News you can use
News you can use
Bears beat Hays-Lodge Pole for fifth straight 9C championship
The Box Elder Bears won their fifth straight 9C title Saturday night.
Box Elder's Tanner Parisian drives the ball during Saturday night's 9C championship game at the HHS gymnasium.
The Box Elder boys basketball team knows a thing or two about winning District 9C championships. But one thing the Bears don't know much about, is winning one as an underdog, that is until Saturday night.
After losing twice in the regular season to Hays-Lodge Pole, the Bears got the ultimate payback Saturday inside a sold-out HHS gymnasium, knocking off the Thunderbirds 71-57 for the 9C championship. The win gave the Bears an unprecedented fifth consecutive district championship.
"It's hard to compare championships," Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. "They all mean a lot and every one and every group of kids is special. But this means a lot. We have never won one as a the lower-seeded team. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of heart. I am really proud of this group."
If there was any doubt whether or not Box Elder meant business, it was erased early. The Bears jumped out to a 9-0 lead, thanks to a 3-pointer and a jumper by Pernell Morsette. Trey Henderson scored five points of his own in the closing seconds of the first quarter and at that point the Bears led 19-6.
In the second quarter, it was much the same. Morsette hit another jumper to put the Bears up 16 and at the half, they led 32-17. In the third, Box Elder was still rolling. Morsette hit a baseline jumper and then a triple by Henderson put the Bears in front 39-19, their largest lead of the night.
Down 16 entering the fourth quarter, HLP tried frantically to get back into the game and got within nine after a trey by Jace Shambo with under two minutes remaining. Yet, the Bears answered and a layup by Morsette with less than a minute to go, gave Box Elder a 12-point lead it wouldn't relinquish.
"My coaches always say big players have to step up in big games," Morsette said. "And that's what I tried to do tonight."
As far as playing big, no one was bigger than Morsette, who finished with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Tanner Parisian added 15 for the Bears, while Wyatt Caplette had 11 and Henderson had 10. Lance Strike led the T-Birds with 15, Frank Runs Above had 14.
Both teams will head to Great Falls for the Northern C Divisional this week. They will be joined by Chinook, which defeated North Star in the consolation game Saturday night.
Saturday’s Scores
BOYS
Billings Senior 64, Laurel 59, 2OT
Browning 69, Havre 62
Butte 46, Billings Skyview 45
Dillon 63, Corvallis 26
Glendive 48, Miles City 40
Great Falls 63, Billings West 58, OT
Great Falls Russell 67, Bozeman 62
Helena 48, Helena Capital 47
Kalispell Flathead 57, Missoula Big Sky 40
Lewistown (Fergus) 49, Livingston 44
Missoula Hellgate 67, Kalispell Glacier 56
Polson 78, Whitefish 31
Stevensville 66, Columbia Falls 56
District 1B at Cut Bank
Loser Out
Choteau 80, Fairfield 71
Shelby 71, Conrad 51
Third Place
Shelby 71, Choteau 62
Championship
Rocky Boy 68, Cut Bank 63
District 2B at Malta
Third Place
Poplar 63, Harlem 50
Championship
Malta 69, Glasgow 27
District 3B at Colstrip
Third Place
Lodge Grass 52, Baker 39
Championship
Lame Deer 69, Colstrip 47
District 4B at Red Lodge
Loser Out
Huntley Project 42, Columbus 29
Shepherd 47, Red Lodge 33
Third Place
Shepherd 59, Huntley Project 50
Championship
Joliet 47, Roundup 35
District 5B at Belgrade
Loser Out
Jefferson (Boulder) 48, Big Timber 41
Three Forks 77, Manhattan 67
Third Place
Three Forks 60, Jefferson (Boulder) 45
Championship
Townsend 57, Whitehall 55, OT
District 6B at Hamilton
Loser Out
Deer Lodge 62, Ronan 61
Florence 50, St. Ignatius 32
Third Place
Deer Lodge 32, Florence 30
Championship
Missoula Loyola 53, Anaconda 50
District 7B
Third Place
Libby 50, Troy 27
Championship
Bigfork 69, Thompson Falls 66
District 2C at Sidney
Loser Out
Froid/Medicine Lake 53, Bainville 42
Savage 81, Richey-Lambert 36
Championship
Mon-Dak 41, Fairview 35
District 3C at Glasgow
Third Place
North Country 54, Lustre Christian 48
Championship
Scobey 64, Frazer 47
District 4C at Custer
Loser Out
Jordan 100, Northern Cheyenne 74
Third Place
Jordan 61, Terry 47
