2
2016
9C DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
February 2016
www.havredailynews.com
9C still chasing Box Elder boys Bears still the favorite among talented boys field in Havre
and done, only three teams will be allowed to keep playing at the Northern C in Great Falls.
Chris Peterson
The Bears have owned the district tournament over the past three seasons and, if they can do so once again, they will earn an unprecedented fourth championship. Yet, after falling short of the state tournament last season due to a first-round divisional loss to Highwood, the Bears still have plenty of unfinished business. One thing the Bears have going for them is their experience. That’s in addition to their collection of talent, which is also pretty impressive. Point guard Brandon The Boy set the tone for the Bears, but forward Jerrod Four Colors is as good as any player in the district. But beyond that, Box Elder has others such as Pernell Morsette and Jake Jones, who are also major contributors. With their weapons and experience, it’d be a shock not to see the Bears advance to Great Falls, but their penchant for winning, it would also be surprising to see them walk away with anything but the first-place trophy.
Havre Daily News sports writer gferguson@havredailynews.com The District 9C boys basketball tournament is always one of the most exciting in Class C and, with a number of teams in the running for bids to the Northern C Divisional, it should be again. This year, the boys tournament will get underway Wednesday in Havre and will run through Friday night when the championship game will be played. And while there are a number of teams that are looking to get to divisionals, two teams in particular, have their eye on taking home the 9C championship. Of course when talking about the 9C championship, you can’t mention any team before bringing up the three-time champs, the Box Elder Bears. Under the leadership of head coach Jeremy MacDonald, the Bears have dominated the 9C over the past three years and with another talented roster, there is a good chance they will do so again. Yet, the Bears have not been the only dominant team in the 9C this season. In fact, the Chester/ J-I Hawks have been just as impressive as the Bears during the regular and even ended Box Elder’s lengthy win streak back in December in Chester. However, this year’s tournament is about more than two teams. There will be some fun and exciting basketball played at the HHS gymnasium without a doubt, but when it’s all said
Here’s a team-by-team breakdown of the C boys tournament Box Elder Bears
Chester/J-I Hawks If there is any team outside of Box Elder with serious title hopes, it has to be C/J-I. The Hawks are a dangerous team that can shoot the heck out of the ball and are dangerous from 3-point range. Last year, the Hawks nearly upended Box Elder in the 9C semifinals and did finally beat the Bears earlier in the regular
season. With a solid core that includes All-Stater Justin May, as well as Troy Harmon, Cory Ricther and Brandon Richter, C/J-I is a serious threat to Box Elder’s reign and it would surprise absolutely no one if the Bears and Hawks met Friday night for all the marbles. Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds It has been a tale of two seasons for the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds, but thankfully for them, they are starting to trend in the right direction. Early in the year, with a new coach and some missing players, the TBirds struggled. But, with the return of Tyson Shambo, an All-Conference player a season ago, the T-Birds have taken flight. Frank Runs Above is also one of the top scorers in the conference with Damon Castillo improving on seemingly a nightly basis, HLP may be the one team that not even Box Elder or C/J-I want to face. Chinook Sugarbeeters It’s been an up-and-down season fot the Sugarbeeters, who graduated three talented seniors from last season’s divisional team. Yet, despite relying on a number of underclassmen, head coach Mike Seymour and the Beeters have been in the top half of the 9C standings all year
■ See 9C Boys Page 4 Havre Daily News/File Photo Brandon The Boy and the Box Elder Bears are gunning for their fourth straight District 9C championship this week when the tournament runs Wednesday through Friday at the Havre High gymnasium.
3
2016
9C DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
February 2016
www.havredailynews.com
Loaded 9C girls field comes to Havre Box Elder comes to Havre red-hot, but the tourney has plenty of good challengers
Follow all the 9C action with the Havre Daily News 9C fans can get complete coverage of the 2016 District 9C boys and girls tournaments with the Havre Daily News. Each day, the HDN sports pages will be filled with full game coverage and feature stories from all the 9C action. Fans can also get full coverage on Twitter and postgame updates and more at www.havredailynews. com. Then, in Monday's Hi-Line Sports Roundup, the HDN will have wall-to-wall coverage from all of the weekend's action at the 9C tourney.
