George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
During the District 2B regular season, the Wolf Point Wolves boys basketball team didn't make a very strong case as a serious Class B state tournament contender. But the Harlem Wildcats did.
However, in the postseason, Wolf Point turned out to be the reason Harlem isn't playing in this week's Class B State Tournament in Great Falls.
Having already knocked off Harlem in the District 2B tournament last week, the Wolves dashed Harlem's chances of going to the state tournament by beating the Wildcats in the Northern B divisional semifinals in Glasgow on Friday night.
Harlem rebounded to finish third, but because Wolf Point was no match for top-seeded Cut Bank in the championship game, the Wildcats weren't able to challenge for the second Northern B slot in the state tourney.
The positive for a Harlem team that went 17-1 during the regular season is that it ended its season on a winning note. On Saturday night, the Wildcats outlasted Plentywood, 56-53, in the tournament's consolation game.
In a nip-and-tuck affair, Harlem clung to a four-point lead at halftime. Harlem surged ahead in the third period, and then had to stave off a late Plentywood rally to secure the third-place trophy.
Monty Snow Jr. led Harlem with 11 points, and Eddie Moore and Jordan Mount chipped in with 10 points apiece in the final game of their careers.
Harlem reached the consolation game via a 67-53 win on Saturday morning against Shelby. Rick Haluszka and Neeko Bigby paced the Wildcats in the loser-out win with 17 and 12 points, respectively.
Harlem opened the Northern B tourney with high hopes of reaching the state tournament, and all looked good after the Wildcats dismantled perennial 1B powerhouse Fairfield, 64-48, in Thursday's opening round.
But then came the new thorn in the Wildcats' side. Less than a week removed from a loss to Wolf Point in the district tournament, Harlem stumbled against its biggest rival yet again.
The Wildcats looked confident as they raced out to a 17-8 lead in the first quarter. But in the second period, Wolf Point quickly erased that deficit, and by halftime, the game was knotted up at 27-27.
At the worst possible point in its season, Harlem's offense decided to take a hiatus as the Wildcats were outscored 32-17 in the second half of Friday night's semifinal against the Wolves. Wolf Point wound up rolling to an easy 59-44 win, earning a berth in championship game against Cut Bank.
Moore led the way for the Wildcats with 14 points. Wally Crantz chipped in with 12 points.
Cut Bank and Wolf Point will now move on to the Class B State Tournament, which gets under way on Thursday in Great Falls. Harlem's season is finished with a 21-5 overall record.
Northern B in Glasgow
Thursday
Harlem 64, Fairfield 48
Harlem 21 5 24 14 - 64
Fairfield 7 19 5 17 - 48
Harlem - Miles Werk 3, Eddie Moore 11, Neeko Bigby 16, Jordan Mount 16, Kameron Gilham 2, Rick Haluszka 10, Wally Crantz 6.
Fairfield - Brad Anderson 7, Colton Hardin 2, Spencer Ratliff 4, Jesse Jenkins 7, Matthew Schmitt 8, Jordan Ratliff 13, Derek Lear 2, Nathan McWilliams 3, Tim Barta 2.
Friday
Wolf Point 59, Harlem 44 (sf)
Wolf Point 8 19 17 15 - 59
Harlem 15 12 8 9 - 44
Wolf Point - Tyson Tjon 3-4 0-0 6, Bridger Dasinger 0-0 2-2 2, Stayton Sumway 0-1 0-0 0, Lee Loendorf 3-5 1-2 9, Liberty Crawford 0-2 1-2 1, Joe Johnston 3-6 0-0 6, Jordan Stafne 3-5 0-0 8, Brock Copenhaver 5-10 3-5 15, Joey Olsen 4-6 2-2 10, Tyler Lilley 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 22-41 9-13 59.
Harlem - Eddie Moore 6-11 1-1 14, Neeko Bigby 3-11 0-0 9, Monty Snow Jr. 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Mount 1-6 3-3 5, Rick Haluszka 1-4 1-2 3, Jeremy Rodney 0-1 1-2 1, Wally Crantz 3-7 4-6 10, Team 2. Totals: 15-43 10-14 44.
3-pointers - Loendorf 2, Copenhaver 2, Stafne 2, Moore, Bigby 3. Total fouls - WP 15, Harlem 15. Fouled out - none.
Saturday
Harlem 67, Shelby 53 (lo)
Shelby 5 12 20 16 -53
Harlem 8 13 21 25 -67
Shelby - Zach Mayernik 10, Shane Clark 9, Trey Wanty 20, Ryan Hart 2, Kevin Steiner 4, Mick Irvin 2, Derek Sisk 6. Totals 20 13-17.
Harlem - Eddie Moore 5, Neeko Bigby 13, Monty Snow Jr. 12, Jordan Mount 8, Rick Haluszka 17, Wally Crantz 12. Totals 28 10-16.
Total fouls - Shelby 12, Harlem 15. Fouled out - Haluszka. 3-pointers - Bigby.
Harlem 56, Plentywood 53 (3rd)
Harlem 13 20 11 12 - 56
Plentywood 19 10 14 10 - 53
Harlem - Miles Werk 1-1 0-0 2, Eddie Moore 3-8 2-2 10, Neeko Bigby 3-7 0-0 9, Monty Snow Jr. 4-9 1-1 11, Jordan Mount 4-10 1-1 10, John Werk 1-1 0-0 2, Rick Haluszka 1-5 2-2 4, Wally Crantz 4-7 0-0 8. Totals: 21-48 6-6.
Plentywood - Heath Howard 5-13 2-2 13, Andy Ricket 1-3 0-0 2, Aubrey Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Tyler Young 2-7 0-0 6, Zach McCoy 7-11 6-7 20, Craig West 0-0 2-4 2, Riley Anderson 3-5 1-1 8. Totals: 19-40 11-14.
Fouls - Harlem 12, Plentywood 14. Fouled out - none. 3-pointers - Howard, Young 2, Anderson, Moore 2, Bigby 3, Snow Jr. 2, Mount.
