Fort Benton boys finish fourth at state

BILLINGS - The postseason had been kind to the Fort Benton boys basketball team. First, the Longhorns repeated as District 9C champions and then won the Northern C for the second year in the row. They also opened play in the State Class C Boys Basketball Tournament with an overtime win over Froid/Med Lake.

However, the Longhorns' magic came to an end as their season ended with a 56-40 loss to Manhattan Christian in the state consolation game Saturday at Lockwood High School in Billings. While their season did not end with a win, Fort Benton head coach Tyler Pasha is proud of what his team accomplished, especially in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic that cut short their season last year.

"It was a great season. I'm so glad that we were able to finish it this year," Pasha said. "Everything else in this world is small when it comes to COVID-related stuff, and so I was just grateful for the small things that we got to enjoy."

Fort Benton struggled to score in the first quarter. They only scored two points on 1-for-8 shooting from the field in the opening frame. The Eagles took advantage as they ended the quarter with a 14-2 lead. Pasha believes that playing their third game in less than 24 hours had an effect on his players.

"They were playing passing lanes and we weren't completely ready for that type of defense," Pasha said. "Mentally I don't think we were just there quite yet."

The Longhorns outscored the Eagles in the second quarter but still trailed 25-15 heading into halftime. However, Manhattan Christian scored 19 points in the third quarter to pull away.

In his final game as a Longhorn, Hayden Diekhans led the team with 13 points as he went 5-for-11 from the field and 3-for-6 from the 3-point line. As a team, Fort Benton shot 27.1 percent from the field and 22.7 percent from beyond the arc.

The Eagles shot 44.7 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from the 3-point line. Willem Kimm scored 15 points for the Eagles after he went 6-for-6 from the field and 3-for-5 from the free-throw line.

Fort Benton qualified for the consolation game after defeating Belt, 61-52, in a loser-out game Saturday morning. It was the Longhorns' second victory over Belt this postseason as they defeated the Huskies in an overtime thriller in the Northern C championship game Feb. 27.

After falling behind 4-0 to start the game, the Longhorns scored six straight points to take a lead that they would never relinquish. Diekhans led the run as he scored six points off of a 3-pointer, a layup and a free throw. They extended their lead to nine points, but Belt ended the quarter with five straight points to make Fort Benton's lead, 15-11, at the end of the quarter.

Belt cut the Longhorn's lead to one early in the second quarter, but Fort Benton retook momentum to put some distance between them to take a 34-24 lead into halftime. Belt refused to go away in the third quarter as Fort Benton went to the fourth quarter leading, 44-38. However, Fort Benton did not let their lead slip out of their hands as they went on to secure the win.

The Longhorns were forced to the loser's bracket after they lost, 39-38, in heartbreaking fashion to Twin Bridges in the semifinal Friday night. With about three seconds left in the game, the Longhorns had possession with a chance to take a lead and advance to the championship game. They missed their initial attempt, but they got an offensive rebound for another chance to win the game. Their second attempt bounced over the rim but did not fall in as the buzzer came.

Fort Benton trailed most of the game as they struggled to hit their shots. They went into halftime trailing the Falcons, 21-16, after they shot 25.9 percent from the field and 9.1 percent from beyond the arc in the first half.

The Longhorns got it going in the third quarter to cut the lead to two points with just over two minutes left in the quarter. They then got a back-to-back baskets from William Ullery and Cody Evans to take a 28-26 lead into the final quarter.

The Longhorns extended their lead to five early in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons did not let up. Over the last five and a half minutes of the game, Twin Bridges went on an 11-5 run to win the game and advance to the championship game.

With their season over, Fort Benton says goodbye to their senior class that consists of Diekhans, Ullery, Jace Thompson, Nick Marias and Cody Olson. As they move into their future, Pasha wants his seniors to know what they meant to the program.

"They set us up for success," Pasha said. "They have built a program underneath them with how hard they work and just so proud of how they conduct themselves as young men and I can't wait to see what their future holds for them."

As the Longhorns regroup and move into the offseason, Pasha aims to return to the state tournament for the third straight year.

"It's not going to get any easier losing five seniors. I think that we've built upon what we can use in the future and hopefully we can make it back here," Pasha said. "I think that we got the young kids to do it and I'm just excited for what the future can hold."

Scobey beat Twin Bridges for the state championship Saturday night.

Twin Bridges 39, Fort Benton 38, SF

Fort Benton 5 11 12 10 – 38

Twin Bridges 9 12 5 13 – 39

Fort Benton – Hayden Diekhans 12, Cody Evans 9, Devin Bird 8, William Ullery 4, Jaxen DeHaven 3, Nick Marias 2.

Twin Bridges – Charlie Kruer 16, Tate Smith 14, Matt Kaiser 7, Connor Nye 2.

Fort Benton 61, Belt 52, LO

Belt 11 13 14 14 – 52

Fort Benton 15 19 10 17 – 61

Belt – Aiden McDaniel 18, Bridger Vogl 11, Kaimen Evans 11, Garrett Metrione 5, Keaghan McDaniel 4, Treyton Hennes 2.

Fort Benton – Hayden Diekhans 14, Cody Evans 12, Jaxen DeHaven 10, Devin Bird 9, Jace Thompson 8, William Ullery 4, Andrew Ballantyne 3, Nick Marias 2.

Manhattan Christian 56, Fort Benton 40, 3rd

Fort Benton 2 13 13 12 – 40

Manhattan Christian 14 11 19 12 – 56

Fort Benton – Hayden Diekhans 13, Cody Evans 8, Jace Thompson 5, Jaxen DeHaven 5, Devin Bird 3, Nick Marias 2, Jackson Schmele 2, William Ullery 2.

Manhattan Christian – Willem Kimm 15, Seth Amunrud 13, Logan Leep 8, Caidin Hill 8, Tebarek Hill 5, Trevor Van Dyken 3, Gavin Weiss 2, Jackson Leep 2.