Stars, Eagles set up semifinal showdown
By Jason Shoot
Rocky Boy and Blue Sky each admitted they were looking
ahead a bit to a potential Friday semifinal matchup, but
both schools took care of business at hand Wednesday night
and that game has now become a reality.
In the first round of the District 9C divisional basketball
tournament last night at the Havre High gym, Rocky Boy
jumped ahead early and cruised past Turner, 79-25, and Blue
Sky was efficient offensively in a 60-36 win over Big Sandy.
The two schools will meet Friday at 7:30 p.m. for a shot at
advancing to the tournament's championship game.
BLUE SKY 60, BIG SANDY 36 Brent Petrick was an animal for
the Eagles, successfully converting 8 of 14 attempts en
route to a game-high 26 points. The 6-foot junior also had
nine rebounds.
"Brent's a good ball player," Blue Sky coach Joe Horel
said. "He can hurt you from all over. The kid's a good
shooter."
But it doesn't take a good shooter to make layups, which
Petrick was constantly able to provide for himself with a
quick first step off the dribble.
Big Sandy scored the first four points of the game, but the
Pioneers suddenly ran into a funk offensively, unable to
score again in the first period as Blue Sky came back to
take a 13-4 lead after the first eight minutes.
Both teams traded several baskets in the second quarter,
which ended with Blue Sky ahead 27-16.
The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders in the third
period, racing out to a 12-4 run to take a 39-20 lead on a
Petrick layin with three minutes remaining in the quarter.
Big Sandy could get no closer than 17 the rest of the way.
"The first four minutes of the third quarter were crucial,"
Horel said.
Mike Hutchinson scored 10 points for Blue Sky, and Jack
McKinley was perfect from the floor (4-for-4) to finish with
eight points.
"From the free throw line to the hoop, Jack is tough,"
Horel said.
Big Sandy struggled from the floor (13-for-41) and
surrendered 15 turnovers, resulting in 19 points for Blue
Sky. The Pioneers scored just eight points off nine Blue Sky
turnovers.
Gage Brumwell paced the Pioneers with 10 points.
ROCKY BOY 79, TURNER 25 The Stars left little doubt early
they would be advancing to the tournament semifinals.
Rocky Boy continuously pressed the beleaguered Tornadoes,
forcing 29 turnovers that resulted in 29 points for the
Stars. Turner, on the other hand, scored just two points off
Rocky Boy turnovers.
Rocky Boy also dominated the glass, securing 54 rebounds
compared to Turner's 34.
Ryan Young scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds off the
bench for Rocky Boy, and Lenno Henderson and Derek Small
added 10 and 9, respectively.
"We wanted to get into the tournament fever a little bit,"
Rocky Boy coach Bob Small said. "We wanted to get up and
down the floor."
Andrew Jones scored nine points, and Michael VanVoast added
sev
