Class AA boys edge C stars for HIT title

There was plenty of high-flying action at the HIT tournament this past weekend, as some of the best boys basketball players in the state of Montana converged on the Armory Gymnasium.

And after three days of entertaining basketball and a tournament that featured a boys team from each classification, the Class AA boys took home the title, following their 85-79 win over Class C in the championship game Saturday night.

The game was exciting throughout as Class C led after the first quarter 21-14. Yet, a strong second quarter by Class AA, in which it outscored Class C 27-16, gave it a 41-37 edge at halftime. Thanks to a big third quarter by Justin May of Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Class C tied the score at 59-59 entering the fourth and even took the lead on a May jumper early in the final stanza.

But in the end, the AA team found a way to win and used some stingy defense in the closing minutes to wrap up the win. Alex Simmons and Jake Tabish of Missoula Big Sky led the way for the AA team with 18 points each. Connor Schenk pitched in with 16 and Derrius Collins had 14.

May led the Class C squad with 21 points, while Jerrod Four Colors of Box Elder finished with 14. Kevin Blanksma of Manhattan Christian also added 11. The MVP award was given to Simmons.

Earlier on Saturday, in the consolation game, Class A defeated Class B by the score of 121-120. Troy Anderson of Dillon scored 34 points to lead all scorers. Gavin Gundlach of Miles City added 24 points and Tanner Haverfield, also of Dillon had 21. Brett Finn of Big Timber paced Class B with 30 points. Colin Achenbach and Dylan Pannabecker, both of Choteau added 24 and 23 points respectively.

In the first game of the day Saturday, Class AA and Class B met in the final game of group play and after Class C posted a perfect 3-0 record, the winner of the contest between AA and B would advance to the title game.

With a berth in the championship game on the line, the two teams played one of the most exciting games of the tournament as Class AA beat Class B 100-93 in overtime. Schenk had 26 points for Class AA, Regan Shein of Helena High also contributed with 17. Finn poured in 32 points in a losing effort for Class B, Achenbach added 20.

The tournament may have concluded Saturday, but it started Thursday as the Class A did battle with Class C. In the end, Class C rolled to a 102-86 victory. Brandon The Boy of Box Elder had 25 points and Four Colors had 17. Kolton Haugrose also managed 15. Dane Warp of Havre had 37 to lead Class A. Gundlach contributed with 17.

There were also four games that took place Friday as Class B knocked off Class A 102-92. Trais Hoisington had 21 for Class B; Warp had 23 to lead Class A. After losing a close one to Class B, Class A lost again to Class AA, this time in overtime by the score of 93-91. Simmons had 26 for Class AA; Warp had a game-high 27 to spark Class A.

In other action, Class C took down Class B 109-88. Haugrose went off for 32 points, while The Boy and Blanksma each scored 21. Class B was led by Finn, who scored 25 points. Class C also defeated Class AA 98-90. May scored a game-high 24 points for Class C. Schenk was the top scorer for Class AA with 18.

The All-Tournament team featured Simmons, The Boy, Finn, Schenk, Gundlach, Austin Means of Frenchtown, Achenbach, Schein, Tabish, May, Blanksma and Warp. The Boy was the 3-point champion, he also tied Simmons for the lead in assists. The rebound leader was Means and Finn was the leading scorer. Haugrose won the Mr. Hustle award and Mr. Defense went to Tabish, who also won the steals title. And last but not least, Blanksma was the dunk champion.

Thursday

Class C 102, Class A 86

Class A (86) - Jerod Boles 1-5 0-0 3, Dane Warp 13-27 4-5 37, Tanner Haverfield 3-9 1-1 7, Austin Means 3-8 0-1 7, Troy Anderson 1-4 0-0 3, Nate Costin 2-6 5-6 9, Gavin Gundlach 6-13 2-2 17, James Fry 1-9 1-2 3. Totals: 30-81 13-17 86.

