Moving On: Hawks ground T-Birds

Through the first two days of the District 9C boys basketball tournament, there had not been many close games, but that all changed in the semifinal game between Hays-Lodge Pole and Chester/J-I.

With a berth in the Northern C Divisional and the 9C championship game on the line, the Thunderbirds and Hawks duked it out in a classic battle. Yet, in the end, it was the Hawks that did just enough to upsend the T-Birds 78-67 Thursday night at the HHS gymnasium.

“That’s a heck of a team that we beat tonight,” C/J-I head coach Spencer Satori said. “They have a great bunch of players. We got the lead on them early and we knew they were going to make a run, and they did, but we were able to withstand it.”

The victory means that the Hawks can finish no worse than second at the 9C tournament, which means no matter what happens against Box Elder in the championship game, C/J-I will be headed to Great Falls.

“It’s nice to get that pressure off of us,” Satori said. “And it’s nice to know that we are going to Great Falls. But, before that, we have a chance to win the 9C and we get to have that third game between us and Box Elder, which should be a lot of fun. Should be a very exciting game.”

At the start of the night, the Hawks came out on fire and, in the opening stanza, they outscored the T-Birds 26-14. The two teams went back and forth in the second quarter and even though C/J-I maintained its advantage, the T-Birds went on a 5-0 run at the end of the half to get within six at 41-35.

In the third quarter, HLP scored the first seven points to grab its first lead of the game at 42-41, but it would be short-lived. The Hawks responded, but after retaking the lead, the T-Birds tied it back up at 49-49 on a steal and score by Frank Runs Above.

Yet, sparked by a Justin May 3-pointer, the Hawks closed the third on a little spurt, which gave them a slim 57-55 edge going into the fourth.

In the final eight minutes, the Hawks sealed the deal.

They scored the first four points of the final stanza to push the lead to six. From that point, HLP would not get any closer than four and after some big free throws late from Troy Harmon and others, C/J-I would wrap up its berth in Great Falls next week.

“It feels great,” Harmon said. “We got an emotional win last night and tonight we all came together and got it done It took everybody, we all made big plays and we found a way to hold them off there at the end.”

Looking back on it, the T-Birds simply had no answer for Harmon and May, who combined for 47 points. May had 25, thanks to six treys, while Harmon had 22. Jace Shambo had 29 for HLP, while Runs Above had 14. Tyson Shambo also finished with nine.

With the win, C/J-I (17-3) will take on Box Elder tonight at the HHS gymnasium for the 9C championship. Tip-off is set for 8:30.

HLP, on the other hand, will turn around and play North Star this morning. The winner of that game will play for third place Friday night.

Chester/J-I 78, Hays-Lodge Pole 67

C/J-I 26 15 16 21 - 78

HLP 14 21 20 12 - 67

C/J-I - Cory Richter 10, Brandon Richter 12, Javin Miles 9, Justin May 25, Troy Harmon 22. Totals: 27-84.

HLP - Jace Shambo 29, Elijah Blackcrow 7, Tyson Shambo 9, Frank Runs Above 14, Chain Main 4, Thane Hegelson 4.

3-Pointers: C/J-I 10, HLP 5 (Justin May 6, Troy Harmon 2, Cory Richter, Brandon Richter, Tyson Shambo 2, Jace Shambo, Elijah Blackcrow). Fouls: HLP 21, C/J-I 12, Fouled out -- Jace Shambo.