Stars shine bright in Havre

It wasn’t long ago that the season was falling apart on the Rocky Boy boys basketball team. There was the forfeiture of nine games and then a lackluster performance in the District 1B tournament. But at some point between districts and the Northern B divisional, everything changed — and now the Stars are dancing because they are back in the Class B state tournament.

The Stars, who lost to Choteau in blowout fashion last Saturday in the championship game of the Northern B, responded in a big way with a 53-40 win over Malta, earning them second place in the Northern B and the last spot at state, which begins Thursday in Great Falls. The Stars will open with Huntley Project at 3:30 p.m., in the Four Seasons Arena.

“I am just so proud of all these guys,” Rocky Boy head coach Adam Demontiney said. “We had to go through a lot but we stuck together. This team is like a family. It was their dream to go to the state tournament and I told them before divisionals it was there for the taking but that the time was now and they took that to heart.”

The most pivotal point in the game may have come early on when the Stars scored eight straight points after spotting a 2-0 lead to the Mustangs. But, thanks to the 8-0 run and a 3-pointer by Lonnie Plain Bull, the Stars led 11-5 after the first quarter.

Malta stayed with the Stars early in the second quarter and trailed just 13-7 with six minutes to go before halftime. Yet, Rocky Boy would go on another run, this time the Stars went on an 11-2 spurt that was capped with a 30-foot trey from Bubby Gopher to make the halftime lead 24-9.

“Bubby is a confident player,” Demontiney said. “He has hit big shots all year. We wouldn’t be where we are at without him.”

And at the start of third quarter, if there was any question about a second half letdown, the Stars put it to rest quickly. Shadow LaForge opened the scoring in the second half with a trey and after Malta answered with a three of its own, Plain Bull had a 3-ball go all the way around and in to put the Stars up 34-12 with 4:02 left in the third.

However, the Mustangs refused to make victory easy for Rocky Boy and closed the third on a 12-5 spurt that got them back within striking distance at 39-24 with eight minutes remaining.

Early in the fourth quarter, it looked like Gopher had put Malta away with a corner trey that gave Rocky Boy a 42-26 lead with 6:23 left in the game. Yet, the Mustangs wouldn’t go down without a fight and proceeded to go on an 11-2 run that was capped by a pair of Allen Williamson free throws that trimmed the deficit down to 44-37 with 2:44 to go.

But just as they did throughout the game, when the Stars needed points they turned to Gopher. First the Rocky Boy defense put the clamps on the Mustangs, who simply couldn’t buy a bucket in the final two minutes. Then Gopher, a senior, stepped to the free-throw-line and made 9-of-10 from the charity stripe to ice the win and punch the Stars’ ticket to state.

“That’s just Bubby,” Demontiney said. “He has a lot of confidence in himself and he puts in a lot of work. The other day in practice he made 111 free throws in a row, that’s just the kind of work that he puts in.”

Gopher was stellar in the win for the Stars and led the way with a game-high 18 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. Plain Bull was also key with 10 points and Cecil LaFromboise added nine. Williamson led the Mustangs with 12 points, while Nate Costin was the only other Malta player to reach double figures with 10.

The Stars will now advance to the Class B state tournament and take on Huntley Project Thursday in Great Falls. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. However, even though it’s only two days away, it will be a long wait for Demontiney and the Stars, who are itching to get back on the court.

“We work hard for each other,” Demontiney said. “I work hard for them and they work hard for me and we are so excited to get down there and play. If we play our game and take it one game at a time, the sky is the limit. Our goal is a state championship.”

Rocky Boy 53, Malta 40 (2nd)

Malta 5 4 15 16 – 40

Rocky Boy 11 13 15 14 – 53

Malta – N. Costin 10, J. Galt 7, T. Carney 6, J. Costin 4, A. Williamson 12, J. Bishop 1.

Rocky Boy - Bubby Gopher 18, Lonnie Plain Bull 10, Cecil LaFromboise 9, Shadow LaForge 9, Skylar Parisian 4, Lance Parker 3.

3-pointers: Rocky Boy (Gopher 3, Plain Bull 2, LaForge, Parker), Malta (N. Costin, Carney 2). Fouled out – J. Costin.