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Undefeated Beeters look to repeat as 9C boys champions
Fort Benton's Garrett Diekhans, right shoots over a Big Sandy defender during a District 9C boys game earlier this season. The 9C boys tournament runs Thursday-Saturday in the Havre High gymnasium, and while undefeated and defending champion Chinook is a heavy favorite this week, both the Longhorns and Pioneers bring strong teams to Havre as well.
After a hard-fought regular season, the eight teams of the District 9C will invade the HHS gymnasium this week as three berths to the Northern C Divisional in Great Falls next week are on the line.
Last season, the boys tournament was first and concluded on a Friday night with the Chinook Sugarbeeters knocking off the North Star Knights for the championship. This year, the tournament begins Thursday at 11 a.m., as the Beeters will begin their title defense against Chester-Joplin-Inverness.
Chinook, which went undefeated in the district for the second straight regular season following a blowout win over Fort Benton last Friday night, will look to win a second straight championship and punch a third straight ticket to the Northern C in Great Falls. And not only is Chinook the No. 1 seed but including the last two 9C tournaments, the Beeters have won 33 consecutive games in district play.
"You have to give it up to Chinook," Fort Benton head coach Tyler Pasha said. "They haven't lost a game within our district in two years and they are where we all want to get."
The Hawks (3-15, 2-12), who are led by Tyler Wanken and Spencer Richter, will take their shot in the quarterfinals Thursday and facing them will be one of the most talented duos in Class C boys basketball in Isaac Bell and Cord Schneider, two All-State players. However, Chinook also has fellow standouts like Brendan Edwards, Riley Kellam Trajan Hannum, Ethan Bell and Reese Eilliot.
Chinook will be a heavy favorite against CJI, but whoever wins will advance to the semifinals Friday at 4 p.m. and in that game, the winner of Chinook and CJI will face either Big Sandy or North Star, which will meet in the game between the four and five seeds Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
Led by Brock Proulx and Ryan Roth, Big Sandy (10-8 7-7) put together its best regular season in years, but just missed out on a winning season in district play with a loss against CJI last weekend. North Star, on the other hand, ended its season on a positive note, defeating Conrad 53-49 Saturday. Led by head coach Cody Donoven, the Knights are a much different team than they were a season ago when they made it all the way to the 9C championship game before falling to Chinook. Yet, with Caden Rettig back along with Bailey Spicher, the Knights are hoping to make a run again, starting Thursday with the Pioneers.
"We feel like we are going to be ready," Donoven said. "There are always going to be ups and downs during the season. But we are starting to play well at the right time and we feel we have as good a chance as anyone else. Chinook, Fort Benton and Hays (Lodge Pole) are going to be pretty tough, but we are excited and we think we have a shot like everyone else."
The next game will be between third-seeded Hays-Lodge Pole (12-6 9-5) and sixth-seeded Turner, which will be an interesting matchup considering the Tornadoes won the last meeting between the two teams. The T-Birds just missed out on making the Northern C Divisionals last season, finishing fourth and behind top scorers Gilbert Snow, Ken Black Crow Jr. and Jeremy Pretty Paint, they will be looking to make a return trip to Great Falls. Beating the Tornadoes (5-13, 4-10) would be a solid start, however, they will also be looking to make some noise and the driving force behind that will be Cody Welsh, one of the top overall scorers in the district.
Turner and HLP will play at 4 p.m. and in the nightcap of the boys tournament Thursday, second-seeded Fort Benton (16-2, 12-2) will take on seventh-seeded Box Elder (5-13, 4-10). The Longhorns finished third in last year's tournament and are hoping to reach the championship game for the first time since joining the 9C. Fort Benton will boast one of the top individual players in the district in All-State standout Garrett Diekhans, along with his brother Hayden Diekans, another very skilled scorer. Led by Chris Burns, Nacona Limberhand and Malique Rosette, the Bears will try for the upset.
The four winners Thursday will play in the semifinals Friday at 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The consolation game will be set for Saturday night at 7, followed by the championship game at 8:30.
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