Big Sandy Pioneers race past Thunderbirds

In the last game of the first day of the District 9C boys basketball tournament, No. 2 seed Big Sandy looked to start the tournament on the right note against No. 7 seed Hays-Lodge Pole. On Wednesday night at Havre High Gymnasium, the Pioneers showed why they were the higher seed as they defeated the Thunderbirds 90-50.

"That was a pretty good game to get started. We worked well aggressively and the shots fell," Big Sandy head coach Thomas Dilworth said.

The Pioneers started the night strong as they jumped out into a 13-2 lead. The Thunderbirds scored a couple of buckets but the Pioneers held onto control as they led 24-7 heading to the second quarter.

The Thunderbirds played better in the second quarter as they were able to cut the deficit to 34-24 with under three minutes left in the half. But the Pioneers responded with a 6-0 run to stretch the lead to 40-24. Kody Strutz made a pair of buckets to start the run and Wylee Snapp finished it off with a bucket. The Thunderbirds made some plays late in the half but Big Sandy led, 42-28, heading to halftime.

The Pioneers started the third quarter with a 3-pointer from Braydon Cline and a bucket from Lane Demontiney to further stretch the lead. The Thunderbirds tried to claw their way back but Big Sandy continued to pull away to take a 73-36 lead heading to the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, the Pioneers had a running clock to easily win the game. Cline finished the game with 32 points as he shot 13-for-16 from the field, 4-for-6 from three and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line. Even though he was slowed down in the second half, Strutz finished the night with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting from the field and 6-for-7 shooting from the free-throw line.

"We've got a lot of offensive firepower," Dilworth said about his players. "When they're all firing on the same night, it's a fun team to coach."

Tyshawn Shambo led the Thunderbirds with 17 points as he went 7-for-16 from the field. Brandon Castillo shot 6-for-9 from the field for 14 points in the losing effort. With the loss, the Thunderbirds head to the consolation bracket to face North Star.

"We got an early game. We have a long way to go home tonight, get a little bit of rest and we'll come back and get back to work tomorrow," HLP head coach Nate Martin said. "We know what we got to do against North Star so we're excited."

The Pioneers will now head to the semifinals tonight to face Box Elder. If the Pioneers are going to get past the Bears and advance to the championship game, they will need to be tough and limit the Bears' strengths.

"They're quick and they're going to press you all game long, they're going to wear you down," Dilworth said. "They shoot the three ball a lot. They shoot it pretty well but if you let them get offensive rebounds, it's a long night."

Big Sandy will play Box Elder in a semifinal tonight at 8:30 p.m. at HHS Gymnasium. HLP played North Star in a consolation game earlier this morning.

Big Sandy 90, HLP 50

BS - 24 18 31 17 - 90

HLP - 7 21 8 14 - 50

BS - Braydon Cline 32, Kody Strutz 27, Lane Demontiney 14, Wylee Snapp 9, Samuel Cox 6, Cooper Taylor 2.

HLP - Tyshawn Shambo 17, Brandon Castillo 14, Cash Messerly 8, Daniel Henry 6, Richard Gone 5.

3-pointers: BS 6-13 (Braydon Cline 4, Lane Demontiney 1, Kody Strutz 1), HLP 1-16 (Cash Messerly 1). Fouls: BS 14, HLP 10. Fouled Out: Lane Demontiney.