Box Elder survives against North Star to begin districts

In the closest game of the first day of the District 9C boys basketball tournament, the No. 3 seed Box Elder Bears and No. 6 seed North Star Knights played hard Wednesday night at Havre High Gymnasium. Both teams played hard with both squads taking the lead throughout the night. But the Bears were able to grab the lead in the second half as they went on to win 70-62.

"You got to give credit to North Star. They were well prepared. They came out firing and took it to us early," Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. "We had to battle back there. Proud of them and we stayed focused and eventually executed the game plan and got a win."

A layup from Skyler Walker and a 3-pointer from Tyrus LaMere gave Box Elder a 5-0 lead to start the game. After a free throw from Gavin Clawson, Walker scored to give the Bears a 7-1 lead a few minutes into the game. Over the next couple minutes, the Bears and Knights each scored a bucket and a free throw, making it 11-4.

Back-to-back buckets from the Knights cut the deficit to 11-8. After a score by LaMere, Garrett Spicher knocked down a pair of free throws to keep up. King Ragged Robe then made a layup to stretch the lead to 15-10 with under three minutes left in the opening quarter.

But the Knights grabbed momentum with a 7-2 run to end the frame. A bucket from Clawson and some free throws from Rhett Wolery cut the deficit to one point. After a score by Box Elder's Jo Jo Standing Rock, the Knights scored to tie the game, 17-17, heading to the break.

Clawson made a layup to give North Star the lead to start the second. The Knights continued with the momentum as they stretched their lead to 23-17. The Bears responded with some baskets to cut the deficit to 23-21, but the Knights stayed in control with a 7-0 run. Hansen got the run started with a bucket and Carter Campbell nailed a three from the corner to add on to it. A bucket from Gavin Spicher gave North Star a 30-21 lead halfway through the quarter.

"I thought we rebounded extremely well," North Star head coach Karston Donoven said about the Knights' play in the first half. "We continued to get offensive boards and get some easy looks off of it so that was probably the biggest thing that kept it close in the first half."

But the Bears did not back down from the adversity as they went on a 15-4 run to end the half. Gabe Saddler got it started with a free throw and a layup. LaMere then made a layup and one free throw to cut the deficit to 30-27. After a bucket from Clawson, Saddler made another pair of baskets to cut the deficit to one point.

Gavin Spicher scored for North Star in an attempt to retake control, but it was not enough. With about 30 seconds left in the half, LaMere made a three to tie the game. A reverse layup from Saddler then gave Box Elder a 36-34 lead heading into halftime.

"It's all about pressure on the defensive end and then moving the basketball on the offensive end," MacDonald said about the comeback. "We were able to create some turnovers that lead to transition and that's our game."

The Bears started the second half with another bucket from Saddler. After a North Star free throw, Saddler knocked down a three to make the lead 41-35. But Hansen made a pair of buckets to cut the deficit to 41-39. After a Saddler free throw, Clawson and Wolery scored to give North Star a 43-42 lead.

But the Bears did not relent as buckets from Matthias Blackbird and Saddler gave Box Elder a 46-43 lead halfway through the quarter. After a North Star free throw, Saddler scored again. Clawson made a bucket to keep pace but a three from LaMere stretched the lead to 51-46. After a North Star free throw, the Bears and Knights exchanged buckets as Box Elder took a 53-49 lead into the fourth.

The Bears held onto control to start the fourth as they created some distance on the scoreboard. Saddler continued to make plays as he scored six points to start the fourth. A bucket from him with three minutes left gave Box Elder a 64-53 lead.

But the Knights did not go away quietly as they fought their way back. Wolery made a pair of buckets to cut the deficit to 64-57. A three from Garrett Spicher then cut to 64-60 with about a minute left. But back-to-back scores from LaMere and Saddler gave Box Elder the cushion they needed to hold on for the win. Along with those late scores, MacDonald credits the team's discipline for holding on for the win.

"We just took pretty good care of the basketball down the stretch. We were fortunate that a couple shots didn't fall," MacDonald said. "Those boys were ready to go and they gave us all we wanted tonight."

Saddler led Box Elder with 28 points on 12-for-25 shooting from the field. LaMere also made an impact with 18 points as he shot 6-for-17 from the field and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. All five starters for North Star reached double digits in scoring. Clawson led the way with 14 points as he went 6-for-11 from the field.

With the loss, North Star will head to the consolation bracket. If the Knights are going to make a run at a third-place trophy, Donoven believes they just need to relax and focus on their next opponent.

"Just take it one game at a time. This conference is so close so you never know who you're going to play," Donoven said. "There's nothing you can do about the past so just got to move on to the next game and take it one game at a time and try to continue moving on."

The Box Elder Bears will advance to the semifinals tonight to play Big Sandy. With a chance to make the district championship game and clinch a spot in the Northern C Divisionals, MacDonald believes his team just needs to take things steady.

"We're just trying to build momentum," MacDonald said. "The goal was to get to 1-0 and now our next goal is to get to 2-0."

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

Box Elder 70, North Star 62

BE - 17 19 17 17 - 70

NS - 17 17 15 13 - 62

BE - Gabe Saddler 28, Tyrus LaMere 18, Jo Jo Standing Rock 6, Matthias Blackbird 6, King Ragged Robe 5, Skyler Walker 4, Gyme Kelly III 3.

NS - Gavin Clawson 14, Rhett Wolery 13, Garrett Spicher 11, Ty Hansen 11, Gavin Spicher 10, Carter Campbell 3.

3-pointers: BE 6-25 (Tyrus LaMere 3, Gabe Saddler 1, Gyme Kelly III 1, King Ragged Robe 1), NS 2-16 (Carter Campbell 1, Garrett Spicher 1). Fouls: BE 21, NS 14. Fouled Out: None.