Hawks soar to new heights

The Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks came into the District 9C Boys Basketball Tournament as underdogs after earning just the No. 6 seed. And they opened the tournament with a loss to Box Elder back on Tuesday night.

However, CJI fought all the way back to earn a rematch with the Bears, and they defeated Box Elder, 52-39, to win the consolation trophy and earn a bid to the divisional tournament Saturday afternoon at the Havre High gymnasium.

“The kids played tough defense and they didn’t give up. We took care of the ball better because Box Elder’s pressure is endless,” said CJI head coach Joe Horel. “My hats off to them, they make it tough for you every second of the game and our boys endured that pressure and took care of the ball.”

It was a huge win for the program as the Hawks will now make the divisional tournament for the first time in five years.

“It’s a building block. It’s a step that we haven’t been able to take for a long time,” Horel said. “They just came to play. They just believed in each other.”

The consolation game win was the third win in a row for the Hawks, who started with a 54-45 win over No. 7 seed Turner Wednesday night. The Hawks then won back-to-back games as the lower seed, as they defeated No. 4 seed Big Sandy, 52-49, Friday in overtime, before beating the Bears in the consolation final.

The Hawks got it going early against the Bears. In one stretch during the first quarter, Blake Harmon scored eight straight points for the Hawks, helping them build a 12-5 lead to end the quarter.

“We all work together and just through team effort we put together a really good game,” Harmon said.

However, the Bears opened the second quarter with a 12-5 run to tie the game at 17. With less than three minutes remaining in the half, the Hawks responded as they went on an 11-2 run to take a 30-19 lead into halftime. During the run, Harmon’s older brother, Kyle, scored five points off of a 3-pointer and two free throws.

“It means a lot getting to play together with him. It’s so special, not everybody gets to do that,” Blake Harmon said about getting to play with his brother.

The Hawks held off the Bears thanks to their defense that limited the Bears to shooting 32.7 percent from the field. While the Bears had five players score more than five points, only one hit the double-digit mark as Tyrus LaMere led the team with 10. Tayce St. Pierre, who scored 23 points the night before, was held scoreless.

Blake Harmon led the Hawks with 20 points and his brother Kyle added 13. The big difference on the scoreboard came at the free-throw line as the Hawks went to the line nearly four times more than the Bears. The Hawks took advantage as they shot 19-for-27 from the charity stripe. When the Bears did get to the line, they failed to take advantage as they shot 2-for-7.

The Bears had a tumultuous tournament leading up to Saturday. After defeating CJI Tuesday, they were scheduled to play Chinook in the semifinals. However, some issues related to COVID-19 came up and the team had to forfeit their semifinal game. The Bears were fortunately cleared to play Friday and they defeated North Star 57-48, but they came up short in their bid to return to Great Falls.

The Hawks will next play in the Northern C Divisional Boys Basketball Tournament this week in Great Falls. Horel believes that the run that his team is on has improved their confidence, so they won’t shy away from the upcoming challenge.

“You got to step it up a level when you go to divisionals because the competition gets tougher,” Horel said. “We just keep working with each other, and I think the team spirit has caught on and they know that as a team, they can do some pretty cool things.”

CJI (7-10) will play the third-place team from the 10C Tournament Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena.

The Havre Daily News will once again have full coverage of the Northern C starting with previews on Tuesday, and live game coverage, Tuesday through Saturday in Great Falls, as well as a complete wrapup in next Monday's Havre Daily News Hi-Line Sports Roundup.

CJI 52, Box Elder 39, 3rd

Box Elder - 5 14 11 9 - 39

CJI 12 18 9 13 - 52

Box Elder - Jayden Jilot 7, Gabe Saddler 8, Malique Rosette 6, Kadyn Duran 6, Tyrus LaMere 10, Morsett Willie 0, Morris Myers 0, Tayce St. Pierre 0, Theron Oats Jr. 0, Jayden Gopher 2.

CJI - Nate Nelson 0, Bryce Ghekiere 1, Braden Mattson 9, Kyle Harmon 13, Jordan Bender 0, Karson Pulst 0, Bryce Kammerzell 0, Blake Harmon 20, Adam Grammer 0, Pat Dahlin 0, Trevin Grammer 0, Keally Haaland 9.

CJI 52, Big Sandy 49, lo

Big Sandy 10 8 13 13 5 - 49

CJI 10 11 10 13 8 - 52

Big Sandy - Rusty Gasvoda 0, Lane Demontiney 7, Kody Strutz 7, Brayden Cline 12, Wylee Snapp 4, Cooper Taylor 9, Ryder Galbavy 0, Kade Strutz 10.

CJI - Bryce Ghekiere 0, Braden Mattson 3, Kyle Harmon 14, Jordan Bender 0, Bryce Kammerzell 14, Blake Harmon 15, Trevin Grammer 0, Kealy Haaland 6.

Box Elder 57, North Star 48, lo

North Star 13 6 15 14 - 48

Box Elder 21 11 14 11 - 57

North Star - Joey Wendland 2, Garrett Spicher 10, Payne Ditmar 1, Gavin Spicher 10, Jaden Sargent 8, Ty Hansen 3, Rhett Wolery 14, Gavin Clawson 0.

Box Elder - Jayden Jilot 2, Gabe Saddler 16, Malique Rosette 4, Kadyn Duran 4, Tyrus LaMere 6, Tayce St. Pierre 23, Jayden Gopher 2.