HLP flies into Northern C semifinals

GREAT FALLS - There were a lot of upsets on the first day of the Northern C Boys Divisional basketball tournament in Great Falls, and after all three No. 1 seeds went down in the girls tournament, Hays-Lodge Pole pulled the first upset of the boys tournament with a 57-48 win over 10C champion Heart Butte.

HLP, which advanced to divisionals after getting third at the District 9C tournament last week in Havre, used a big second quarter to take a 32-18 lead into halftime then held on late after Heart Butte momentarily tied the game. Despite that, HLP (16-7) hung on for the nine-point win and now the Thunderbirds are one win away from the Northern C championship game. They will play Roy-Winifred Friday at 4 p.m.

"It's still hard for me to wrap my head around," HLP head coach Derrick Shambo said. "We had some ups and downs this season and there were times when I questioned myself and what we were doing, but these boys really stepped up. We have some senior leadership and those veteran guys, even though they didn't play a lot last season, they have really stepped up and you could see it coming together the last three or four weeks of the season."

While the Heart Butte and Hays-Lodge Pole game was a fast-paced affair, neither team shot the ball well. For the game, the T-Birds shot 34.4 percent from the field and the Warriors finished shooting 33.3 percent. However, in the second quarter, HLP broke out for 21 points and outscored the Warriors by 15 points during the stanza.

Kyle Young Jr. started the 21-6 run for the T-Birds with a 3-pointer and soon after, Jeremy Pretty Paint, who was dominant on both ends of the floor, pushed the HLP advantage to five with a 3-point play. Just a couple minutes before half Kenneth BlackCrow added a 3-point play of his own, which helped HLP go into the break up 32-18.

In the third quarter, though, Heart Butte answered in a big way. The Warriors got hot from deep and got five points late in the quarter from Blaise ArrowTop to get within two points and following a 17-4 run by Heart Butte, the T-Birds led just 36-35 heading into the fourth quarter.

The game was eventually tied at 40-40, yet a clutch 3-pointer by Jeffrey Stiffarm as well as a big bucket from BlackCrow helped the T-Birds grab a six-point lead that they would not relinquish.

When it was all said and done, Pretty Paint had a gigantic night in the win for the T-Birds with 16 points, 22 rebounds and four blocks. Joining him with a double-double was BlackCrow, who ended up with 16 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Stiffarm also added eight points in the win for HLP.

"I don't think a lot of people know Jeremy Pretty Paint or Kenny BlackCrow," Shambo said. "But I bet that they do now. I have been working with this team and these guys, trying to get them to believe we are an elite team. Now, we have a chance to make a run here at state and I think we can make it there. I know that we can. We just have to play up to our potential."

Fort Benton nearly pulls off a dramatic comeback

In the nightcap of day one at the Northern C, Fort Benton took on Roy-Winifred, the top-seed out of the 8C and despite a furious rally late, the Longhorns fell just short of a tie as a game-tying 3-pointer clanked off the iron in the final seconds, giving the Outlaws a 59-56 win.

The Longhorns will now head to the loser-out bracket and take on either Sunburst or Heart Butte Friday morning at 9:30.

"We didn't come out ready to go, we were tenative," Fort Benton head coach Tyler Pasha said. "We came out and shot too many 3-pointers, which you can't do in this building. It's just too hard. We didn't get the ball inside enough."

Both teams spent the first quarter feeling each other out and the score was tied 9-9 near the end of the opening stanza. In the second quarter, though, the Outlaws started heating up and opened up a 23-13 lead before going into the half up 27-18.

Damon Bird opened the fourth quarter by getting back-to-back buckets to get the Longhorns within five points and then after another hoop by Hayden Diekhans, Fort Benton got within two, 29-26. Jace Thompson tied the game for Fort Benton, but the Outlaws finished the quarter on 6-2 run and then scored the first few in the fourth quarter to jump ahead 45-38.

Yet, the Longhorns weren't done yet and when Garrett Diekhans converted a 3-point play with 1:08 to go, Fort Benton was within three. The lead stayed that way when Hayden Diekhans hit another one with the Longhorns down six with 30 seconds to go. On the next possession, after missing a bucket, Fort Benton was still down three and got a steal with around 10 seconds left on the clock. The Longhorns attempted a 3-pointer, which would have tied the game, but it didn't go and despite getting an offenve rebound, they couldn't get another shot up, losing by three.

"I guess if you are going to lose a game, it's best to do it in the first round," Pasha said. "I still think we have a great chance but we are going to have to come back and play better."

Justin Stulc went off for the Outlaws and knocked down five 3-pointers on his way to 27 points. Garrett Diekhans finished with 20 and Hayden Diekhans wound up 13.

Fort Benton (18-4) will play in loser-out action Friday morning.

Roy-Winifred 59, Fort Benton 56

Fort Benton 9 9 18 20 - 56

Roy-Winifred 13 14 13 19 - 59

Fort Benton - Damon Bird 12, Jace Thompson 2, Ethan Pfile 4, Hayden Diekhans 13, Logan Giles 1, Billy Ullery 4, Garrett Diekhans 20. Totals: 23-53 6-14 59.

Roy-Winifred - Bryer Shultz 4, Brody Geer 9, Justin Stulc 27, Ryan Russell 6, Tyler Fordyce 13. Totals: 20-36 12-20 59.

3-Pointers: Brody Greer 2, Justin Stulc 5, Hayden Diekhans 2, Garrett Diekhans 1. Total fouls: Fort Benton 14, Roy-Winifred 13. Fouled out -- none.

Hays-Lodge Pole 57, Heart Butte 48

HLP 11 21 4 21 - 57

Heart Butte - 12 6 17 13 - 48

HLP - Gilbert Snow 5, Jeffrey Stiffarm 8, Jeremy Pretty Paint 16, Kenneth BlackCrow 16, Kyle Young 4, Desmond Shambo 4, Tyshawn Shambo 2, Wyman Bringing Good. Totals: 21-61 12-25 57.

Heart Butte - Blaise ArrowTop 9, Dillon Kipp 4, Jamison Young RunningCrane 20 Leo Kipp 2, Cody Aimsback 3, Wendell Main 10. Totals: 19-57 5-10 48.

3-Pointers: ArrowTop 1, Jamison Young RunningCrane 3, Cody Aimsback 1, Kyle Young, Jeffrey Stiffarm. Total fouls: Heart Butte 24, HLP 17. Total Fouls -- Dillion Kipp.