Northern C is the end of the road for all 9C boys teams

As the Northern C Divisionals took place at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls this past week, several District 9C boys basketball teams participated as they tried to clinch a spot in the Class C State Tournament. However, all three 9C schools failed to make it to Saturday night as they saw their seasons end.

After a loss Thursday to open the tournament, the Big Sandy Pioneers hoped to keep their year going in a loser-out game against Heart Butte Friday morning. But the Pioneers' season came to an end with an 83-59 loss to the Warriors. Heart Butte jumped on Big Sandy early as the Warriors took an 18-8 lead in the first quarter. The Pioneers finally got their offense going in the second quarter but Heart Butte took a 39-30 lead into halftime.

The Warriors then pulled away in the third quarter to build a 61-44 lead. In the fourth quarter, the Warriors milked the clock to eliminate the Pioneers. In his final game of the season, Braydon Cline led Big Sandy with 26 points as he shot 8-for-17 from the field and 6-for-11 from the 3-point line.

In the Northern C Divisional semifinals Friday night, the Chinook Sugarbeeters lost, 53-40, to Roy-Winifred. It was close early on as the Outlaws only had a 10-8 lead in the first quarter. But they grabbed momentum in the second to take a 24-14 lead into halftime.

The Sugarbeeters got some offensive momentum going in the second half but the Outlaws held them off for the win. Toby Niederegger led Chinook with 14 points in the loss.

The Northern C Divisional semifinals continued Friday night with the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks losing, 58-48, to Belt. The Huskies and Hawks played competitively early on as Belt took an 11-9 lead in the first quarter. The Huskies then took momentum in the second quarter to take a 33-20 lead into halftime.

The Hawks tried to get back in the game in the second half but Belt held them off to advance to the championship game. Braden Mattson led the Hawks with 16 points in the loss while Blake Harmon contributed 11 in the losing effort.

After losing in the semifinals Friday night, Chinook and CJI tried to keep their seasons alive Saturday morning in a pair of loser-out games. However, neither team found success as both their years came to an end.

Saturday started with Chinook losing, 62-46, to Winnett-Grass Range. The Rams took it to Chinook early as they took a 20-5 lead in the first quarter. They continued to pull away in the second quarter to build a 38-14 halftime lead.

The Sugarbeeters finally found some offense in the second half but it was too late to save their season. In their final game of the year, Oskar Pula led Chinook with 18 points while Niederegger contributed 11 points.

The CJI Hawks' season came to an end with a 75-49 loss to Heart Butte. The Warriors came out strong early on as they took a 15-8 lead in the first quarter. Both offenses then got rolling in the second quarter but the Warriors took a 38-29 lead into halftime.

After a strong second quarter, the CJI offense slowed down in the second half as Heart Butte pulled away for the win. In his final game of the year, Harmon led the Hawks with 26 points.

The Outlaws beat Belt for the Northern C title Saturday night. The Huskies play W-G-R in a challenge game tonight.

Heart Butte 83, Big Sandy 59, LO

HB - 18 21 22 22 - 83

BS - 8 22 14 15 - 59

HB - Riley Reevis 21, Thomas Young Running Crane 20, Joe Murray 14, Marcus Rutherford 12, Frankie Calf Boss 7, Jude Reevis 6, Forrest Calf Boss 2, Casey DeRoche 1.

BS - Braydon Cline 26, Wylee Snapp 9, Kody Strutz 8, Lane Demontiney 7, Cooper Taylor 7, Jake Darlington 2.

3-pointers: HB 7-17 (Riley Reevis 3, Thomas Young Running Crane 1, Joe Murray 1, Frankie Calf Boss 1, Marcus Rutherford 1), BS 7-18 (Braydon Cline 6, Lane Demontiney 1). Fouls: HB 17, BS 12. Fouled Out: None.

Roy-Winifred 53, Chinook 40, SF

RW - 10 14 16 13 - 53

CHI - 8 6 13 13 - 40

RW - Carter Pendergrass 19, Shad Boyce 16, Blake Donsbach 12, Brody Geer 6.

CHI - Toby Niederegger 14, Braden Eoff 9, Oskar Pula 7, Brenden Fetter 3, Jackson Nordboe 3, Levi Jensen 2, Hunter Molyneaux 2.

Belt 58, CJI 48, SF

BEL - 11 22 13 12 - 58

CJI - 9 11 13 15 - 48

BEL - Reese Paulson 20, Bridger Vogl 17, Garrett Metrione 4, Aidan Bergstrom 4, Keaghn McDaniel 4, Zach Feldman 4, Clayton Jassen 3, JD Shephard 2.

CJI - Braden Mattson 16, Blake Harmon 11, Kyle Harmon 8, Karson Pulst 6, Nate Nelson 3, Bryce Kammerzell 2, Adam Grammar 2.

Winnett-Grass Range 62, Chinook 46, LO

WGR - 20 18 9 15 - 62

CHI - 5 9 14 18 - 46

WGR - Brady Bantz 20, Walker Doman 17, Jace Dunkel 9, Cooper Doman 6, Cy Nunn 5, Layton Tucek 4, Kaden Siroky 1.

CHI - Oskar Pula 18, Toby Niederegger 11, Braden Eoff 6, Jackson Nordboe 4, Brenden Fetter 4, Levi Jensen 3.

Heart Butte 75, CJI 49, LO

HB - 15 23 12 25 - 75

CJI - 8 21 7 13 - 49

HB - Riley Reevis 25, Frankie Calf Boss Ribs 15, Joe Murray 12, Marcus Rutherford 8, Jude Reevis 6, Thomas Young Running Crane 3, Casey DeRoche 2, J. Comes at Night 2.

CJI - Blake Harmon 26, Kyle Harmon 9, Karson Pulst 3, Adam Grammar 3, Pat Dahlin 3, Bryce Ghekiere 2, Braden Mattson 2, Nate Nelson 1.