Championship
Melstone 41, Wibaux 39, OT
District 6C at Huntley Project
Loser Out
Bridger 57, Park City 50
Harlowton 64, Broadview-Lavina 62, OT
Third Place
Bridger 46, Harlowton 43
Championship
Reed Point-Rapelje 81, Plenty Coups 62
District 8C at Lewistown
Loser Out
Denton-Geyser-Stanford 58, Winnett-Grass Range 46
Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap 52, Geraldine/Highwood 50
Third Place
Denton-Geyser-Stanford 64, Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap 48
Championship
Belt 68, Centerville 28
District 9C at Havre
Loser Out
Chinook 59, Fort Benton 30
North Star 64, Turner 42
Third Place
Chinook 48, North Star 24
Championship
Box Elder 71, Hays-Lodgepole 57
District 10C at Great Falls
Loser Out
Power 48, Dutton-Brady 42
Valier 70, Great Falls Central 58
Third Place
Power 50, Valier 45
Championship
Sunburst 47, Heart Butte 45
District 11C at Manhattan Christian
Loser Out
Lone Peak 55, Shields Valley 49
White Sulphur Springs 52, West Yellowstone 35
Third Place
White Sulphur Springs 58, Lone Peak 54
Championship
Manhattan Christian 94, Gardiner 47
District 12C at Butte Central
Loser Out
Drummond 60, Harrison-Willow Creek 37
Phillipsburg 54, Sheridan 35
Third Place
Drummond 46, Phillipsburg 30
Championship
Twin Bridges 39, Ennis 36
District 13C at Frenchtown
Loser Out
Lincoln 68, Victor 25
Seeley-Swan 49, Clark Fork 35
Third Place
Lincoln 60, Seeley-Swan 45
Championship
Valley Christian 81, Darby 56
District 14C at Pablo
Loser Out
Charlo 62, Noxon 47
Third Place
Hot Springs 65, Charlo 49
Championship
Arlee 66, Plains 45
GIRLS
Billings Senior 81, Laurel 40
Billings Skyview 36, Butte 35
Columbia Falls 87, Stevensville 33
Glendive 55, Miles City 44
Great Falls 52, Billings West 41
Great Falls Russell 51, Bozeman 43
Havre 55, Browning 37
Kalispell Flathead 59, Missoula Big Sky 36
Lewistown (Fergus) 58, Livingston 49
Missoula Hellgate 30, Kalispell Glacier 20
Polson 44, Whitefish 28
District 1B at Cut Bank
Loser Out
Rocky Boy 89, Cut Bank 65
Shelby 52, Conrad 39
Third Place
Rocky Boy 63, Shelby 53
Championship
Fairfield 50, Choteau 38
District 2B at Malta
Third Place
Glasgow 47, Wolf Point 42
Championship
Malta 61, Poplar 50
District 3B at Colstrip
Third Place
Lame Deer 86, Lodge Grass 75
Championship
Colstrip 65, St. Labre 51
District 4B at Red Lodge
Loser Out
Joliet 63, Huntley Project 47
Red Lodge 46, Columbus 40
Third Place
Red Lodge 66, Joliet 44
Championship
Shepherd 32, Roundup 24
District 5B at Belgrade
Loser Out
Manhattan 60, Jefferson (Boulder) 41
Townsend 55, Whitehall 29
Third Place
Townsend 48, Jefferson (Boulder) 33
Championship
Three Forks 50, Big Timber 38
District 6B at Hamilton
Loser Out
Deer Lodge 36, Anaconda 32
Missoula Loyola 68, St. Ignatius 62
Third Place
Deer Lodge 44, Missoula Loyola 36
Championship
Ronan 61, Florence 48
District 7B
Third Place
Eureka 40, Libby 39
Championship
Troy 48, Bigfork 40
District 2C at Sidney
Loser Out
Froid/Medicine Lake 53, Bainville 21
Savage 50, Circle 20
Championship
Mon-Dak 57, Plentywood 33
District 3C at Glasgow
Third Place
Lustre Christian 68, Frazer 48
Championship
Scobey 55, North Country 26
District 4C at Custer
Third Place
Broadus 40, Ekalaka 36
Championship
Melstone 47, Wibaux 38, OT
District 6C at Huntley Project
Third Place
Park City 54, Plenty Coups 44
Championship
Harlowton 49, Broadview-Lavina 45
District 8C at Lewistown
Loser Out
Centerville 60, Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap 56, 2OT
Winnett-Grass Range 39, Denton-Geyser-Stanford 29
Third Place
Winnett-Grass Range 44, Centerville 40
Championship
Belt 57, Roy-Winifred 31
District 11C at Manhattan Christian
Loser Out
Manhattan Christian 54, Gardiner 29
Shields Valley 55, West Yellowstone 41
Third Place
Manhattan Christian 52, Shields Valley 35
Championship
Lone Peak 49, White Sulphur Springs 40
District 12C at Butte Central
Loser Out
Drummond 35, Harrison-Willow Creek 28
Phillipsburg 39, Lima 34
Third Place
Drummond 42, Phillipsburg 33
Championship
Twin Bridges 54, Ennis 40
District 13C at Frenchtown
Loser Out
Darby 55, Valley Christian 43
Victor 38, Lincoln 30
Third Place
Victor 46, Darby 43
Championship
Seeley-Swan 61, Clark Fork 31
District 14C at Pablo
Loser Out
Charlo 38, Hot Springs 26
Third Place
Charlo 33, Plains 32
Championship
Arlee 38, St. Regis 28
Reader Comments(0)