Class C (102) - Brandon The Boy 10-18 2-2 25, Jerrod Four Colors 8-14 0-0 17, Justin May 4-8 0-0 9, Scott Bymaster 1-2 1-2 3, Kevin Blanksma 7-14 0-2 14, Brody Grebe 1-4 0-0 2, Patrick Big Sam 2-4 2-2 6, Koltin Haugrose 5-15 4-4 15, Matt Metrione 5-6 0-0 11. Totals: 43-85 9-12 102.

Friday

Class B 102, Class A 92

Class A (92) - Jerod Boles 1-6 0-0 2, Dane Warp 8-17 5-7 23, Tanner Haverfield 2-9 0-0 5, James Fry 6-14 3-3 17, Troy Anderson 3-7 0-0 8, Nate Costin 2-12 0-0 5, Gavin Gundlach 5-12 0-0 12, Austin Means 8-11 3-6 20. Totals 35-88 11-16 92.

Class B (102) - Brent Finn 4-12 0-0 8, Collin Achenbach 6-13 0-0 13, Wyatt Harwood 6-9 0-0 13, Levi Clagett 3-9 2-2 13, Dylan Pannabecker 7-13 0-0 15, Braden Larsen 3-7 0-0 6, Tanner Osborne 3-11 0-0 7, Derrek Durocher 3-12 0-0 9, Luke Rech 1-3 0-0 2, Trais Hoisington 10-15 1-1 21. Totals 46-104 3-3 102.

Class AA 93, Class A 91 (OT)

Class A (91) - Gavin Gundlach 3-12 0-0 7, Dane Warp 8-25 8-9 27, Tanner Haverfield 5-6 0-0 12, Austin Means 3-7 3-6 9, Troy Anderson 3-6 2-2 10, Jerod Boles 0-5 0-0 0, Nate Costin 8-14 2-3 20, James Fry 2-5 0-0 6. Totals 32-80 15-20 91.

Class AA (93) - Alex Simmons 11-16 3-4 26, Derrius Collins 0-5 0-0 0, Jake Tabish 8-13 0-0 16, Sam Vining 5-17 2-6 12, Ragen Shein 7-18 0-0 14, Drew Sheridan 2-7 1-2 6, Connor Schenk 4-12 4-4 12, Buckley Belcourt 2-2 3-5 7. Totals 39-90 13-21 93.

Class C 109, Class B 88

Class C (109) - Brandon The Boy 9-11 0-0 21, Brody Grebe 3-4 0-0 7, Koltin Haugrose 13-21 0-0 32, Matt Metrione 2-3 2-4 6, Kevin Blanksma 6-15 1-2 21, Treyton Pickering 2-2 0-0 4, Jerrod Four Colors 4-7 2-4 11, Justin May 2-5 3-3 7, Scott Bymaster 0-5 0-0 0. Totals: 43-71 8-13 109.

Class B (88) - Braden Larsen 4-5 0-0 9, Collin Achenbach 7-16 1-2 17, Derek Durocher 1-8 0-0 3, Trais Hosington 4-9 0-0 9, Levi Clagett 5-11 0-1 11, Brent Finn 10-18 0-1 25, Tanner Osborne 0-3 1-2 1, Wyatt Harwood 1-6 0-0 2, Luke Rech 0-5 2-2 2, Dylan Pannabecker 3-8 3-3 9. Totals: 35-89 7-11 88.

Class C 98, Class AA 90

Class AA (90) - Alex Simmons 3-11 2-4 8, Derrius Collins 3-9 0-0 7, Connor Schenk 6-11 3-4 18, Buckley Belcourt 5-10 1-3 13, Ragen Shein 7-10 1-5 15, Jake Tabish 4-13 2-4 13, Sam Vining 5-13 6-11 16. Totals: 33-77 15-31 90.

Class C (98) - Treyton Pickering 3-4 0-0 6, Koltin Haugrose 5-12 0-0 13, Matt Metrione 4-6 2-2 10, Justin May 9-17 6-7 24, Scott Bymaster 2-2 0-0 5, Brandon The Boy 6-12 1-2 16, Brody Grebe 0-3 0-0 0, Jerrod Four Colors 4-6 2-2 11, Kevin Blanksma 5-9 3-6 13. Totals: 38-71 14-19 98.

