Ten Years in the Making

GREAT FALLS - The Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds have been waiting a long time to climb back atop the Northern C mountain, and Saturday night, for the first time since the days of A.J. Long Soldier, they did it.

The T-Birds won the Northern C Divisional championship by knocking off defending Class C state champion Box Elder, 65-61, in the boys championship game inside the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.

"I don't even know what to say," HLP head coach Derrick Shambo said. "It's just an amazing feeling. I am so proud of these boys. They showed a lot of heart and determination."

The two District 9C teams waged a classic battle and in the end it came down to the last two minutes. After The T-Birds built a 56-45 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Box Elder came roaring back.

Thanks to 10 points from Pernell Morsette, including two old-fashioned 3-point plays on consecutive possessions, the Bears ripped off 12 unanswered points and grabbed a 57-56 lead with just 3:24 left in the game.

But following a timeout by the T-Birds, HLP had the answer, thanks to Lance Strike, who nailed a 3-pointer that was well beyond the high school and college 3-point lines on the Four Season's floor. When his shot hit the back of the net, HLP was back up 59-57.

"My teammates have confidence in me," Strike said of his deep three. "So I took it."

Morsette went down and tied things up for the Bears. After that, the two teams exchanged defensive stops, before Strike knocked down a floater with 1:23 to play, putting HLP back in front. The lead didn't last long, as Tanner Parisian drove down the floor for the Bears and scored for two, tying things up again at 61-61, with just more than a minute to play.

That's when Frank Runs Above, who isn't necessarily known for his height, came up big. The 5-8 guard slashed to the basket and banked a layup off the glass to give the T-Birds a 2-point edge with 26.1 seconds left.

"People are always surprised by that because I'm short," Runs Above said. "But I have been doing that my whole life. I always try to take pride in those big moments like that and I tried to help my team as much as I could."

Box Elder had a chance to tie or take the lead, but a turnover doomed the Bears. HLP was then able to run around 20 seconds off the clock before Runs Above was fouled and made two free throws with 1.6 seconds left to ice the win and the divisional championship.

"I am just so happy right now," Runs Above said. "I know there was a lot of people rooting against us, because they wanted a challenge game. We heard that Box Elder had a state tournament berth regardless if they won or lost and it was on us, if we were going to get challenged, and we didn't want that."

The win clinched a berth at the Class C state tournament for the T-Birds, their first since 2007. Box Elder also locked up a spot earlier in the day when Heart Butte finished third, a team that lost already to the Bears so is unable to challenge them.

"It's a good feeling to know we are going to state," Runs Above said. "I am glad all this hard work paid off and finally we get to make it to the best of the best in the state."

For Tyson Shambo, the son of head coach Derrick Shambo, winning the Northern C was the culmination of a dream, one he's had since watching Long Soldier win a state title 10 years go, in Great Falls, ironically.

"It was just a great feeling," Tyson Shambo said. "It's a dream come true. I have another dream for two weeks, but we have to take it one at a time."

Strike, a junior, was also elated.

"This is the best moment right here," Strike said. "All that hard work finally paid off, it just feels great. I just keep thinking, 'We won, we won.'"

It may have been the T-Birds night, but, in rallying from nine points or more on four separate occasions ,the Bears showed plenty of heart in their own right.

"I was really proud of our effort," Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. "Every time Hays (Lodge Pole) made a push, we answered. We told the boys how proud of them we were. We had the lead with a couple minutes left to go in the game. You can't ask for a better chance than that. But we will look at tape, we will adjust, and we will be there for the state tournament."

Box Elder was plagued by turnovers early in the game, which allowed HLP to jump out to a 16-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Things tightened a bit in the second, but with 2:53 to go before halftime, HLP led 27-18. Yet, the Bears closed the half on an 11-3 run and trailed just 29-30 at halftime.

A Dusty Weiss 3-pointer gave Box Elder the lead early in the third quarter, its first of the game. But HLP responded with a 17-5 run, scoring 11 of 13 points at one point. The Bears scored eight straight points to get within two, but a 6-0 run by HLP that included two buckets by Runs Above to end the stanza allowed the T-Birds to take a 53-45 advantage, setting the stage for what turned out to be a memorable fourth quarter.

"The big key for us was our defense," Coach Shambo said. "We were missing that a little bit when we played last week in Havre. And that has been the key for us this year and we got that back tonight. That set the tone. And when we needed to on that last possession, we were able to come up with a stop."

