lafromboise.

Rocky Boy 78, Columbus 76 2OT (3rd)

Rocky Boy 23 13 7 15 9 11 - 78

Columbus 13 12 15 18 9 9 - 76

Rocky Boy - Bubby Gopher 3-7 2-4 11, Isiah Murie 0-2 0-0 0, Skylar Parisian 1-5 1-3 3, Jr. DayChild 4-7 2-2 10, Shadow Laforge 3-5 1-2 8, Jarrell Gopher 1-1 0-0 3, Lance Parker 1-2 1-2 3, Lonnie Plain Bull Jr. 11-14 2-2 27, Colen Shane 0-1 0-0 0, Cecil Lafromboise 7-9 0-1 14. Totals: 31-53 9-16 78.

Columbus - Kade Osborne 3-6 1-2 9, Kiefer McKay 4-13 4-4 12, Trey Ostrum 5-14 6-10 17, Tanner Osborne 6-18 7-10 19, Ryland Stampel 4-7 2-2 11, Andrew Wells 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson Booth 0-0 0-0 0, Brady Exner 3-7 0-0 6, Jack Fray 1-3 0-0 2. Totals: 26-69 20-28 76.

3-point goals - RB 7-12 (B. Gopher 3-5, LaForge 1-2, Plain Bull 3-5), Columbus 4-15 (K. Osborne 2-2, Ostrum 1-4, T. Osborne 0-3, Stampel 1-3, Exner 0-1). Fouled out - T. Osborne. Rebounds - RB 37 (Lafromboise 9), Columbus 29 (T. Osborne 7). Assists - RB 25 (Parisian 9), Columbus 12 (McKay 4). Total fouls - RB 21, Columbus 17.