By Tiffany L. Rehbein
The Chinook Sugarbeeters boys' basketball team split wins in District 2B action during the weekend.
The Sugarbeeters fell to No. 1 Malta 59-49 Friday at Chinook, and went on to defeat Harlem 68-49 on Saturday.
"Against Malta, I was very pleased with the overall intensity of the team," said Mark Roseberry, head coach of the Sugarbeeters. "We had occasional defensive breakdowns, but we kept working to carry out our defensive game plan."
The Mustangs held the Sugarbeeters to just five second-quarter points en route to a 31-21 halftime lead.
Kalled Jaha led Chinook with 14 points and six rebounds.
Adam Gibson added 13 points for Chinook, while Troy Omsberg grabbed seven boards and chipped in seven points in the loss.
The Mustangs went to the free throw line 20 times, connecting on 12 of the free shots, while Jaha shot the only Chinook free throw of the game.
"Obviously, a few more free throw attempts would have been nice, but we were outnumbered 20-to-1 in that important part of the game," Roseberry said.
R.J. Tollefson scored a game-high 25 points for Malta.
The Sugarbeeters turned to intense defense to carry them to the conference win over Harlem on Saturday.
"The 'Beeters knew that the key to this game was intensity on defense," Roseberry said. "From the tip-off, that desire to work hard on defense was present."
Gibson's 18 points paced four Sugarbeeters who reached double figures.
Jaha and Justin Friede scored 11 points apiece and Omsberg chipped in 10 for Chinook, who is 3-4 in conference play and 6-7 overall.
"The entire team contributed to the win, so I couldn't be more proud of the character and hustle shown by the entire team last weekend," Roseberry said.
Chinook
17
18
12
21
--68
Harlem
14
14
10
11
--49
Chinook -- Tim Dennis 1 0-0 2; Adam Gibson 8 0-0 18; Troy Omsberg 3 4-6 10; Justin Friede 4 2-3 11; Mason Roseberry 3 1-2 7; Kalled Jaha 5 1-2 11; Tyler Oehmke 2 4-4 9; Scott Fritz 0 0-2 0. Totals: 26 12-19.
Harlem -- Kyle Raining Bird 4 0-0 11; Kevin Bigby 2 2-6 6; Frank Cratz 3 1-2 9; Hank Brockie 1 4-4 6; Brenc Speaksthunder 5 1-2 12; Adam Bigby 2 0-0 4; Clayton Houle 0 0-1 0; John Kinsey 0 1-2 1. Totals: 17 10-17.
Total fouls: Chinook 19, Harlem 21. Fouled out: None; Three-pointers: Gibson 2, Friede, Oehmke, Raning Bird 3, Cratz 2.
Malta
14
17
11
17
--59
Chinook
16
5
16
12
--49
Malta -- Cody Oxarart 4 4-4 12; Ryan Lankford 1 0-0 2; JD Weber 2 0-2 4; RJ Tollefson 8 4-5 25; Tim Chell 2 0-0 4; Nick Parker 4 4-9 12. Totals: 21 12-20.
Chinook -- Adam Gibson 6 0-0 13; Troy Omsberg 4 0-0 9; Kevin Hansen 1 0-0 2; Justin Friede 2 0-0 5; Kalled Jaha 7 0-1 14; Tyler Oehmcke 1 0-0 2; Scott Fritz 2 0-0 4. Totals: 23 0-1.
Total fouls: Malta 9, Chinook 16. Fouled out: None; Three-pointers: Tollefson 5, Gibson 1, Omsberg 1, Friede 1.
