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Bears roar to a repeat

Box Elder stays perfect after routing Chinook in 9C boys title game

It took a full half to make it certain. But in the end, the Box Elder boys basketball team wasn’t going to let its first loss of the season come in the District 9C championship game. Not with a chance to continue an unbeaten season, and not with a repeat 9C title on the line.

And while the Chinook Sugarbeeters fought Box Elder valiantly, the deep, talented and powerful Bears rolled to the 9C repeat they were looking for. Saturday night at the Havre High gymnasium, Box Elder defeated Chinook 82-58 in the boys championship game. It was the second straight 9C title for the Bears, who improved to 20-0 this season.

“It is a great feeling to be back-to-back 9C champions,” Box Elder’s Clayton Morsette Jr. said. “It hasn't been done here in a long time, and that is a great feeling. We have a great crowd, we feed off of them and they feed off of us and they helped us again tonight. From last year to this year, the excitement is just building, and now we know we have to get ready for divisionals.”

A year ago, Box Elder had to go to triple-overtime to win its first 9C title in 21 seasons. But entering Saturday night’s game, the expectations of a repeat were high, especially considering how dominant the Bears have been this season. And even with those high expectations, the Bears didn’t let down, and it’s something head coach Jeremy MacDonald is very proud of his team for.

“We accomplished a big goal tonight,” MacDonald said. “The expectations were high, but we wanted it that way. We wanted to come here and win the district championship, and that was our sole focus. We weren’t looking ahead to divisionals at all this week. The kids were focused and determined, and they checked a big goal off the list tonight. Now we can turn all of our focus to divisionals, and, in particular, that quarterfinal game.

“Chinook is a championship caliber ball club,” he continued. “They are very well-coached, they are disciplined and they execute well. They are going to give teams fits next week at divisionals.”

Indeed, the Sugarbeeters will, as they join Box Elder at the Northern C later this week in Great Falls. But for a time on Saturday night, they were also giving the top-ranked Bears fits.

Chinook got an early 3-pointer from Jacob MacLean, as well as buckets by Lane Seymour which countered a fast Box Elder start. And when Ian McIntosh drilled a triple as time ran out on the first quarter, the Beeters were tied up with the high-octane Bears at 12-12.

Chinook then took its only lead of the night when Jake Diemert scored along the baseline in the first minutes of the second quarter. At the 6:16 mark of the period the Beeters led 16-14. But Box Elder made it a short-lived lead and, as the Bears do so often, they used their defensive pressure to get going on offense. Morsette Jr. scored five straight points and capped an 11-2 Box Elder run, which ultimately led to a 30-21 halftime lead. And while the Beeters were still in the game, the Bears never looked back. Behind steals and layups from Randall Gardipee on three possessions, the Bears got the second half off to a fast start. They also went on runs of 10-0 and 10-2 in the high-scoring third quarter, and led 57-40 with eight minutes left. Chinook did well to hang tough as the Beeters got a big third quarter from Seymour, as well as big shots by McIntosh and Zach Molyneaux on what became a 10-4 run to close the period.

Still, it wasn’t enough, as Box Elder would tack on another 25 points in the final period, and win going away.

“I felt like we got winded in the second half,” Chinook head coach Mike Seymour noted. “Our press breaker broke down a little bit and that allowed them (Bears) to get some easy baskets, and when they start to get those easy ones, it fuels them. That was a big difference in the second half. That and we were missing shots that we needed to hit.

“And I just want to say, congratulations to Box Elder,” he continued. “Coach MacDonald and Coach White do such an awesome job with those kids. They are a very classy team, a classy group of kids. But I’m very proud of my team too. The progression they have made from the start of this season until now, it’s been awesome.”

And Chinook (12-8) isn’t done playing either. The Beeters will advance to the Northern C after feeling the sting of not making it a year ago. They were beaten by Big Sandy in a challenge game last February, but in beating Hays-Lodge Pole in the semifinals, they’re now headed to Great Falls for the Northern C Wednesday.

