Local cagers sign with Frontier hoops programs

This past high school basketball season was an exciting one for local basketball players and two of them recently decided to keep playing the game at the collegiate level.

One of those players is former Chinook Sugarbeeters standout Isaac Bell, who will continue his basketball career at the University of Providence in the Frontier Conference. Bell was a two-time Class C All-State selection for the Beeters and this past season, he helped Chinook go undefeated during the regular season in addition to winning the District 9C and Northern C Divisional championships.

Behind Bell's 11.8 points per game average, Chinook won its first 25 games of the season and advanced to the Class C state tournament for the first time. Chinook hadn't been to state since it was in Class B back in the 1980's. The Beeters advanced into the semifinals but were defeated by Arlee.

Chinook won the 9C regular season and tournament championships the past two years, while also advancing to the divisional semifinals three years in a row. Bell is a three-time All-Conference selection in the 9C. He also scored a career-high 51 points in a game against Harlem during the 2017-18 season. That game also included him making eight 3-pointers.

Bell is staying relatively close to home by agreeing to play in Great Falls but another local player, Havre's own Tommy Brown, is heading to Billings, where he will play for Rocky Mountain College, also of the Frontier Conference.

Brown averaged 8.1 points per game last season for Havre, which won seven games, a four-game improvement over the previous season. Brown, the starting point guard, was a big reason for that increase as he connected on 38 percent of his 3-pointers, in addition to averaging 4.3 assists per game. Brown also plays tennis for Havre High and will start out with Rocky's junior varsity team.