Beeters off to a strong start

GREAT FALLS — The Chinook Sugarbeeters cruised through the District 9C regular season and tournament, but in the quarterfinals of the Northern C Divisional against Winnett-Grass Range Wednesday at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, nothing came easy.

In fact, with around two minutes left in the third quarter, the 20-1, top-seeded Beeters trailed the third-seeded Rams 31-28, before a 10-0 run allowed Chinook to take control of the game and eventually win 50-43.

“We have goals we try to achieve in every game,” Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. “And today, after the game, we erased them all, except for winning. That’s the only thing that matters.”

Part of what kept the Rams in the game, was their ability to slow Isaac Bell, who had just six points at halftime, before scoring six points in the fourth quarter to help Chinook secure the win. But while the Beeters had a tough time getting Bell going, the extra attention allowed Cord Schneider to dominante inside. He made 9-of-15 shots from the field and scored 15 points in the second half to will Chinook into the semifinals.

“We know that when Isaac isn’t getting shots, we all have to step up,” Schneider said. “So I tried to do my best to pick up the slack.”

Chinook opened the game on a 10-4 run, but the Rams scored six straight to end the first quarter, tying the score at 10-10. Schneider scored back-to-back buckets early in the second to give the Beeters a four-point advantage. Yet, WGR went on a 9-4 run to take a 21-20 lead, before Ethan Bell drained a 3-pointer to put the Beeters up 23-21 at the break.

However, in the third quarter, the Rams would pull ahead again, going up by as many as three points, before the Beeters started their run that allowed them to grab a 40-34 lead with just 4:08 left in the game. Cameron Wollman did his best to keep the Rams in it, knocking down a trey and a shot off the glass to trim the Chinook lead to 42-41, but it wouldn’t be enough. Chinook closed the game on an 8-2 run to win by seven.

Schneider led the way for Chinook with 21 points and seven rebounds. Bell added 14 points, four assists and three steals, while Riley Kellam also scored six. Wollman and Jacob Jessen each finished with 15 in the loss for the Rams. Chinook (21-1) will play Heart Butte in the semifinals tonight at 7 inside the Four Seasons Arena.

“The key with Heart Butte will be handling their pressure,” Seymour said. “They can really make you turn over the basketball, so that will be a big key, that and playing together.”

Sunburst 71, North Star 61

The North Star Knights waited 12 years to get back on the floor at the Four Seasons Arena, but unfortunately, their first game back at the Northern C didn’t go quite as planned.

Despite taking part in a back-and-forth affair with Sunburst, the Knights simply didn’t have enough to overcome the Refiners and dominant big man Treyton Pickering. The Montana State University Football commit, dominated inside, scoring 14 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking nine shots in the 61-51 win over North Star. The Knights, who are 17-5, will try to keep their season alive today at 12:30 in a loser-out game against Denton-Geyser-Stanford.

“We had our chances,” North Star head coach Walynn Burgess said. “We feel like we kind of let one get away. But I am really proud of our kids for how they fought. We just have to regroup and try to come back and get one (Thursday).”

Right from the start, North Star and Sunburst went at each other, and after an exciting opening stanza, the Refiners held a 17-15 lead. Sunburst gained some ground in the second quarter, but a late bucket by Dylan Miller made the score 28-24 at intermission.

In the third quarter, the Knights pushed back. First, Caden Rettig drilled a trey, then a hoop by Devon Miller and a 3-point play by Dylan Miller put the Knights up 38-37 with 3:35 to go in the third quarter. Yet, by the end of the quarter, the score was tied, 43-43.

With the game on the line, the North Star offense struggled to score the basketball. Sunburst scored eight of the first 10 points in the final eight minutes to grab an eight-point lead. Rettig hit another three that got the Knights within a single possession again at 51-48, but the Refiners closed on a 10-3 run that doomed North Star.

Dylan Miller finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds in defeat. Devon Miller also scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds.

GFCC 59, Fort Benton 43

It has been years since the Fort Benton Longhorns have played in the Northern C Divisional Tournament, and Wednesday morning at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, it looked like it.

In a game that tipped off at 8 a.m., the Longhorns got off to a sluggish start and allowed Great Falls Central to build a 15-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 28-14 lead at the break, on its way to a 59-43 win over the Longhorns.

“I think our nerves kind of got to us,” Fort Benton head coach Tyler Pasha said. “I know it was an early start, but that’s no excuse. We just weren’t ready to play.”

Fort Benton was more competitive in the second half and outscored the Mustangs by two points over the final 16 minutes. However, the lead got as big as 18 at one point in the second half and it was just too little too late for any kind of comeback.

Ethan Vincent had a big day for the Mustangs, scoring 22 points and knocking down two 3-pointers. Great Falls Central also got 14 points from Wyatt Walters, who racked up 14 points and eight rebounds. Fort Benton got a team-high 16 points from Garrett Diekhans in the loss. Hayden Diekhans pitched in with nine and Logan Giles finished with eight.

Fort Benton (12-11) will try to keep its season alive this morning inside the Four Seasons. The Longhorns will battle Winnett-Grass Range, which lost to Chinook in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

“We just have to come out and play as a team,” Pasha said. “We had a lot of one-pass and shoot possessions. At the 9C, against Hays (Lodge-Pole) and Box Elder we were a lot more patient. Hopefully we can play more like that.”

Great Falls Central 59, Fort Benton 43

Fort Benton 7 7 14 15 - 43

GF Central 15 13 14 17 - 59

Fort Benton: Damon Bird 2, Jace Thomposon 1, Hayden Diekhans 9, Max Lake 4, Logan Giles 8, Andy Giles 3, Garrett Diekhans 16. Totals: 17 6-9.

Great Falls Central: Isaac Armstrong 9, Ethan Vincent 22, Wyatt Walters 14, Noah Ambuehl 3, Cayle Schraner 4, Luke Marmon 7. Totals: 21 14-18.

3-pointers: H. Diekhans, A. Giles, G. Diekhans, Vincent 2, Marmon. Fouls: Central 9, Fort Benton 13. Fouled out: none.

Chinook 50, Winnett-Grass Range 43

Winnett-Grass Range 10 11 10 12 - 43

Chinook 10 13 11 16 - 50

Winnett-Grass Range: Zane Stahl 2, Derrik Zimmerman 3, Jacob Jessen 15, Caleb Hess 6, Matthew Weller 2, Cameron Wollman 15. Totals: 20 0-4.

Chinook: Isaac Bell 14, Ethan Bell 3, Riley Kellam 6, Brendan Edwards 4, Cord Schneider 23. Totals: 21 7-12.

3-pointers: Zimmerman, Jessen, Wollman, E. Bell. Fouls: Chinook 9, Winnett-Grass Range 13. Fouled out: none.

Sunburst 61, North Star 51

Sunburst 15 9 19 8 - 61

North Star 15 9 19 8 - 51

Sunburst: Cody Smith 2, Jeff Owens 6, Treyton Pickering 14, Lane Lerum 4, Michael Buckley 18, Dakota Stock 11, Christian Bloch 6. Totals: 26 5-5.

North Star: Austin Hansen 2, Dylan Miller 17, Dane Miller 1, Caden Rettig 6, Devon Miller 16, Thomas Nerat 9. Totals: 19 9-18.

3-pointers: Owens 2, Pickering, Stock, Dylan Miller, Rettig 2, Nerat. Fouls: Sunburst 15, North Star 5. Fouled out: none.