BEAR MAULING

The Chinook Sugarbeeters were hoping that they could keep things close against the Box Elder Bears. Yet, when the two teams took the floor at the Havre High gymnasium Thursday night, it was easy to see that the two teams were on completely different levels.

Box Elder, which is the three-time defending champ at the District 9C boys tournament, roared out of the gates, dominating Chinook from start to finish in a 92-49 trouncing. The win clinches a fourth-straight berth at divisionals for the Bears (19-1), who will meet Chester/J-I for the 9C championship at the HHS gymnasium tonight at 8:30.

“It’s nice to know that we are going back to divisionals,” Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. “But, we really want the four-peat. I think these kids want that bad, and as far as I know we would be the first team to ever do it.”

At the start of the game, the Bears were all over the Beeters with their run-and-gun attack and, seemingly, before you knew it, the Bears were up 10-7, thanks to seven early points from Brandon The Boy. Then, the senior point guard made his second 3-pointer of the game and suddenly the Bears were up 15.8.

With their relentless-pressure defense, the Bears simply wouldn’t let up on the Beeters, who struggled offensively with 36 turnovers compared to just 13 for Box Elder. With turnovers coming in bunches, the Bears offense took advantage and, following a 24-point second quarter, Box Elder went into the half leading 53-22.

“I think that we have a lot of guys on this team that are hungry,” Pernell Morsette said. “After losing last year, we want to get back to state and we are all playing really hard right now. It’s a total team effort.”

Box Elder continued to pour on the points in the second half, scoring 14 more in the third quarter before finishing the game with 25 points in the final stanza. When it was over, The Boy finished with 25 points. He was 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Jerrod Four Colors added 13 for Box Elder and Morsette pitched in with 10.

Senior Ian McIntosh was the top scorer for the Beeters with 10 points in the loss. Freshman Cord Schneider also had a solid outing with 10 points of his own in the loss. Robert Smith and Issac Bell each added six in defeat.

Chinook (12-8) will turn around and play Fort Benton this morning, with the winner playing for third place, while the loser will be eliminated from the tournament. Meanwhile, Box Elder will play C/J-I Friday for the 9C championship at 8:30 p.m.

Box Elder and C/J-I met in the semifinals last year and they have met twice so far this season, with each winning one game. It should be a fun game between two of the top teams in the entire Northern C.

“It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” MacDonald said. “It will be a game between two very good teams. Hopefully, we come out and play our best.”

Box Elder 92, Chinook 49 (SF)

Chinook 13 9 15 12 - 49

Box Elder 29 24 14 25 - 97

Chinook - Robert Smith 6, Kyler Johnson 2, Ian McIntosh 10, James Christensen 4, Riley Keilaim 4, Kyle McMaster 2, Brendan Edwards 3, Cord Schenider 10, Isacc Bell 6. Tamer Jamieson 2.

Box Elder - Jerrod Four Colors 13, Pernell Morsette 10, Brandon The Boy 25, Bodis Duram 5, Tristan Bernard 8, Pete Azure 4, Elias Robertson 2, Trey Henderson 14, Shane Ketchum 7, Seth Duran 4.

3-point field goals: Box Elder 5, Chinook 2 (The Boy 3, Bodis Duran, Trey Henderson, McIntosh, Edwards.