9C Boys: Bears three-peat with win over Thunderbirds

By the time the championship game of the District 9C boys basketball tournament rolled around, the only question left unanswered was whether Box Elder would 3-peat as district champions-and when it was over, the Bears answered-with a resounding yes.

However, Box Elder was not handed the title and were given all they could handle from Hays-Lodge Pole Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd at the HHS gymnasium. In the end, the Bears proved to be just too strong for HLP and captured their third straight title 65-56.

"I want to congratulate the Thunderbirds and coach Ereaux, they came to play tonight and gave us everything we wanted," Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. "This is the eighth championship for this group in the last three years, so this is a special group of kids.

Box Elder trailed for a short time in the first quarter but led wire-to-wire the rest of the way to earn the win. Yet, even after building a 23-12 first quarter advantage, the T-Birds refused to go away and got back into it by outscoring the Bears 15-6 in the second to trim the Box Elder lead to 29-27 at the half.

Leading by just five entering the fourth, the Bears went on a 14-3 to open the stanza that included four points from Pernell Morsette and a clutch 3-point play from Tristian Bernard that opened up a 59-43 lead for Box Elder and put the game on ice.

Jerrod Four Colors led the way for the Bears with 18 points. Quinn Baker added 13 and Bernard had nine. Tyson Shambo was stellar for the T-Birds scoring 27 points in defeat. Lance Strike pitched in with 16.

Before the championship, the Chinook Sugarbeeters and Chester/J-I Hawks went head-to-head for third place and the final berth in the Northern C divisional, which starts Wednesday in Great Falls. And in another game that lived up to the billing, the Beeters outlasted the Hawks 67-59 in large part due to a scintillating 16-point fourth quarter from Lane Seymour.

Seymour finished with a game-high 23 points, going 13-of-15 from the free throw line, including a number of key makes late in the fourth quarter. He also pulled down eight rebounds to lead Chinook. Sophomore Wade Schneider, who scored 17 points and grabbed five boards also had a huge night for the Beeters.

Troy Harmon had 20 to pace C/J-I in a losing effort. Cory Richter finished with 16. Justin May was held to eight and fouled out early in the fourth quarter.

Box Elder, HLP and Chinook all advanced to the Northern C divisionals, which are set to begin Wednesday at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.

For full coverage, see Monday's Havre Daily News