George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com It seems like, almost every year, the District 9C girls basketball tournament is as tough and competitive as any league in Class C basketball. Well, this year’s 9C tourney, which gets underway Thursday in Havre, will be no different. However, one thing that is different than in recent years is, while there is still a lot of really good teams in the field, there’s one, overwhelming favorite — the Box Elder Bears. The Bears have ripped right through the 9C regular season schedule, and, after making it to the Northern C as a runner-up last season, they come to Havre as the team to beat. Another difference in this year’s 9C tourney is, the Fort Benton Longhorns, the 9C’s defending champions, are no longer a co-op. Instead, Fort Benton is back on its own in basketball, but it hasn’t made much difference as, along with Chinook and Chester/J-I, the Longhorns are one of the top teams in the conference. And from top to bottom, once again, the 9C tourney will be three days and three nights of pure excitement inside the Havre High gymnasium, and when the dust settles Saturday night, three teams will be moving on to next week’s Northern C in Great Falls. “Chinook, Fort Benton, North Star, Chester/J-I and Turner are all challengers for the 9C title,” said Joel Rosette, head coach of 9C favorite Box Elder. Here’s a team-by-team breakdown
Havre Daily News/File Photo Kelsey Mathon of Chinook makes a pass during a District 9C tournament game last year in Havre. Mathon and the Sugarbeeters are one of the top teams in the District 9C again this season, and they're gunning for their fifth straight trip to the Northern C. The 9C runs Thursday through Saturday at the HHS gymnasium. of the upcoming 9C girls tournament. Box Elder Bears The Bears finished last year’s 9C tourney by falling in the championship game to Fort Benton. A year later however, head coach Joel Rosette’s squad is 18-0 heading into Thursday’s opening game, and the Bears are rolling. Led by a balanced and deep roster, which includes stars like Minnie and Jude The Boy, Tia Russell, Tyrah Gopher and Alyssa LaMere, the Bears are one of the highest scoring teams in Class C, and they also possess one of the stingiest defenses. And
that will make them very tough to beat this week in Havre, and it should also make them one of the team’s to beat next week in Great Falls. Chinook Sugarbeeters The Beeters have went to the Northern C four straight times, including when they finished third at the 9C a year ago. And Chinook has bounced right back to be one of the top teams again this season. Head coach Mollie Rose’s team is loaded with athletic talent, led by senior point guard Brooke Nicholson, the 9C’s leading scorer. But, the likes of Sierra Swank, Taylor Neibauer,
Abigail Ellison, Kelsey Mathon, Brooke Elliot and more give the Beeters one of the most experienced and talented rosters in the tourney, and there’s no reason to think Chinook won’t extend its streak of making it to the divisional tournament. Fort Benton Longhorns Many worried Fort Benton would be a different team without the aid of players from Geraldine this season, but the Longhorns have proved doubters wrong all season. And they roll into Havre more than ready to defend their 2015 9C crown. Cassie Scheffelmeir’s team
■ See 9C Girls Page 4
4
2016
9C DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
February 2016
www.havredailynews.com
9C Boys: Hawks, others trying to dethrone Box Elder
9C Girls: Good teams compete for Northern C spots
■ From Page 2
■ From Page 3
and stand as good a chance as anyone of finishing third or better. One thing that helps Chinook is the presence of point guard Ian McIntosh and fellow senior Travis Hamilton, who is the only other returning starter. And even though they have been inconsistent at times this year, with talented young players like Cord Schneider and Isaac Bell, the sky's the limit for the Beeters in Havre. North Star Knights There is no question that North Star Knights have taken a big step forward this season. Head coach Walynn Burgess has the program back on the winning track and that track is one that could even lead the Knights to the Northern C for the first time in recent years. With Devon putting together an outstanding season, as well as other strong players like Mat-
thew Helmbrecht, Payton Peterson and Keevan Borlaug, North Star definitely has a chance to surprise some teams and could very well end up in the mix for third. “Really after Box Elder and C/J-I, it’s pretty wide open,” Burgess said. “We have continued to get better and I think we have a chance at getting to divisionals, we will have to play well to ge there, but we can do it.” Fort Benton Longhorns The Longhorns are back for their second trip to the 9C tournament and this year, the difference is that the team is no longer a co-op. Last season, they were Fort Benton/Geraldine, now it’s back to just Fort Benton. And with a number of players gone from last year’s team, it has been a struggle for the Longhorns. Yet, they do have Taylor Arghanbright, who is a proven scorer and there is a good chance they get a least one
win in Havre. Turner Tornadoes It has been some time since Turner has won a game in the 9C tournament, so as far as the Tornadoes are concerned that will once again be the storyline. Turner hasn’t had the best regular season, but beat Big Sandy and a few other teams along the way. The Tornadoes, who are led by Brett Van Valkenburg, Eddie Harmon and Trey Humphreys, Turner had some capable scorers. The Tornadoes are also extremely motivated to get a win, knowing what it would mean to Turner. “It will be difficult,” Turner head coach Kevin Van Valkenburg said. “But after the top couple teams, things are kind of up in the air. We haven’t beaten any of those teams but we have played some close games with them. It would mean a lot to our community.”
