T-Birds fly into 9C semifinals

Over the last month of the District 9C boys basketball season, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds have been playing as well as anyone. And Wednesday night, in the opening round of the 9C tournament against Fort Benton, the Thunderbirds rolled.

The T-Birds outscored the Longhorns 28-6 in the first quarter and from that point, never looked back as they cruised to an easy 67-39 victory. The T-Birds will advance to the semifinals where they will take on Chester/J-I. That game will tip-off tonight at 8:30.

“The big key for us is playing team basketball,” HLP interim head coach Derrick Shambo said. “We did a great job of that at the start of the game and we did a great job on the defensive end as well and that was the key for us. If we stick with that and play team basketball, we are tough to beat.”

Although there is a huge gap between the top teams in the 9C and the bottom, the Longhorns managed to hang with the T-Birds for half the game, and after outscoring HLP 16-9 in the second quarter, they trailed 37-22 at the half.

In the third quarter, the two teams exchanged baskets back-and-forth. A couple of times, Fort Benton got within 12 points, but the Longhorns were never able to get the deficit under double figures and going into the fourth quarter, the T-Birds held a 48-32 advantage.

“We got away from playing team basketball there in the second and the third,” Shambo said. “We packed it in because they were getting some offensive rebounds and then they started making some shots and they kind of caught us off guard a little bit.”

However, in the final stanza, the T-Birds put the game on ice. They outscored the Longhorns 19-7 in the period and after it was all said and done, HLP was back in the 9C semifinals.

One of the biggest reasons why the T-Birds have been so hot lately and why they played so well again Wednesday night has been the play of their starting guards, Tyson Shambo and Frank Runs Above.

Runs Above led the way for the T-Birds and actually led all scorers in the game with 16 points. Tyson Shambo added 12 points, with nine of his 12 points coming on 3-point baskets. Yet, Tyson was not the only Shambo to start in the win for HLP, as Jace Shambo also had a solid outing, equalling Runs Above with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

On the Fort Benton side of the things, Taylor Arganbright was once again one of the bright spots for the Longhorns as he scored a team-high 14 points in the loss for the Longhorns. Andy Giles also added seven for Fort Benton, while Damon Bird also contributed with five.

With the loss, Fort Benton (4-15) will turn around and play Turner this morning in loser-out action. The loser of that game will be eliminated from the tournament. With the win, HLP is one win away from making its second consecutive appearance in the 9C championship game. The T-Birds (13-6) will take on Chester/J-I tonight at 8:30 for the right to play Box Elder or Chinook Friday night for the 9C championship.

“We almost got them (Hawks) a couple of weeks ago,” Derrick Shambo said. “That was one of the better games that we have played. I think it just comes back to playing as a team and playing tough defense. But, if we can stick together as a team, I think we have a good chance.”

HLP 67, Fort Benton 39

Fort Benton 6 16 10 7 - 39

HLP 28 9 11 19 - 67

Fort Benton - Damon Bird 5, Ty Hasbrouck 4, Taylor Arghanbright 14, Eli Toon 4, Andy Giles 7, Javan Christensen 3, Daven Cook 2.

HLP - Terell Young 5, Jace Shambo 16, Elijah Blackcrow 2, Tyson Shambo 12, Damon Castillo 4, Brian Wing 4, Frank Runs Above 16, Chain Main 8.