Big Sandy takes second at Northern C Divisional

After several days of competitive basketball at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena, the Northern C Divisional Boys Basketball Tournament wrapped up with the consolation and championship games Saturday. In the Northern C Divisional title game, Belt defeated Big Sandy 64-54.

It was a back and forth game throughout most of the night. The Pioneers started strong taking a 7-2 lead. But the Huskies came right back at them. With about a minute left in the first, the game was tied 12-12. Thanks to a free throw from Lane Demontiney and a bucket from Isaac Pedraza, Big Sandy had a 15-12 lead to end the quarter.

The Pioneers started the second on a 6-2 run to push their lead to 21-14. Again, the Huskies came right back to tie the game 22-22. Over the rest of the half, the Pioneers and the Huskies exchanged baskets. Late in the half, Big Sandy took the lead thanks to some free throws from Kody Strutz. But Ethan Triplett scored at the buzzer to make it a 29-29 game at the half.

After Keghan McDaniel scored to give Belt the lead to start the third, the Pioneers came right back to take a 32-21 lead. But the Huskies took control of the game with a 7-0 run. Thanks to five points from Bridger Vogl, the Huskies now had a 38-32 lead.

The Pioneers tried to cut into the deficit, but the Outlaws took a 45-38 lead into the fourth. The Outlaws then started the fourth on a 5-0 run to push the lead to 50-38. The Pioneers tried to fight their way back into the game, but they could not slow down the Outlaws.

"They had more energy and they really just wanted it more than us," Big Sandy head coach Rhett Simanton said about the second half. "We were just tired but in times like that, we have to be better."

The Pioneers finished the game shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the 3-point line. However, the Outlaws shot 51.1 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from deep. Pedraza finished the game with 18 points as he went 7-for-15 from the floor and 4-for-9 from deep.

The Pioneers reached the championship game thanks to a 64-41 win over Roy-Winifred in the semifinal Friday. In that game, the Pioneers shot 55.3 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from deep. Strutz led the Pioneers with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

"We really battled and we played some of our best basketball to find our way into the championship game," Simanton said about Big Sandy's run through the tournament. "I'm just really proud of these boys for they really have stepped it up."

Also Saturday was the Northern C consolation game between the Box Elder Bears and the Roy-Winifred Outlaws. It was a tight contest, but the Outlaws won, 60-51, to end the Bears' season.

The Outlaws started strong taking an 11-2 lead in the first quarter. But the Bears responded with a run to cut the deficit to 14-12. After a 3-pointer by Wyatt Wickens, the Bears responded with buckets from Matthias Blackbird and Tracen Jilot to make it a 17-16 game at the end of the first.

The Bears tied the game, 20-20, early in the second, but the Outlaws went on a run to take a 28-23 lead. The Bears got going to get back in the game until the Outlaws had a 34-27 lead late in the half. Blackbird then knocked down a three to make it a 34-30 game at the break.

The Bears started the third on a 7-0 run to take the lead. Tracen Jilot got rolling with five points for the Bears. After the Outlaws came back to make it a 39-39 game, the Bears ended the third on an 8-3 run to take a 47-42 lead into the fourth.

But the Outlaws started the fourth on a 14-0 run to take the lead. Shad Boyce scored eight points as he went to the free-throw line multiple times. As the game came down the stretch, Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald believes the Outlaws made more plays in the paint.

"They were just more physical. We were battling through a lot of injuries and they kept attacking the hoop," MacDonald said. "Boyce is a matchup nightmare. He had a great basketball game. He's a great basketball player. Have to give them credit. They outplayed us in the fourth quarter."

The Bears attempted to rally as they cut the deficit to 57-51 with just under two minutes left. However, the Outlaws knocked down their free throws to secure the victory. The Bears finished the game shooting 38 percent from the field and were led by Jilot with 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting.

The Bears faced their adversity throughout the weekend. Friday night, the Bears suffered a 54-51 loss in the semifinal to Belt. In that loss, Jilot scored 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting. As a team, the Bears shot 39.2 percent.

On Saturday morning, the Bears rebounded with a 71-66 win over Chester-Joplin-Inverness in a loser-out game. Both offenses got hot as the Bears shot 41.1 percent from the field and 43.8 percent from deep. Blackbird led Box Elder with 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting.

With their loss in the consolation game, the Bears' season came to an end. The Bears finished the regular season with the best record in the District 9C and then went on to win the 9C for the first time in several years. While the year came to a disappointing end, the Bears have plenty to be proud of.

"Overall, it was pretty successful. I'm pretty happy with the progress we made," MacDonald said. "Unfortunately, we came up a little short but I'm expecting us to come back really hungry next year."

Meanwhile, the Pioneers finished second in the Northern C Divisional and have now clinched a spot in the Class C State Tournament in Billings. The Pioneers will face the winner of the Eastern C Divisional, but Simanton believes his team can play with whoever comes out of that divisional.

