By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
It wasn't the Class B State tournament title that Chris Cole and his Harlem High teammates, but it was still pretty satisfying. Cole knocked down nine three-pointers en route to a game-high 31 points to lead a team representing the Fort Belknap reservation to a 110-80 win over the Blackfeet Nation in the championship game of the inaugural Montana All-Star Tribal Challenge boys basketball tournament Friday night.
All of Cole's field goals were from three-point range including several well beyond the line. For his efforts throughout the tournament, he was named the tournament's most valuable player. Fort Belknap also got 22 points from Ben Carrywater, 19 from Hank Brockie, 17 from Colby Fetter and 16 from Jim Kennedy in the win. Browning's Maurice St. Goddard scored 19 points to lead the Blackfeet Nation while Nolan Conway added 18 in the loss.
Fort Belknap, which boasted seven players off of this year's Harlem High team that finished third at the Class B State Tourney, advanced to the championship game with a 101-79 win also over the Blackfeet Nation in the semifinals.
Cole, once again, led Fort Belknap with a game-high 33 points including five three-pointers. Carrywater added 21 points, while Brockie and Fetter chipped in with 15 and 12, respectively. Both Carrywater and Fetter were named to the all-tournament team. The Blackfeet Nation was led by Karl Ingraham and Curtis Thomas, who scored 19 points apiece.
The Blackfeet squad advanced to the championship with a 95-94 win over the Chippewa Cree, who played three games on Friday. The Chippewa Cree opened Friday morning with an 81-80 win as Box Elder's Tim Rosette Jr. rebounded a Marcus Standing Rock and put in the game winner as time expired. Standing Rock led the Chippewa Cree with 18 points, while Rosette and Neal Rosette Jr. scored 14 and 13, respectively.
Fort Peck got a game-high 24 points from Brockton's Tyson Bauer and 16 from Casey Weston in the loss. Both Bauer and Weston were named to the all-tournament team.
The Chippewa Cree picked up its second win of the day with a 74-70 win over the Northern Cheyenne behind 14 points from Neal Rosette Jr. and 13 from Dustin Sunchild. Lucas King led the Northern Cheyenne with 33 points, including three three-pointers.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM - Chris Cole, Fort Belknap (MVP); Colby Fetter, Fort Belknap; Ben Carrywater, Fort Belknap; Karl Ingraham, Blackfeet Nation; Tim Rosette Jr., Chippewa Cree; Tyson Bauer, Fort Peck; Casey Weston, Fort Peck; Lucas King, Northern Cheyenne.
CHIPPEWA CREE 81, FORT PECK 80
CHIPPEWA CREE - Neal Rosette 12, James Burns 1, Tim Rosette 13, Dustin Sunchild 14, Tyler Henry 9, Aaron Henry 10, Jesse Colliflower 4, Jesse The Boy 2, Marcus Standing Rock 18. Totals - 35 6-9 81.
FORT PECK - Tyson Bauer 24, Casey Weston 16, Loren Bighorn 9, Ben Lovan 16, Joe Ventura 5, Mike Michaelson 2, Shilo Four Star 4, Zane Sibley 2. Totals - 25 16-22 80.
Three Pointers - N. Rosette 2, T. Henry 3, A. Henry 2, Marcus Standing Rock 2, Bauer 5, Weston 1, Bighorn 1, Ben Lovan 2, Fourstar 1. Fouled out - Standing Rock. Team Fouls - Chippewa Cree 15, Fort Peck 13.
CHIPPEWA CREE 74, NORTHERN CHEYENNE 70
CHIPPEWA CREE - Neal Rosette 14, James Burns 12, Tim Rosette 9, Dustin Sunchild 13, Tyler Henry 9, Aaron Henry 7, Jesse Colliflower 4, Jesse The Boy 1, Marcus Standing Rock 6. Totals - 31 9-20 74.
NORTHERN CHEYENNE - Derrick Redbird 6, Charles Brady 14, Clint Shoulderblade 2, Fred Mann 2, Gabe Mexican-Cheyenne 13, Lucas King 33. Totals - 27 11-13 70.
Three Pointers - N. Rosette 2, Sunchild 1, T. Henry 1, Brady 3, King 3. Fouled out - King. Team Fouls - Chippewa Cree 13, Northern Cheyenne 12.
FORT BELKNAP 101, BLACKFEET 79
FORT BELKNAP - Hank Brockie 15, Chris Cole 33, Colby Fetter 12, Jim Kennedy 6, Ben Carrywater 21, Nathan Martin 4, Jeremy Messerly 8, Wes Main 2. Totals - 36 16-20 101.
BLACKFEET - Curtis Thomas 19, Chance Hall 13, Karl Ingraham 19, Nolan Conway 12, Neil Tatsey 3, Maurice St. Goddard 7. Totals - 27 12-17 79.
Three pointers - Brockie 1, Cole 5, Fetter 1, Carrywater 4, Messerly 2, Thomas 3, Hall 4, Ingraham 3, Tatsey 1. Fouled out - none. Team fouls - Fort Belknap 16, Blackfeet 19.
FORT BELKNAP 110, BLACKFEET 88
FORT BELKNAP - Hank Brockie 19, Chris Cole 31, Colby Fetter 17, Jim Kennedy 16, Ben Carrywater 22, Jeremy Messerly 5, Wes Main 2, Daniel Werk 2. Totals - 38 18-27 110.
BLACKFEET - Javier Bustos 3, Curtis Thomas 12, Shance Hall 8, Tyler RunningCrane 11, Karl Ingraham 8, Nolan Conway 18, Neil Tatsey 6, Maurice St. Goddard 19. Totals - 33 9-11 88.
Three pointers - Cole 9, Fetter 2, Carrywater 1, Messerly 1, Thomas 2, Hall 2, RunningCrane 1, Ingraham 3, Conway 2, St. Goddard 2. Fouled out - Hall. Total Fouls - Blackfeet 19, Fort Belknap 19.