Saturday

Class AA 100, Class B 93, OT

Class B (93) - Colin Achenbach 9-17 0-0 20, Derek Durocher 5-16 0-0 11, Trais Hoisington 2-3 1-1 5, Levi Clagett 1-3 1-1 3, Dylan Pannabecker 2-10 0-0 4, Braden Farsen 2-3 0-0 4, Brent Finn 12-22 2-2 32, Tanner Osborne 1-1 0-1 2, Wyatt Harwodd 5-9 0-0 10, Luke Rech 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 40-86 4-5 93.

Class AA (100) - Alex Simmons 1-4 4-7 6, Brew Sheridan 5-13 1-1 14, Connor Schenk 11-15 2-2 26, Sam Vining 5-10 1-2 12, Ragen Shein 8-14 0-2 17, Derrius Collins 3-6 2-2 9, Jake Tabish 6-10 2-2 15, Buckley Belcourt 0-8 0-0 0. Totals: 39-80 12-18 100.

Consolation game

Class A 121, Class B 120

Class A (121) - Gavin Gundlach 9-15 2-2 24, Tanner Haverfield 8-13 1-3 21, James Fry 7-15 1-2 18, Austin Means 7-9 0-3 16, Troy Anderson 14-19 0-0 34, Jerod Boles 3-12 1-1 8, Nate Costin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 48-83 5-11 121.

Class B (120) - Colin Achenbach 10-20 2-2 24, Derek Durocher 2-5 1-2 7, Trais Hoisington 0-2 0-0 0, Levi Clagett 1-3 0-1 2, Dylan Pannabecker 8-16 3-4 23, Braden Larsen 4-7 0-0 10, Brent Finn 11-19 6-6 30, Tanner Osborne 2-4 2-2 7, Wyatt Harwood 5-8 0-0 11, Luke Rech 3-6 0-2 6. Totals: 46-90 14-19 120.

Championship game

Class AA 85, Class C 79

Class AA (85) - Alex Simmons 6-14 4-4 18, Derrius Collins 6-14 0-0 14, Drew Sheridan 0-6 0-0 0, Ragen Shein 3-6 4-6 10, Connor Schenk 5-11 6-8 16, Jake Tabish 5-12 7-9 18, Buckley Belcourt 2-5 0-0 6, Sam Vining 1-8 0-0 3. Totals: 28-76 21-27 85.

Class C (79) - Brandon The Boy 3-10 2-2 8, Jerrod Four Colors 4-11 6-10 14, Koltin Haugrose 3-10 3-3 9, Justin May 9-16 0-0 21,Kevin Blanksma 5-10 0-2 11, Brody Grebe 1-5 3-4 5, Treyton Pickering 1-2 1-3 3, Matt Metrione 1-4 0-0 2, Scott Bymaster 2-2 1-4 6. Totals: 29-78 16-28 79.

BOYS' AWARDS

All-tournament team – Alex Simmons, Missoula Big Sky (MVP); Brandon The Boy, Box Elder; Brent Finn, Big Timber; Connor Schenk, Missoula Hellgate; Gavin Gundlach, Miles City; Austin Means, Frenchtown; Collin Achenbach, Choteau; Regan Shein, Helena; Jake Tabish, Missoula Big Sky; Justin May, CJI; Kevin Blanksma, Manhattan Christian; Dane Warp, Havre.

3-point champion – Brandon The Boy, Box Elder

Assists leaders – Brandon The Boy, Box Elder; Alex Simmons, Missoula Big Sky

Rebound leader – Austin Means, Frenchtown

Leading scorer – Brent Finn, Big Timber

Mr. Hustle – Koltin Haugrose, Belt

Mr. Defense – Jake Tabish, Missoula Big Sky

Steals leader – Jake Tabish, Missoula Big Sky

Slam Dunk Champion – Kevin Blanksma, Manhattan Christian