"I like that matchup for us," Simanton said. "We match up very well with those guys and we hope to make a run."

The Big Sandy boys basketball team will begin the Class C State Tournament with a game at 5 p.m. on March 9 at the Metra in Billings.

Friday

CJI 63, Heart Butte 60, LO

HB - 16 15 11 18 - 60

CJI - 16 13 15 19 - 63

HB - Lance Morgan 16, Jude Reevis 13, Riley Reevis 12, Casey DeRoche Jr. 7, Chance Bremner 5, Shayde St. Goddard 3, Natoyi Kipp-Jackson 2, Cobyn Eagle Speaker 2.

CJI - Blake Harmon 22, Karson Pulst 12, Nate Nelson 11, Ryland St. John 6, Braden Mattson 6, Adam Grammar 6.

3-pointers: Jude Reevis 3, Chance Bremner 1, Nate Nelson 1, Blake Harmon 1. Fouls: HB 28, CJI 17. Fouled Out: Braden Mattson.

Belt 54, Box Elder 51, Semifinal

BE - 14 4 18 15 - 51

BLT - 17 15 14 8 - 54

BE - Tracen Jilot 16, Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette 10, Alex Four Colors 10, Matthias Blackbird 8, Skylar Walker 4, Julian Henry 2, Dreydon Anderson 1.

BLT - Bridger Vogl 23, Garrett Metrione 15, Ethan Triplett 5, Jeremy Nebel 4, Reese Paulson 3, JD Shepard 2, Keaghn McDaniel 2.

3-pointers: Garrett Metrione 4, Bridger Vogl 2, Tracen Jilot 2, Matthias Blackbird 2, Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette 1, Jeremy Nebel 1, Reese Paulson 1. Fouls: BE 16, BLT 7. Fouled Out: None.

Big Sandy 64, Roy-Winifred 41, Semifinal

RW - 15 6 14 6 - 41

BS - 12 18 18 16 - 64

RW - Shad Boyce 23, Ethan Carlstrom 8, Wyatt Wickens 5, Dylan Heble 3, Gunner Knox 2.

BS - Kody Strutz 17, Wylee Snapp 13, Isaac Pedraza 12, Lane Demontiney 12, Braydon Cline 8, Cooper Taylor 2.

3-pointers: Braydon Cline 2, Isaac Pedraza 2, Shad Boyce 2, Lane Demontiney 1, Wyatt Wickens 1, Ethan Carlstrom 1. Fouls: RW 14, BS 12. Fouled Out: None.

Saturday

Box Elder 71, CJI 66, LO

BE - 19 13 17 22 - 71

CJI - 10 23 14 19 - 66

BE - Matthias Blackbird 22, Tracen Jilot 15, Skylar Walker 11, Alex Four Colors 10, Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette 7, Dreydon Anderson 4, Theron Oats Jr. 2.

CJI - Blake Harmon 27, Ryland St. John 16, Karson Pulst 8, Braden Mattson 8, Adam Grammar 6, Nate Nelson 1.

3-pointers: Tracen Jilot 2, Skylar Walker 2, Matthias Blackbird 2, Karson Pulst 2, Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette 1, Braden Mattson 1. Fouls: BE 13, CJI 24. Fouled Out: Nate Nelson.

Roy-Winifred 60, Box Elder 51, Consolation

BE - 16 14 17 4 - 60

RW - 15 19 8 18 - 51

BE - Tracen Jilot 22, Matthias Blackbird 8, King Ragged Robe 7, Dreydon Anderson 5, Julian Henry 5, Alex Four Colors 4.

RW - Shad Boyce 28, Wyatt Wickens 14, Ethan Carlstrom 6, Dylan Heble 6, Clay Pendergrass 4, Gunner Knox 2.

3-pointers: Tracen Jilot 3, Wyatt Wickens 3, Matthias Blackbird 2, Dreydon Anderson 1, Julian Henry 1, Clay Pendergrass 1. Fouls: Be 23, RW 14. Fouled Out: Alex Four Colors.

Belt 64, Big Sandy 54, Championship

BS - 15 14 9 16 - 54

BLT - 12 17 16 19 - 64

BS - Isaac Pedraza 18, Wylee Snapp 11, Lane Demontiney 8, Braydon Cline 8, Kody Strutz 5, Cooper Taylor 4.

BLT - Garrett Metrione 24, Bridger Vogl 20, Reese Paulson 8, Ethan Triplett 4, Keaghn McDaniel 4, JD Shephard 2, Zach Feldman 2.

3-pointers: Garrett Metrione 5, Isaac Pedraza 4, Bridger Vogl 2, Lane Demontiney 1, Braydon Cline 1. Fouls: BS 18, BLT 12. Fouled Out: Kody Strutz.