“We talked about that in the lockerroom,” Coach Seymour said. “Our season isn’t over. They’re disappointed because the goal was to come here and win the district tournament. But we’re still alive and we get a chance to advance at the Northern C. That’s our new goal now. Again, I’m just really proud of this team. They’ve come a long, long way. They work very hard and they have really united as a team. It’s a great group.”

Lane Seymour paced the Beeters with 18 points and eight rebounds Saturday night. Chinook was balanced as well, getting 13 from McIntosh and another 11 by Molyneaux. MacLean also chipped in with eight points.

And while Chinook is indeed moving on, Saturday night was a celebration of one of the most dominant 9C seasons in recent history. In all of their 9C wins, including Saturday night’s victory and Thursday’s win over North Star, the Bears won by more than 10 points every time out. But MacDonald admitted, Saturday night’s win against a tough Chinook team didn’t come easy.

“Things didn’t go our way at times tonight,” MacDonald said. “But this team responds to adversity. I thought we did a good job of adjusting to what was happening throughout the course of the game tonight. I thought we did a great job of keeping our composure.”

The Bears also did a great job defensively. Box Elder limited Chinook to just 32 percent shooting, while forcing 24 turnovers and out-rebounding the Beeters 36-25. Box Elder scored 31 points off Chinook turnovers and another 15 on offensive rebounds. The Bears’ bench stepped up big as well, scoring 30 points, and making the championship a total team effort.

“Our defense creates our offense,” MacDonald said. “We can get after teams and pressure the ball with the system we have in place. And we can sub in waves, and over the course of 32 minutes that can create problems for teams, and I thought those things were key tonight.”

On the offensive end, Gardipee poured in a game-high 25 points to go along with six rebounds. Lonnie Plain Bull Jr. added eight points and Morsette Jr. scored seven. Five more Bears totaled six points each.

But Saturday night’s win against the Beeters didn’t just give the Bears a second straight 9C title, it also sends them to the Northern C with momentum and focus. Box Elder will enjoy repeating as 9C champions and going through the league unscathed, but they’ll remain determined as many of their goals are still ahead of them.

“We expected to win this, but we are still excited, and it was a tough game,” Gardipee said. “There is always that chance a team comes out and plays really well against us. We are still staying focused and are going to take the floor like any team has a shot at beating us on any night.

“But this win feels just as good as last year,” he added. “And we know we have some unfinished business down in Great Falls (Northern C).”

Box Elder will play the No. 2 seed from District 7C in the first round of the Northern C Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in Great Falls. Chinook opens the Northern C with 7C champ D-G-S Wednesday at 1 p.m.

A Perfect 9C Season

Box Elder 82, Chinook 58 (1st)

Chinook 12 9 19 18 – 58

Box Elder 12 18 27 25 – 82

Chinook – Lane Seymour 6-11 5-5 18, Ian McIntosh 3-7 6-8 13, Zach Molyneaux 2-7 7-7 11, Jacob MacLean 1-7 5-8 8, Cody MacCracken 0-3 2-4 2, Zack Schellin 1-2 0-0 2, Jake Diemert 2-8 0-0 4. Totals 15-46 25-32 58.

Box Elder – Brandon The Boy 2-6 2-2 6, Clayton Morsette Jr. 3-4 0-4 7, Will Ketchum 2-3 0-0 4, Randall Gardipee 11-16 3-5 25, Jake Jones 2-4 0-0 4, Ryan Gardipee 1-1 0-0 3, Jerrod Four Colors 3-3 0-0 6, Quinn Baker 3-3 0-1 6, Thomas Parisian 3-6 0-0 6, Lonnie Plain Bull Jr. 4-8 0-0 8, Slayte Duran 1-1 0-0 2, Chris Lamere 2-6 1-2 5. Totals: 37-61 6-13 82.

3-pointers: Chinook 3-15 (Seymour 1, McIntosh 1, MacLean 1), Box Elder 2-9 (Morsette Jr. 1, R. Gardipee 1); Rebounds: Chinook 25 (Seymour 8), Box Elder 36 (R. Gardipee 6); Fouls: Chinook 15, Box Elder 24; Fouled out: None; Technical Foul: Chinook Bench.

 

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