In terms of scoring, the T-Birds got a balanced effort. Runs Above led the way with 16, but Strike added 13, Chance Main had 12, Jace Shambo added 10 and Tyson Shambo finished with eight. Morsette had a game-high 28 points for the Bears. Henderson also contributed with 14.

"Hays (Lodge Pole) was pretty tough tonight," MacDonald said. "It's a big thing for their team to win the North. Those boys bring a big sense of pride to their program, just like our boys do. It was a pretty epic championship game, it was fun to be a part of that."

In order to get to championship night, Box Elder knocked off Belt, another traditional Northern C powerhouse, 62-52 Friday. Morsette had 22 points for the Bears, while Pete Azure Jr. finished with 13 and Henderson added 12. The T-Birds got to the title game by knocking off 9C rival Chinook Friday night, 88-71. Runs Above poured in 29 points for HLP, Tyson Shambo added 16. Isaac Bell led the way for the Beeters with 18, while Cord Schneider added 12.

Chinook turned around and faced Heart Butte Saturday morning in loser-out action. The Sugarbeeters could have challenged Box Elder had they finished third, but they fell 54-46 to Heart Butte. Bell had 17 points in the loss, Schneider wound up with 10. Box Elder clinched its state tournament berth as a result of the loss.

Hays-Lodge Pole and Box Elder will both advance to the Class C state tournament, which begins March 8 in Bozeman. It will be held at the Brick-Breeden Fieldhouse. Box Elder will play Scobey March 8 at 8 p.m. Hays-Lodge Pole will play that same day at 2:30 p.m., against the winner of a challenge game between Frazier and Fairview in the Eastern C.

Hays-Lodge Pole 88, Chinook 71, sf

Chinook 19 19 16 17 – 71

HLP 26 15 21 26 – 88

Chinook – Trajan Hannum 3, Hunter Neibauer 4, Isaac Bell 18, James Christensen 3, Riley Kellan 4, Kyle McMaster 2, Brendan Edwards 14, Cord Schneider 12, Wade Schneider 9, Franklin NezPerce 2. Totals: 26 14-23

Hays-Lodge Pole – Jace Shambo 8, Tyson Shambo 16, Lance Strike 8,Chay-Chaz Shambo 7, Kyle Young Jr. 8, Frank Runs Above 29, David Main 3, Ryan Foote 4, Chance Main 5. Totals: 38 6-12.

3-pointers – -Hannum, Edwards 4, T. Shambo, Strike, C. Shambo, Young Jr., D. Main, C. Main.

Box Elder 62, Belt 52, sf

Belt 10 11 10 21 – 52

Box Elder 9 15 22 16 – 62

Belt – Keagan Stroop 8, Harry Green 2, Jess Bodner 13, Jaren Maki 14, Taylor Olson 5, Trey Heitzman 8, Troy Hennes 2. Totals: 17 16-21.

Box Elder – Pernell Morsette 22, Pete Azure Jr. 13, Tanner Parisian 11, Wyatt Caplette 2, Trey Henderson 12, Dusty Weiss 2. Totals: 23 8-11.

3-pointers – Stroop, Olson, Morsette 3, Azure Jr. 3, Parisian 2.

Heart Butte 54, Chinook 46, lo

Chinook 9 16 10 11 - 46

Heart Butte 13 13 13 15 - 54

Chinook: Hunter Neibauer 5, Isaac Bell 17, James Christensen 3, Riley Kellam 3, Kyle McMaster 3, Cord Schneider 10, Wade Schneider 5. Totals: 12 21-37.

Heart Butte: Shylon Spoonhunter 2, Chasen Kipp 14, Charlie Tailfeathers 5, Anthony Aimsback 12, Josiah Aimsback 4, Riley Spoonhunter 15, Deric Denney 2. Totals: 15 20-33.

3-pointers: Bell, Tailfeathers, A. Aimsback 2, R. Spoonhunter.

Hays-Lodge Pole 65, Box Elder 61, 1st

Box Elder 7 22 16 16 – 61

HLP 16 14 23 12 – 65

Box Elder – Pernell Morsette 28, Pete Azure, Jr. 2, Tanner Parisian 9, Wyatt Caplette 2, Trey Henderson 14, Lane Caplette 1, Dusty Weiss 5. Totals 22 14-17 61.

HLP – Jace Shambo 10, Tyson Shambo 8, Lance Strike 13, Frank RunsAbove 16, Ryle Foote 6, Chance Main 12. Totals 29 4-11 65.

3-point – Morsette, Parisian, Weiss; T. Shambo 2, Strike.