By Tiffany L. Rehbein
Troy Omsberg scored 14 of his game-high 19 points in the second half to lead the District 2B Chinook Sugarbeeters to a 62-54 conference win over the Poplar Indians Friday at Chinook.
"It was a good win for us," said head coach Glenn Smith. "When it came down the stretch in the fourth quarter, and it was a tight game, the kids did what they needed to do to get the job done."
Omsberg drove to the basket and sunk a short jumper with :03 on the clock in the third quarter to lift the 'Beeters to a 42-40 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Thirty seconds into the final quarter, Poplar's head coach Roy Goodell was hit with a technical foul on the bench.
Chinook's Adam Gibson made both technical free throws, and, on the ensuing possession, Omsberg made a lay-up, and was fouled. He connected on the free throw, lifting the Sugarbeeters to a 47-40 lead.
With less than two minutes to play, and the Sugarbeeters up by just three points, Scott Fritz pulled down two crucial defensive rebounds to suffocate the Indians' late-quarter rally.
"He came up with two rebounds in the end of the game when we needed them," Smith said. "He came down with some authority."
Gibson also hit double figures with 14 points, and Kalled Jaha added 15 in the win. Jaha also tallied 18 rebounds, nearly matching his season-high 20 boards, which he grabbed at Simms on Dec. 18.
"I was really pleased with Kalled and his rebounding," Smith said. "That was very crucial."
The Sugarbeeters (2-3, 4-5) went on to defeat District 1B Fort Benton 46-38 on Saturday at Fort Benton in non-conference action.
Jaha scored a team-high 16 points and Fritz added nine in the win.
Chinook, who came out on fire, scored just seven points in the second quarter. However, they held the Longhorns to five third-quarter points en route to the win.
"We came out with great intensity those first few minutes," Smith said. "We lost it and did not get it back until the end of the third quarter and we finished pretty strong."
A balanced team attack led the 'Beeters' win, and a new starting look has also aided in the team's recent success.
Omsberg, Justin Friede, Jaha, Fritz, and senior Lucas Paugh got the start during the weekend.
Smith went into his bench depth in the win over Fort Benton, with Tim Dennis, Friede, and Gibson, Omsberg, and Fritz all playing well.
"It was a good team effort," Smith said. "These next couple of games tell you just where we're at in the league."
Chinook plays at Havre Thursday, and hosts Simms Saturday.
Chinook
12 7 13 14
--
46
Fort Benton 9 17 5 7
--
38
Chinook -- Tim Dennis 0 2-2 2; Adam Gibson 0 0-4 4; Troy Omsberg 2 2-2 6; Justin Friede 1 1-2 3; Kalled Jaha 8 0-1 16; Tyler Oehmcke 2 0-0 4; Lukas Paugh 1 0-0 2; Scott Fritz 4 1-3 9. Totals: 19 10-14 46.
Fort Benton -- Grant Elliott 0 0-1 0; Jeremy Anderson 1 0-0 2; Charlie Lenington 2 3-4 7; Bradley Benjamin 3 1-2 7; Colton Kassmier 4 1-3 10; Josh Kassmier 0 0-1 0; Tim Scheele 4 0-4 8; Adam Olson 1 2-2 4; Totals: 15 7-17 38.
Total fouls: Chinook 18, Fort Benton 18. Three-pointers: C. Kassmier. Fouled out: Mason Roseberry.
Poplar
21
8
11
14
--54
Chinook
15
12
15
20
--62
Poplar -- DJ Atkinson 6 3-5 15; AJ Culbertson 5 1-1 11; Matt McGowan 4 1-1 9; Evan Cummings 3 2-4 9; Paul Atkinson 3 2-4 8; Scotty Azure 1 0-0 2. Totals: 22 9-15 54.
Chinook -- Troy Omsberg 7 5-12 19; Kalled Jaha 6 3-8 15; Adam Gibson 4 6-6 14; Tyler Oehmcke 2 0-0 4; Justin Friede 3 0-0 6; Scott Fritz 2 0-0 4. Totals: 24 14-26 62.
