Fairview puts away Fort Benton in Class C semifinals

With the win over a tough Twin Bridges team Wednesday afternoon, the Fort Benton boys basketball team was ready for the next challenge in the Fairview Warriors, whom they battled with Thursday evening in the 2020 Class C boys state tournament in Dahlberg Arena in Missoula in the semifinals.

Unfortunately, the Longhorns were handed their first loss of the season, falling 44-37 against the Warriors in the semifinals.

Now, Fort Benton will fight for a third-place trophy in the consolation bracket.

Longhorn's head coach Tyler Pasha gave credit to Fairview for the great game and was glad to see his team fight hard.

“Fairview is a tough team,” Pasha said. “They’re well-coached and have a ton of experience. Hats off to them. If a few balls bounce our way and we have just a couple more shots, then that game is a different story. I’m proud of how our boys fought.”

Like many state games, the teams started off with a close bout. Fort Benton and the Warriors exchanged some baskets, with Hayden and Garrett Diekhans trying to keep the Longhorns close. After the first quarter, Fairview had a tight 9-8 lead over Fort Benton.

In the second period, the Longhorns pushed forward to start to run away a bit, but the Warriors, led by Josh Herron, stayed with Fort Benton to keep the score close. Cody Asbeck dropped some baskets for Fairview, while Logan Giles answered in kind, which helped the Longhorns take the lead 18-15 at the half.

After the break, the game continued to be close between the two teams. The Diekhans brothers and Max Lane kept working to drive Fort Benton, while Alex Schriver and Paul Hardy responded right back for the Warriors. At the end of the third stanza, the Longhorns kept the close lead 29-27.

But in the fourth quarter, Fairview broke out and ran away with the score. Fort Benton tried to push back, but the Warriors defense held the Longhorns, scoring twice as much within the final eight minutes. In the end, the 17-point performance by Fairview knocked off Fort Benton.

Hayden Diekhans led the Longhorns with 13 points, with his older brother Garrett Diekhans behind him with 10.

At the end of the day, Pasha shared his thoughts on the first loss of the season in the semifinals.

“It’s hard to lose the first game of the (tournament|) like that,” Pasha said. “But we can’t dwell on it and have to move on to playing Belt today.”

With that, Fort Benton faces off against the Northern C rival Belt Huskies this afternoon at 3 to try and continue their journey at the Class C state tournament at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula, with hopes of claiming a third-place trophy now.

Fairview 44, Fort Benton 37

FRV 9 6 12 17 – 44

FTB 8 10 11 8 – 37

FRV – Cody Asbeck 10, Josh Herron 13, Alex Schriver 9, Paul Hardy 8, Kanyon Taylor 4. Totals: 17-38 9-16 44.

FTB – Jace Thompson 1, Hayden Diekhans 13, Max Lane 6, Logan Giles 7, Garrett Diekhans 10. Totals: 16-35 3-8 37.

3-pointers: P. Hardy 1, L. Giles 1, G. Diekhans 1. Fouls: Fairview 12, Fort Benton 15. Fouled out: none.