9C Preview: Bears trying to complete a 9C dynasty

College basketball has March Madness. Along the Hi-Line and throughout the state of Montana, tournament time is here and it will start right here in Havre with the District 9C boys basketball tournament.

Eight teams will invade the HHS gymnasium this week for three days to determine the champion of the 9C and also the three teams that will be lucky enough to advance to the Northern C Divisional in Great Falls next week. The action will get underway Wednesday, when the Box Elder Bears take on the Big Sandy Pioneers at 1 p.m.

Of course, when you are talking the 9C tournament, the first thing you need to mention is the Bears. Box Elder is the three-time defending champion of the tournament and have also won the last four district regular season titles.

The Bears have gone on a great, run these past four seasons, but after missing out on the Class C state tournament last season, they are determined to get back.

“Last year we didn’t get out of the Northern C and we have been waiting for this part of the season to get another opportunity,” Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. “They are hungry. We have five guys that were on the state championship team, but we have a lot of guys that haven’t played at state and after the success that they had in football they are motivated to get to the next level of competition.”

Leading the charge for accomplished Box Elder is the equally accomplished point guard Brandon The Boy. The Boy is an All-State guard who is the ringleader of an explosive offensive attack that also includes All-State forward Jerrod Four Colors, who has turned in another solid campaign this season.

The Boy and Four Colors are both talented players and both are among the best in the district. Yet, the thing that makes Box Elder truly dangerous is its incredible depth. Pernell Morsette has come into his own this season and has become a reliable third scorer.

Then there is Jake Jones, an All-Conference player who missed a big chunk of the season due to injury. Box Elder got along just fine without Jones as they lost only one game all season (17-1, 13-1), but with Jones back in the lineup the Bears are even more dangerous. MacDonald also has others to turn to such as Trey Henderson and Tristan Bernard.

While top-seeded Box Elder is the favorite coming in, the Chester/J-I Hawks have closed the gap this season and even handed the Bears their only loss, in Chester back in December. The Bears may be worried about knocking off C/J-I, but they definitely have no fear of their first-round opponent Big Sandy. Especially, after the Pioneers went 0-18 overall and 0-14 in the 9C.

It has been a tough couple of years for Big Sandy, the eighth seed, and head coach Ronnie Simpson. Laurence Alderdice is a proven scorer and is Big Sandy’s leader. Beyond that, the Pioneers struggle to put points on the board and are a gigantic underdog. They will tip-off the tournament at 1 p.m.

When the Bears and Pioneers are done, Chinook and North Star will take center stage at the Pony Corral. When they do, there will be plenty of emotion in the building as several tributes to the late Jesse Dannels have been planned.

If that emotion helps the Sugarbeeters basketball team like it did the wrestling team, than the Knights might find themselves in a little trouble. Yet, North Star is on the rise this year in its own right and under the direction of head coach Walynn Burgess, the Knights are a divisional contender for the first time in a few years.

But, when it comes to winning big games in the 9C tournament, the Beeters are pretty experienced. Chinook (11-7, 8-6) has repeatedly made it to Great Falls over the past few years and even won two games there last season. And while a number of those players, including Lane Seymour have graduated, Chinook still has holdovers Ian McIntosh and Travis Hamilton, as well as Isaac Bell and Cord Schneider.

The Knights (11-7, 7-7) have built up a solid core over the past couple of seasons and they get after their opponents with aggressive, up-tempo basketball at both ends of the floor. North Star is an athletic team and Burgess does a good job of utilizing that skill set.

Devon Miller is one player who has blossomed this season, but others that have played well this year for the Knights include Keevan Borlaug, Matthew Helmbrecht, Payton Peterson and Gavin Spinler. The fourth-seeded Beeters will take on the fifth-seeded Knights at 2:30 pm. The winner will play Box Elder Thursday.

After the morning session, there will be a slight break before the third-seeded Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds (11-7, 9-5) take on the sixth-seeded Fort Benton Longhorns (4-14, 2-12).

The T-Birds may not have played with the consistency that Box Elder and C/J-I did all year long, but a big reason for that was injuries early in the season, especially to All-Conference guard Tyson Shambo.

Shambo missed almost half of the season before returning to the court, but once he did the T-Birds have taken flight. At the same time Shambo returned, Frank Runs Above started playing lights out. Runs Above is Shambo’s backcourt mate and the two have formed potentially the most dangerous guard tandem in the 9C.

HLP has very real hopes of making a return trip to Great Falls, but Fort Benton looks like a long shot. The Longhorns have been near the bottom of the district all year and despite the talented Taylor Arganbright, Fort Benton has little to hang its hat on. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

In the nightcap of the opening day, C/J-I will take the floor and standing across from them will be the Turner Tornadoes. The second-seeded Hawks (15-3, 13-1) had a banner year, tying Box Elder for the district title, only to lose out on the top seed due to a tiebreaker.

Like Box Elder, the Hawks have a talented group of players that are tournament tested. Led by All-Stater Justin May, C/J-I beat up on people just as badly as Box Elder did this season, and in addition to May, Troy Harmon, Cory Richter and Brandon Richter are all major contributors.

“C/J-I is a really good team,” MacDonald said. “They are a very dangerous ball club. They have Justin May and he is one of the best players in the state. And they have some other really nice players too.”

Like Fort Benton and Big Sandy, seventh-seeded Turner (4-14, 2-12) was unable to beat any of the top five teams in the district and will need to play at their absolute best to hang with the Hawks. Yet, behind players such as Brett Van Valkenburg, Eddie Harmon and Tyler Humphreys, the Tornadoes should have a good chance of winning a game this year.

After the first round on Wednesday, the four winners will meet in the semifinals Thursday at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The consolation game and championship will be at the same times Friday.

“Hopefully we can take care of our business and get to the championship game Friday night,” MacDonald said. “It should be an exciting atmosphere and an exciting tournament.”

Follow all the 9C action with the

Havre Daily News

9C fans can get complete coverage of the 2016 District 9C boys and girls tournaments with the Havre Daily News. Each day, the HDN sports pages will be filled with full game coverage and feature stories from all the 9C action. Fans can also get full coverage on Twitter and postgame updates and more at http://www.havredailynews.com. Then, in Monday's Hi-Line Sports Roundup, the HDN will have wall-to-wall coverage from all of the weekend's action at the 9C tourney.