CJI Hawks soar past Big Sandy for District 9C title

It had been a long time coming, but the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks can one again call themselves the champions of the District 9C boys basketball tournament with a 38-33 win over Big Sandy on Friday night at Havre High Gymnasium.

"(This title) means a lot. This whole year we've been looking up at our banner and our last conference championship was 2007," CJI player Kyle Harmon said. "We wanted to put another one up there and we knew we had the talent to do it and coach knew we had the talent to do it so we put our mind to it and got to it."

Both teams came out slow to start the game. It took just over three minutes of gametime before a Kyle Harmon floater got either team on the scoreboard. Braydon Cline then got the Pioneers on the scoreboard with a layup. The buckets did not help either team get in a rhythm as several minutes went by without another score.

In the last two and a half minutes of the first, the Hawks finally found some momentum. A floater from Blake Harmon gave CJI the lead. Moments later, Bryce Kammerzell knocked down a jump shot. Late in the quarter, Blake Harmon grabbed an offensive rebound that he converted into a bucket. The Hawks also played strong defense as they did not allow the Pioneers to score the rest of the quarter, giving CJI an 8-2 lead.

Just over a minute into the second quarter, Lane Demontiney knocked down a 3-pointer for Big Sandy. Karson Pulst responded with a three of his own. After a Big Sandy free throw, Braden Mattson made a three to stretch the CJI lead to 14-6 halfway through the quarter.

With little time remaining, Big Sandy tried to create momentum heading into halftime. Cline knocked down a three to cut into the CJI deficit. After a score by Kyle Harmon, Wylee Snapp and Demontiney made a pair of baskets to cut the deficit to 16-13 with less than a minute left in the half. But a free throw and a layup from Blake Harmon gave the Hawks a 19-13 lead heading into halftime.

The Hawks continued to play well to start the second half. Halfway through the third quarter, the Hawks had stretched their lead to 30-19. The Pioneers were able to get some scores late in the quarter but CJI still had a 33-24 lead heading to the fourth.

The Pioneers came out with a vengeance to start the fourth quarter as they went on a 9-0 run. Cline got the run started with a three and Snapp scored a couple of buckets to tie the game, 33-33, halfway through the quarter.

After a few minutes without either team scoring, Blake Harmon made a floater and one free throw to give CJI the lead again. Down the stretch, the CJI defense held strong to hold on for the win.

"We just came back to our five-out offense and we just took it to them," Blake Harmon said. "Had a little bit of a drought there but we came out of it and pulled it off."

Blake Harmon led CJI with 13 points and eight rebounds. Cline scored 14 points for the Pioneers, but as a team, the potent Big Sandy offense was held to 31 percent shooting from the field.

"They play tough man, they help each other a lot," CJI head coach Joe Horel said about his team's defense. "We defend as a team and that's why we can do what we do."

Along with CJI and Big Sandy, the Chinook Sugarbeeters earned a spot in the Northern C Divisionals with a 71-69 victory over Box Elder in the consolation game. Both teams exploded on offense as they traded blows throughout the night.

Chinook started the game hot to take a 13-0 lead. But the Bears responded to take a 39-35 lead at the half. The Sugarbeeters came back in the second half to take the lead. Despite the Bears' best efforts, Chinook was able to hold on for the win thanks to clutch free-throw shooting and solid defense.

"We handled the defense perfectly," Chinook head coach Chad Jones said. "They got a lot of great shooters and we just covered that. We hit really hard on our screens and didn't really give them a good opportunity to win that game."

CJI, Big Sandy and Chinook will now head to the Northern C Divisionals which will begin Wednesday night in Great Falls.

Chinook 71, Box Elder 69

BE - 13 26 15 15 - 69

CHI - 21 14 19 17 - 71

BE - Tyrus LaMere 22, Joe Standing Rock 12, Gabe Saddler 10, Mathias Blackbird 9, Tuarie Stiffarm 5, Skylar Walker 4, King Ragged Robe 3, Tracen Jilot 2, Alex Four Colors 2.

CHI - Toby Niederegger 25, Brenden Fetter 15, Oskar Pula 14, Braden Eoff 8, Levi Jensen 5, Jackson Nordboe 4.

3-pointers: BE 5-23 (Gabe Saddler 2, Tyrus LaMere 1, Mathias Blackbird 1, King Ragged Robe 1), CHI 1-7 (Toby Niederegger 1). Fouls: BE 22, CHI 12. Fouled Out: Skylar Walker, Tyrus LaMere.

CJI 38, Big Sandy 33

CJI - 8 11 14 5 - 38

BS - 2 11 11 9 - 33

CJI - Blake Harmon 13, Karson Pulst 7, Braden Mattson 5, Kyle Harmon 5, Bryce Kammerzell 5, Nate Nelson 3.

BS - Braydon Cline 14, Lane Demontiney 10, Wylee Snapp 8, Kody Strutz 1.

3-pointers: CJI 3-16 (Nate Nelson 1, Braden Mattson 1, Karson Pulst 1), BS 4-19 (Lane Demontiney 2, Braydon Cline 2). Fouls: CJI 10, BS 21. Fouled Out: Kody Strutz, Wylee Snapp.