is athletic and can shoot the 3-pointer well. The Longhorns also play very good defense, and have capable scorers in Kaitlyn Bird, Madison Thompson, Bailey Wilson and Alia Evans. And that talent helps put the Longhorns into the conversation as one of the teams to beat this weekend.
Chester/J-I Hawks The loss of star guard Allix Goldhahn to Fairfield certainly had an effect on the Hawks’ ability to put points on the board. Yet, with a returning cast of veterans, new head coach Jerry Kulpas’ team has marched on. Korrine Harmon, Kendahl Knapton, Madeline Woods, Payton Cole and Kylee Vinson have all helped carry the load for the Hawks this season, and, with how well the Hawks have gelled late in the season, they’re certainly capable of pulling off an upset and making it to Saturday night’s championship round.
North Star Knights The Knights have long been one of the dominant teams in the 9C, but this season, as well as last, the Knights have flown under the radar a bit. However, head coach Mackenzie Jenkins’ squad is coming into the 9C tournament playing its best basketball of the year,
and the Knights are a dangerous team that none of the top squads in the tournament will really want to face. Senior Sheridan O’Neil is one of the top post players in the 9C, and the Knights’ leading scorer. But she gets plenty of offensive help from Graysen Spicher, Sheridan Spicher, Paij Peterson, Payton King and others. And, North Star is also one of the top defensive teams in the 9C, and that bodes well for the Knights ability to make some noise this week in Havre.
It’s been a rough season, yet again, for Hays-Lodge Pole, having won just once all year. But, there’s no denying the T-Birds will give it their all this weekend. Led by an outstanding post player in Raleigh Kirkaldie, as well as the outstanding shooting of Kenessa Shambo, the T-Birds will look to put a scare into the opponents they face this weekend.
Turner Tornadoes
Big Sandy Pioneers
Another wildcard this weekend in Havre is Turner. The Tornadoes are always searching for that elusive 9C tournament win, but this week, they are capable of doing a lot more than just competing for a win. Turner has had some strong outings this season, and above all, the Tornadoes now have players with tournament experience, led by junior Ella Billmayer, one of the top scorers in the 9C. She’s already starting in her fourth 9C tournament, and add to that, the experience and skill that players like Rennay and Melanie Watkins and Raegan and Rylee Conlan bring to the court, and there’s no doubt Turner has become a very dangerous and capable tournament team.
One of the greatest program’s in 9C girls history, the Big Sandy Pioneers have fallen on hard times due to enrollment issues. And for the second straight season, they come to Havre as the last-place team in the 9C. However, the Pioneers, and head coach Ronnie Simpson, are building for the future, and a super-young Big Sandy team looks to continue that process this weekend. Wins in the tourney will be hard to come by, but the likes of Maddie Reichelt, Jenna Leader, Jessica Roth, Dakota Terry, Callie DeMontiney and Jylynn Cline will certainly give it their best shot, and the experience they gain will go a long way toward being even more successful next season.
Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds
Havre Daily News/File Photo North Star's Sheridan O'Neil, left, drives around Box Elder's Tia Russell during a 2015 9C girls game last year in Havre. The Knights are a team to watch at this week's 9C tourney at the Havre High gymnasium, while the Bears come into the weekend undefeated. Havre Daily News/File Photo Justin May and the Chester/J-I Hawks have had a great regular season in District 9C. Now, the Hawks enter their second 9C tournament as one of the teams with a chance to play for the district championship this weekend. The Hawks are also the only team to beat Box Elder this year, and a rematch could certainly come in the district title game. The 2016 District 9C tournament runs Wednesday through Friday at the Havre High School gymnasium. As always, the Havre Daily News will have wall-to-wall coverage of the tournament, starting Wednesday and running through Monday's Havre Daily News Hi-Line Sports Roundup. Fans can also follow the tournament via Twitter at Twitter/havredaily, as well as online at www.havredailynews. com.