Youthful Fort Benton boys come of age in Havre

During the District 9C regular season, Fort Benton and Hays-Lodge Pole proved to be evenly matched. But Friday night in the 9C consolation game, the Longhorns ran away from the Thunderbirds and punched their ticket to the Northern C Divisional.

After losing to Chinook in the semifinals Thursday, Fort Benton needed to win two games Friday in Havre at the HHS gymnasium. The second win came in the consolation over HLP, by a final score of 68-52.

"The boys put in a ton of hard work," Fort Benton head coach Tyler Pasha said. "We had a gameplan and they executed it. I was completely surprised on how well we executed it, but it was a pleasant surprise."

In the final week of the regular season, HLP beat Fort Benton by one point to finish as the third seed in the district. Yet in the consolation game, the Longhorns came out firing. They shot 51 percent for the game from the field, but established an early lead thanks to some exception 3-point shooting. Damon Bird connected on two treys in the first half, while Andy Giles hit three. That allowed the Longhorns to grab a 35-20 lead at the break.

"That was awesome," Pasha said. "We took our time. It wasn't one pass and shoot. We passed the ball around and made the defense work a little bit and then we got the shots that we wanted."

Fort Benton extended its lead by five points, thanks to a 20-point third quarter and from that point, the T-Birds never really had a chance. The Longhorns went on to win by 16. Giles led Fort Benton with 17 points. Hayden Diekhans added 16, Garrett Diekhans had 15 points and Bird wound up with 12. David Main finished with 16 points. Fellow senior Chance Main also reached double figures with 13.

"It was all about execution," Pasha said. "We came out and executed against Box Elder (loser-out) and we finished. We have played well at times this year, but we just didn't finish and tonight (Saturday) we did."

Fort Benton's march to a trophy, including not only a thrilling win over HLP, but a dominating one over defending 9C champ Box Elder Friday morning.

The Longhorns exploded for 19 first-quarter points, and never let Box Elder truly claw its way back into the game.

Garrett Diekhans scored 19 points, while Hayden Diekhans and Damon Bird combined for 30 more as the Horns advanced to the consolation game. The game was a tough end to a tough year for Box Elder, which missed out on the Northern C for the first time in seven years. Chris Burns paced the Bears with 12 points.

Friday morning also saw HLP stay alive with a 79-69 win over Turner. The game was an entertaining one, in which the T-Birds soared to a 26-9 lead in the first quarter, only to see the Tornadoes score 40 points in the second half, and nearly battle all the way back.

Turner was led by the huge efforts of Eddie Harmon, who scored 25 points. Harmon scored in the 20's in all three tournament games this weekend. Jeffrey Stiffarm scored 21 for the T-Birds and Chance Main added 19.

Fort Benton 68, Hays-Lodge Pole 52, 3rd

FB 18 17 20 13 - 68

HLP 11 9 15 17 - 52

Fort Benton - Damon bird 12, Hayden Diekhans 16, Max Lane 2, Logan giles 6, Andy Giles 17, Garrett Diekhans 16. Totals: 22-43 19-32 68

Hays-Lodge Pole - Sage Bradley 3, Michael Ball 5, Siris Grandchamp 2, Damien Bradley 5, Kenneth Blackcrow 2, Isiah Runs Above 4, Jeffery Stiffarm 2, David Main 16, Chance Main 13. Totals: 21-44 5-10 52.

3-pointers - Bird 2, A. Giles 3; S. Bradley, Ball, D. Bradley, D. Main, C. Main.

Fort Benton 61, Box Elder 44 (lo)

FB 19 14 8 20 - 61

BE 7 9 10 18 - 44

Fort Benton - Damon Bird 14, Billy ullery 2, Hayden Diekhans 16, Logan Giles 1, Andy Giles 9, Garrett Diekhans 19. Totals: 20-40 14-22 61

Box Elder - Nacona Limberhan 1, Kadyn Duran 9, Chris Burns 12, Jerel Anderson 8, Peyton Gardipee 2, Malique Rosette 6, Quentin Limberhan 2, Seth Duran 4. Totals: 16-49 7-14 44.

3-pointers - Bird 2, H. Diekhans 3, Giles 2; K. Duran, Anderson 2, Rosette 2.

Hays-Lodge Pole 79, Turner 69 (lo)

Turner 9 20 20 20 - 69

HLP 26 22 16 15 - 79

Turner - Austin Welsh 6, Jack Marmon 2, Kurt Calvery 2, Cody Welsh 14, Shane Kimmel 14, Eddie harmon 25, Tracer Heilig 6. Totals: 26-65 14-24 69.

HLP - Sage Bradley 2, Michael Ball 13, Damien Bradley 2, Kenneth Blackcrow 10, Isiah Rans Above 4, Jeffery Stiffarm 21, David Main 6, Jasper Doney 2, Chance Main 19. Totals: 29-71 17-27 79

3-pointers - Welsh 2, E. harmon; Ball 3, Stiffarm.