Fort Benton stampedes through Northern C opener

GREAT FALLS - In this year's District 9C and Northern C boys basketball tournaments, Fort Benton hopes for a repeat of 2020 when they won both of them. They already won the District 9C this past weekend, so now their sights are set on defending their Northern C title. If Tuesday night is any indication, a repeat in the Northern C is well within reach as they dominated Winnett-Grass Range, 72-21, at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena.

The Longhorns put the game out of reach early as they ended the first quarter with a 25-2 lead. Senior Hayden Diekhans didn't take long to get it going on offense as he scored the Longhorns' first 12 points of the game without missing a single shot.

"Our energy was just up. Obviously, we've been here, we're a little bit more comfortable with the floor than Winnett so our nerves weren't as high," said Fort Benton head coach Tyler Pasha. "I think that our energy, that our press really got after them a little bit and that's what we've been doing all season."

The Longhorns didn't give the Rams a chance to get back in the game as the lead was 43-11 at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, both teams had put their benches in.

Diekhans finished the game with 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the floor. William Ulery and Jace Thompson both chipped in 10 points in the winning effort. The team finished the game shooting 50.8 percent from the floor.

"It looked like they were excited and they were having fun," Pasha said.

The Longhorns' defense forced the Rams to shoot 17.1 percent from the floor. The Rams also turned the ball over 23 times. The only aspect of the game the Rams performed well in was shooting 8-for-11 from the free-throw line. The Rams came into the Northern C after finishing third in the District 8C Tournament. They will play a loser-out game this afternoon against 9C team Chester-Joplin-Inverness.

Fort Benton advances to the semifinal on Friday. They will play the winner of Simms and Roy-Winifred who play this afternoon. Pasha believes that both teams can present a challenge for the Longhorns, so his team will have to be ready.

"Simms is undefeated coming into the Northern C, winning the 10C so obviously, they can't be overlooked," Pasha said. "Roy-Winifred beat us already in the regular season, so we got to come prepared against whoever we face on Friday."

Hawks just miss

CJI went into the Northern C Divisional Boys Basketball Tournament hoping to continue their unexpected run this postseason. They went into the District 9C Tournament as the no. 6 seed and came out finishing third. However, they fell, 42-36, in a defensive slugfest against Dutton-Brady on Tuesday night at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena.

The Hawks' offensive struggles began early on when they only managed to only score four points in the opening quarter.

"We came out sluggish and we dug ourselves a little hole we just never could get out of," said CJI head coach Joe Horel. "The kids continued to fight. We were happy with that but that's one you'd like to win."

Fortunately for CJI, the Diamondbacks also struggled offensively in the first half. Both teams finished the first half shooting less than 30 percent from the field. The only consistent shooting from either team was the Hawks at the 3-point line as they went 3-for-5.

The offense picked up a bit for both teams in the third quarter. The Diamondbacks maintained their advantage as they led 29-24 heading into the fourth quarter. The Hawks stayed in the game but were never able to take a lead. CJI had one last chance in the fourth quarter as they trailed 34-32 with just over three minutes remaining. However, they could not get their offense in a rhythm and the Diamondbacks hit enough shots down the stretch to put it away.

"We played all kinds of defense but kudos to them, they took advantage. We had an opening and they capitalized on any openings we had," Horel said.

Neither team shot more than 30 percent from the field for the game. Kyle Harmon led the Hawks with 13 points as he went 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. However, he struggled closer to the basket as he went 0-for-5 from two-point range. Blake Harmon was right behind him with 12 points of his own. Dutton-Brady came into the tournament after finishing third in the District 10C tournament. Now with the win, the Diamondbacks advance to play District 8C champion Belt on Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

As the Hawks head forward into the tournament, they hope for a repeat of their performance in the 9C where they lost their opening game and ran the table to finish third. They hope to start a run today when they face Winnett-Grass Range in a loser-out game.

"We'll be fine. The jitters are out," Horel said. "We'll shoot better. We'll continue to defend hard and hopefully we'll have a little bit better outcome next game."

CJI plays today at 1 p.m. against Winnett-Grass Range at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena.

Dutton-Brady 42, CJI 36

Dutton-Brady 12 5 12 13 – 42

CJI 4 9 11 12 – 36

Dutton-Brady – Jake Feldman 7, Tyler Ellsworth 10, Tyce Erickson 10, Kellan Doheny 10, John Barringer 0, Jay Clark 0, Rylan Doheny 5, Chance Ostberg 0.

CJI – Bryce Ghekiere 0, Braden Mattson 5, Kyle Harmon 13, Jordan Bender 0, Bryce Kammerzell 0, Blake Harmon 12, Trevin Grammar 0, Kealy Haaland 6.

Fort Benton 72, Winnett-Grass Range 21

Winnett-Grass Range 2 9 7 3 – 21

Fort Benton 25 18 19 10 – 72

Winnett-Grass Range – Walker Doman 9, Kaden Siroky 0, Cy Nunn 4, Derrik Zimmerman 2, Enzo Corren 0, Layton Geary 0, Brady Bantz 4, Garret Eickhoff 0, Cooper Duncan 2, Jace Dunkel 0, Layton Tucek 0, Matthew Weller 0.

Fort Benton – Devin Bird 4, Landis Arganbright 5, Jace Thompson 10, Jaxen Dehaven 5, Jacob Giles 6, Nick Marias 0, Hayden Diekhans 18, Tim Lane 2, Cody Evans 4, William Ulery 10, Jackson Schmele 4, Andrew Ballantyne 4.