Chinook, Fort Benton to meet again in 9C boys championship game

It has been two years since the Chinook boys basketball team has lost a District 9C game and if the Sugarbeeters can extend that streak for one more game, they will win their second consecutive 9C championship.

And thanks to a dominating win over North Star Friday night inside the HHS gymnasium, the Beeters will get the chance to take on Fort Benton, who knocked off Hays-Lodge Pole in the semifinals on its side of the bracket to set up a title bout between the league's two best teams. Chinook used a monster night from Cord Schneider to score yet another tournament victory over North Star, 74-34.

"I was happy with how we played," Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. "Give credit to North Star, they always play hard. No matter who we play, defense is going to be the key for us going forward."

Fort Benton followed Chinook with 64-52 win over Hays-Lodge Pole. From start to finish it was an exciting game, however, the Thunderbirds never got closer than six points in the second half. Fort Benton big man Garrett Diekhans finished the game with 18 points and 10 rebounds, as well as three assists. Damon Bird, who knocked down a 3-pointer with under four minutes to go to put the Longhorns up 58-46, also had a strong effort with 16 points and five rebounds, while Jeremy Pretty Paint led HLP with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Garrett Diekhans, an All-State player last season, came out firing for the Longhorns and scored 13 points in the first half. He knocked down a 3-pointer and scored an old-fashioned 3-point play in the first quarter as the Longhorns built a 17-13 lead.

In the second quarter, Fort Benton got going from deep as Bird and Hayden Diekhans connected from long range to put the Longhorns up 31-18. HLP battled back and trimmed the lead back down to seven, but a couple of Fort Benton buckets, including a tip-in by Garrett Diekhans, gave the Longhorns a 35-24 lead.

The T-Birds made an early run in the second half, but head coach Derrick Shambo got a technical when the game was within six. Fort Benton was able to push it back to double digits after two more triples from Hayden Diekhans and in the fourth quarter, Fort Benton salted away the win while Shambo was ejected after another technical. The Longhorns clinched a spot at divisionals with a win and get another shot at Chinook, a team that beat them twice during the season.

In the first semifinal, Chinook got off to a fast start and more specifically, so did Schneider who scored six in the first quarter for Chinook as the Beeters jumped out to a 13-3 lead over North Star. In the second quarter, the Beeters continued to roll and created some major distance when Schneider and Isaac Bell both converted 3-point plays to give Chinook 28-8 lead.

The Beeters led 36-12 at the half and continued their onslaught in the third quarter. Bell notched a 3-point play early in the third quarter and by the time the stanza came to a close, Chinook had increased its lead to 51-24. When it was all over, the Beeters rolled up a 40-point margin of victory. Schneider finished with a game-high 26 points to go along with four rebounds. Bell added 17 points and four assists and Reese Elliot also contributed with 13 points and eight rebounds.

"I was really pleased with how we came out and played," Chinook head coach Mike Seymour said. "I was really proud of our effort. I thought it was a lot better than in the first game."

With the win, Chinook will head back to divisionals for the third straight year and will go for its 36th straight win and second straight district championship Saturday night.

"We aren't focused on divisionals at all right now," Seymour said. "We want to win this tournament. It has been a goal of ours all season long and it's something that means a lot to us."