A Bear of a Dynasty

When the Box Elder Bears were getting ready for the District 9C boys championship game, they weren't just thinking about winning a district title, they had their sights set on making history. And thanks to a nine-point victory over Hays-Lodge Pole, the Bears did what they set out to do.

For much of the championship game Saturday at the Havre High gymnasium between the Bears and Thunderbirds, the score was close, but the outcome never really seemed in doubt. And when the Bears went on a 14-3 run early in the fourth quarter, they sealed the 65-56 victory and elusive 3-peat as 9C champions.

"I was looking at the trophies at the beginning of the year and I realized that we haven't had a 3-peat in 50 some years, so we made some history tonight," Box Elder guard Brandon The Boy said. "It feels pretty good."

Box Elder, which is also the defending Class C state champions, will advance to the Northern C divisional tournament, which begins Wednesday in Great Falls. The Bears (20-1) will be in search of their second straight divisional title. The T-Birds also qualified for divisionals thanks to their second-place finish.

"I was happy with how we played," HLP head coach Charlie Ereaux said. "This was a great experience for my guys. A lot of them have never played in these kind of big games, so it was great for them. I feel like we are peaking at the right time and just need to keep this momentum going into divisionals."

In front of a sold-out crowd, the Bears roared out of the gates and, thanks to an early 3-pointer by Jake Jones and an old-fashioned three-point play by Jerrod Four Colors, Box Elder grabbed a 13-7 lead midway through the first quarter. Moments later, Four Colors nailed a trey of his own, followed with another by Bears' guard Pernell Morsette and at the end of one, the Bears boasted a 23-12 lead.

Yet, the T-Birds were not going anywhere. Lance Strike hit a jumper to trim the lead to eight and then a deep three from Tyson Shambo got HLP within five at 25-20 with 3:13 to go before the half. Strike scored twice more to keep pace with Box Elder buckets but when Shambo drilled a shot from just inside half court to cut the Bears lead to two at 29-27, it was game on.

"The key in the second quarter was our defense," Ereaux said. "We really got after them defensively there and held them to just six points. That's hard to do and that got us back in it."

Right away in the third quarter, Four Colors converted another three-point play to put the Bears back up five. In all, the senior Box Elder forward scored seven points in the third but HLP kept answering with scores from Shambo and Strike. And following a score by Frank Runs Above with 36 seconds left in the stanza, Box Elder led 45-40 going to the fourth.

But as championship teams often do, the Bears thrived in the fourth.

Morsette scored four straight points to open the period to push the Box Elder advantage to nine. HLP stayed within striking distance thanks to a Shambo three but a three-point play by Tristian Bernard on the next possession canceled it out and sparked an 8-0 run by the Bears that made the score 59-43 with just 3:12 left in the game.

The T-Birds tried to get back in it but time was against them and a jumper by Jones, plus two more free throws by Four Colors wrapped up the final nine-point margin of victory.

"It feels great to win another championship," Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. "This is a really special group of kids. This group has won eight championships in the last three years, so it's turning into a historic group."

Four Colors was huge for the Bears, finishing the title tilt with 18 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks assists and three assists.

"It feels good. We have been working at this for a while," Four Colors said of the 3-peat. "This was one of the goals on our checklist, so it feels good to get it."

However, Four Colors was not alone in his stellar play. Quinn Baker pitched in with 13 points for the Bears, while Jake Jones added nine. Bernard also contributed with nine and Morsette finished with seven.

On the other side, Shambo was spectacular for HLP (15-6), scoring a game-high 27 points and knocking down an incredible six 3-pointers. Strike was also great in defeat for the T-Birds with 16 impactful points off the bench.

"I thought the key for us was just to keep playing our game," MacDonald said. "We wanted to attack the basket and shoot high percentage shots and that was key, as well as keeping up our pressure. They hit big shots tonight to keep the game close and we just had to answer. When they made a run we answered with a run of our own and I think over the course of the game, we wore them down a little bit."

The Bears will take the next step in the defending their state championship this Wednesday when they will take on Highwood in the opening round of the Northern C divisional at 7 p.m. HLP will open its divisional tournament against Sunburst Thursday at 9:30 a.m. Both games will be played at the Four Seasons Arena.

Box Elder 65, Hays-Lodge Pole 56 (1st)

HLP 12 15 13 16 – 56

Box Elder 23 6 16 20 – 65

HLP – Tyson Shambo 9-18 3-5 27, Lance Strike 5-8 6-9, Sterling White Cow 1-7 0-0 3, Frank Runs Above 4-10 0-0 9, Darnell Parisian 0-2 1-2 1. Totals: 19-52 10-16.

Box Elder – Brandon The Boy 2-6 0-0 4, Bodis Duran 1-4 0-0 3, Tristian Bernard 4-4 1-1 9, Clayton Morsette Jr. 1-10 0-1 2, Jake Jones 4-11 0-1 9, Jerrod Four Colors 4-9 9-10 18, Quinn Baker 6-6 1-2 13, Pernell Morsette 2-3 2-2 7. Totals: 24-56 13-17.

Halftime score: Box Elder 29, HLP 27. 3-pointers Box Elder 4-16 (Duran, Jones, Four Colors, Morsette), HLP 8-20 (Shambo 6, White Cow, Runs Above). Fouled out – White Cow.