Hook Em' Horns: Fort Benton wins

The Fort Benton Longhorns have been on a rampage all season long. And after the championship game against the Chinook Sugarbeeters, the Longhorns not only were crowned kings of the Distrcit 9C, but are still undefeated, as well.

Fort Benton's 49-38 win over Chinook in the 9C boys championship game Friday night inside the Havre High Gymnasium capped off a stellar undefeated season. In fact, the win over the Beeters was some sweet revenge, too, as Chinook had beaten the Longhorns last season in the 9C championship.

Longhorns head coach Tyler Pasha was glad to see his team come through and beat a tough team in the Beeters for the third time this season.

"Holy cow, that was a nail-biter," Pasha said. "Chinook is an amazing team. They're physical, they get up on you on defense and they execute so well on offense, so that was a great game to end the district tournament."

And a great game it was indeed.

Fort Benton started off with a defensive front, with brothers Hayden and Garrett Diekhans combining for three consecutive blocks to get the crowd roaring. Then, the brothers dropped some field goals to kick off the offensive attack. Meanwhile, Reese Elliot and Hunter Neibauer put up some points of their own to keep it close. In the end, a score by Hayden Diekhans gave Fort Benton the lead 11-8 after the first quarter.

In the second, Ethan Bell came alive and helped Chinook go on a 5-0 run to bring the score to a tie, which followed with some points put up on both sides. Logan Giles dropped some baskets, Toby Niederegger added some of his own, but Garrett Diekhans and Thompson helped Fort Benton stay ahead with some big shots for a 22-18 at halftime.

Hayden Diekhans opened the game strong and was happy to see the work his team put in for years was already paying off in the first half.

"It's pretty surreal," Hayden Diekhans said. "Eighth grade year, we made it to the second round and lost out. Now, we're district champs."

After the intermission, the Diekhans brothers kept up the dynamic duo and went on an 8-0 run to give a good push to the Longhorns' lead, while Bell and Elliot kept adding points to bring Chinook closer to Fort Benton. But the Longhorns held Chinook the final minute to still have the lead 39-30 at the end of the third quarter.

In the final eight minutes, Bell and Elliot would push the Beeters closer, but the Diekhans duo and Giles worked hard for some key shots to put distance between them and Chinook. In the end, Fort Benton still held strong and is not only still undefeated, but the No. 1 seed going into divisionals, as well.

Garrett Diekhans had a monster game, leading the Longhorns with 21 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks. Logan Giles followed with 11 points and two steals. Chinook was led by Bell's 14-point and three trey game, followed by Elliot with 13 points and 17 rebounds.

At the end of the night, Garrett Diekhans was happy for his team and what they accomplished Friday night. It was Fort Benton's first-ever 9C championsip, and now, the Longhorns get to keep chasing down their first state tournament berth since 1992.

"I think we kind of started from the bottom," Garrett Diekhans said. "Freshman year, we didn't win very many games and kind of built up to this. I couldn't ask for anymore from these guys. It's awesome. For the divisional tournament, there's two more tough districts. It's going to be fun up in Four Seasons."

Fort Benton (21-0) will head to Great Falls for divisionals this week as the top seed, the Beeters (16-5) follow as the second seed from the 9C. Big Sandy will join them as well. All games will be played on the Four Seasons Arena.

Kings of the Corral

Fort Benton 49, Chinook 38 (1st)

Fort Benton 11 11 17 10 – 49

Chinook 8 10 12 8 – 38

Fort Benton – Jace Thompson 4, Hayden Diekhans 9, Max Lane 4, Logan Giles 11, Garrett Diekhans 21. Totals: 17-51 12-20 49.

Chinook – Ethan Bell 14, Hunter Neibauer 6, Benton Elliot 3, Toby Niederegger 2, Reese Elliot 13. Totals: 14-48 6-17 38.

3-Pointers: Hayden Diekhans 2, Garrett Diekhans 1, Ethan Bell 3, Benton Elliot 1. Fouls: Fort Benton 19, Chinook 20. Fouled out: Ethan Bell.