ORANGE STORM

The Chinook Sugarbeeters and North Star Knights played two tight regular season games in the District 9C this season, with both teams winning on their own home floor.

And the two squads waged another classic battle at a neutral site, in the opening round of the 2016 District 9C boys tournament Wednesday at the HHS gymnasium.

In the end, a Willie Gilead 3-pointer just missed as time expired, and Chinook capped an incredible second-half comeback with a 47-44 win — a win that pushed the Beeters, who are playing in honor of classmate Jesse Dannels, into tonight’s semifinals against the Box Elder Bears.

“I couldn’t be prouder of these guys,” Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. “They didn’t quit. They didn’t give up. North Star came out firing on all cylinders and had all the momentum at halftime. But these guys never gave up, and I’m just really, very proud of them.”

The Knights did have the momentum, especially when senior Gavin Spinler drilled a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to put the Knights ahead 26-12 at intermission. The Knights came out on fire with Gilead and Jimmy Snow making three’s to push North Start to a 10-6 first-quarter edge.

Gilead then opened the second stanza with another bomb, and two buckets by Devon Miller and Spinler’s buzzer-beater led to the Knights ending the first half on a 9-2 run.

“North Star made everything they threw at us in that first half,” Seymour said. “Not just Gavin’s shot, but they just shot the ball really well. Credit to them for coming out and playing so well.

“And they had all the momentum at halftime,” he continued. “But we regrouped, and we came out in a press and started to really turn the momentum around in the third quarter. We haven’t pressed all season long, so that probably surprised them a little bit too.”

Chinook’s relentless full-court pressure did catch the Knights off guard, and as a result, the Beeters’ quick layups from Isaac Bell and Ian McIntosh, which helped to close the gap. McIntosh would cap a 10-0 Chinook run with a floater in the lane, and by the time the third period ended, North Star had turned the ball over 11 times, and a Kyler Johnson 3-point play tied the game at 32-32.

“That third quarter hurt,” said North Star head coach Walynn Burgess, whose team got out-scored 20-6 in the stanza. “We had some old habits reappear and we got pretty sloppy with the ball. Chinook did a great job with their pressure, and I think we lost a lot of confidence right there.”

But as well as Chinook played in the third, and continued to play in the fourth period, the Knights were never out of the game. McIntosh would make an and-one to give the Beeters a 44-37 lead with 3:32 left, but North Star didn’t go away. Spinler buried a triple to keep things close, and when Miller banked a shot in with :22 left, the Knights were only down by three. Chinook would then miss two free throws, giving North Star one last chance at a tie, but it wasn’t to be.

“I was proud of the way we came out and started the game,” Burgess said. “Any time you can play like that in this tournament, it’s going to give you a lot of confidence going forward.”

North Star (11-8), which played Big Sandy in a loser-out game this morning, got a great effort from Miller, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds. Gilead added 10.

“I’m encouraged,” Burgess said. “These kids have gotten better every day. And it’s been a while since we’ve played this well in this tournament. So there’s a lot of good things to come out of this game.”

The Beeters (12-7) can take some good things away too, especially their ability to fight back, which was sparked by a team defensive effort, and 14 points from McIntosh, their senior leader. Cord Schneider added 12 points and Bell finished with 11.

“We’re playing a lot of young guys,” Seymour said. “Ian is the only guy who came back this year with any real experience in this tournament. So to come back after being so far down, I’m just really proud of my team.”

Now, the Beeters will take their shot at trying to dethrone Box Elder in tonight’s 7 p.m. semifinal. It won’t be easy, and Seymour said his team has to do a great job of taking care of the ball in order to have a chance against the high-powered Bears.

“Any time you play Box Elder, you have to take care of the ball,” Seymour said. “Their defensive pressure is so good, full-court or half-court, it doesn’t matter, they are just relentless with it. So it’s going to be a difficult task, but we’re going to come in here and give it our best shot.”

Chinook 47, North Star 44

North Star 10 16 6 12 - 44

Chinook 6 6 20 12 - 47

North Star - Shea Sizemore 2, Willie Gilead 10, Gavin Spinler 6, Jimmy Snow 3, Payton Peterson 3, Devon Miller 15, Keevan Borlaug 4, Matthew Helmbrecht 1. Totals: 15 5-12 47.

Chinook - Robert Smith 4, Kyler Johnson 4, Ian McIntosh 14, Kyle McMaster 2, Cord Schneider 12, Isaac Bell 11. Totals: 19 9-18 47.

3-pointers: Gilead 2, Spinler 2, Snow 1, , Fouls: Chinook 16, North Star 20.