9C boys teams ready to face a loaded Northern C

The Chinook Sugarbeeters dominated the District 9C this season, sweeping the regular season and tournament titles. But now the Beeters have a much bigger challenge ahead of them - trying to make it out of the Northern C.

Last season, Chinook made a run at doing just that, winning a couple of games and getting to the semifinals before losing out. This time around, however, the Beeters come in with a 20-1 record. The problem, is they aren't the only loaded team headed to Great Falls for the Northern C Divisional. In fact, four of the top-10 teams in rankings last week will be in attendance.

Chinook, Heart Butte (21-0) and Denton-Geyser-Stanford (20-1) come in as the top-seeded teams, but Sunburst (18-3), North Star (18-3) and Belt, the 8C runner-up are all legitimate contenders, too. Fort Benton, the third team from the 9C, will be making its first appearance since joining the district. It will play Great Falls Central in the opening game Wednesday at 8 a.m. inside the Four Seasons Arena. The winner will play DGS Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Chinook also has an early-morning game Wednesday, as the Beeters will battle Winnett-Grass Range, the third seeded team from the 8C at 9:30 a.m. North Star, which drew Sunburst, tips off at 12:30 p.m.

"We just have to take it one game at a time," Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. "That first game at 9:30 is going to the be the most important one right now."

Chinook boasts a talented lineup that features Isaac Bell, Cord Schneider and Brendan Edwards, who each made their way onto the 9C All-Tournament team. Bell scored 33 points in the 9C championship game and scored 51 against Harlem a few weeks back. The Rams are a young team and have just one player, senior Cameron Wollman, who stands 6-3, which is an issue against Chinook, a team that has four players that stand 6-4 or taller.

"They are really tough," North Star head coach Walynn Burgess said of Chinook. "There is a reason they haven't lost yet in the district."

While Chinook is making its second consecutive appearance at the divisional tournament and fourth in the past five years, the North Star Knights will be playing at the Four Seasons, in the Northern C for the first time in over a decade. The Knights finished second at the 9C Tournament, after losing to Chinook 62-56 in the championship game. They will be led by seniors Dylan Miller and Devon Miller. Dylan Miller scored 20 or more points multiple times at the district tournament; Devon Miller added a pair of double-doubles.

Unfortunately, the bracket didn't do the Knights any favors. They won't get to ease into the tournament at all and will face sixth-ranked Sunburst in the quarterfinals. The Refiners are back at divisionals for the third straight year and a big reason why is senior big man Treyton Pickering, an All-State forward listed at 6-5. He is joined by fellow veterans Jeff Owens, Dakota Stock and Christian Block. The winner will play either Heart Butte or the winner of the opening game between Fort Benton and Great Falls Central. All three Sunburst losses came at the hands of Heart Butte, yet the Refiners do own a one-point win over 9C champ Chinook.

"We are just excited that we have another week of basketball," Burgess said. "We just need to keep working hard and keep competing. That's what we are all about."

Like its opponent in Wednesday's first round game at the Northern C, Fort Benton had to win two games in one day to keep its season alive last weekend, which is exactly what Great Falls Central did to get third place in the 10C. The Mustangs knocked off Power and Valier, both by double digits to punch their ticket back to the tournament.

Advancing to the semifinals will be difficult for either team. First, they will need to win the early game, then find a way to beat DGS, the 8C champion, which has a ton of Northern C experience. Yet the Longhorns have a legitimate big man inside with Garrett Diekhans and an x-factor in Hayden Diekhans. Damond Bird, Logan Giles and Andy Giles are also solid complementary players.

"We have to execute," Fort Benton head coach Tyler Pasha said. "We played Great Falls Central the first game of the season, so we have some experience, we just need to execute and play as a team. It's super exciting. We get another week of basketball and you can never complain about that."

If Fort Benton beats Great Falls Central, it will play DGS at 4 p.m. The Bearcats join Chinook and Heart Butte with 20 wins entering the tournament and that's in large part due to two seniors, Kordell Carpenter and Rhet Woodhall. The other quarterfinal game is between Heart Butte, the 10C champion and Belt, the runner-up in the 8C.

The four winners will advance to the semifinals, which are set to be played Thursday night at 7 and 8:30. The championship game is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday. Only the top two teams will advance to the Class C state tournament and if there is a challenge game, it will be played Saturday at at 5 p.m. All of the action takes place at the Four Seasons Arena.