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Saturday's Prep Basketball: Box Elder completes the 5-Peat, Stars win 1B

Bears beat Hays-Lodge Pole for fifth straight 9C championship

The Box Elder boys basketball team knows a thing or two about winning District 9C championships. But one thing the Bears don't know much about, is winning one as an underdog, that is until Saturday night.

After losing twice in the regular season to Hays-Lodge Pole, the Bears got the ultimate payback Saturday inside a sold-out HHS gymnasium, knocking off the Thunderbirds 71-57 for the 9C championship. The win gave the Bears an unprecedented fifth consecutive district championship.

"It's hard to compare championships," Box Elder head coach Jeremy MacDonald said. "They all mean a lot and every one and every group of kids is special. But this means a lot. We have never won one as a the lower-seeded team. It took a lot of hard work and a lot of heart. I am really proud of this group."

If there was any doubt whether or not Box Elder meant business, it was erased early. The Bears jumped out to a 9-0 lead, thanks to a 3-pointer and a jumper by Pernell Morsette. Trey Henderson scored five points of his own in the closing seconds of the first quarter and at that point the Bears led 19-6.

In the second quarter, it was much the same. Morsette hit another jumper to put the Bears up 16 and at the half, they led 32-17. In the third, Box Elder was still rolling. Morsette hit a baseline jumper and then a triple by Henderson put the Bears in front 39-19, their largest lead of the night.

Down 16 entering the fourth quarter, HLP tried frantically to get back into the game and got within nine after a trey by Jace Shambo with under two minutes remaining. Yet, the Bears answered and a layup by Morsette with less than a minute to go, gave Box Elder a 12-point lead it wouldn't relinquish.

"My coaches always say big players have to step up in big games," Morsette said. "And that's what I tried to do tonight."

As far as playing big, no one was bigger than Morsette, who finished with 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting. Tanner Parisian added 15 for the Bears, while Wyatt Caplette had 11 and Henderson had 10. Lance Strike led the T-Birds with 15, Frank Runs Above had 14.

Both teams will head to Great Falls for the Northern C Divisional this week. They will be joined by Chinook, which defeated North Star in the consolation game Saturday night.

Saturday’s Scores

BOYS

Billings Senior 64, Laurel 59, 2OT

Browning 69, Havre 62

Butte 46, Billings Skyview 45

Dillon 63, Corvallis 26

Glendive 48, Miles City 40

Great Falls 63, Billings West 58, OT

Great Falls Russell 67, Bozeman 62

Helena 48, Helena Capital 47

Kalispell Flathead 57, Missoula Big Sky 40

Lewistown (Fergus) 49, Livingston 44

Missoula Hellgate 67, Kalispell Glacier 56

Polson 78, Whitefish 31

Stevensville 66, Columbia Falls 56

District 1B at Cut Bank

Loser Out

Choteau 80, Fairfield 71

Shelby 71, Conrad 51

Third Place

Shelby 71, Choteau 62

Championship

Rocky Boy 68, Cut Bank 63

District 2B at Malta

Third Place

Poplar 63, Harlem 50

Championship

Malta 69, Glasgow 27

District 3B at Colstrip

Third Place

Lodge Grass 52, Baker 39

Championship

Lame Deer 69, Colstrip 47

District 4B at Red Lodge

Loser Out

Huntley Project 42, Columbus 29

Shepherd 47, Red Lodge 33

Third Place

Shepherd 59, Huntley Project 50

Championship

Joliet 47, Roundup 35

District 5B at Belgrade

Loser Out

Jefferson (Boulder) 48, Big Timber 41

Three Forks 77, Manhattan 67

Third Place

Three Forks 60, Jefferson (Boulder) 45

Championship

Townsend 57, Whitehall 55, OT

District 6B at Hamilton

Loser Out

Deer Lodge 62, Ronan 61

Florence 50, St. Ignatius 32

Third Place

Deer Lodge 32, Florence 30

Championship

Missoula Loyola 53, Anaconda 50

District 7B

Third Place

Libby 50, Troy 27

Championship

Bigfork 69, Thompson Falls 66

District 2C at Sidney

Loser Out

Froid/Medicine Lake 53, Bainville 42

Savage 81, Richey-Lambert 36

Championship

Mon-Dak 41, Fairview 35

District 3C at Glasgow

Third Place

North Country 54, Lustre Christian 48

Championship

Scobey 64, Frazer 47

District 4C at Custer

Loser Out

Jordan 100, Northern Cheyenne 74

Third Place

Jordan 61, Terry 47

Championship

Melstone 41, Wibaux 39, OT

District 6C at Huntley Project

Loser Out

Bridger 57, Park City 50

Harlowton 64, Broadview-Lavina 62, OT

Third Place

Bridger 46, Harlowton 43

Championship

Reed Point-Rapelje 81, Plenty Coups 62

District 8C at Lewistown

Loser Out

Denton-Geyser-Stanford 58, Winnett-Grass Range 46

Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap 52, Geraldine/Highwood 50

Third Place

Denton-Geyser-Stanford 64, Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap 48

Championship

Belt 68, Centerville 28

District 9C at Havre

Loser Out

Chinook 59, Fort Benton 30

North Star 64, Turner 42

Third Place

Chinook 48, North Star 24

Championship

Box Elder 71, Hays-Lodgepole 57

District 10C at Great Falls

Loser Out

Power 48, Dutton-Brady 42

Valier 70, Great Falls Central 58

Third Place

Power 50, Valier 45

Championship

Sunburst 47, Heart Butte 45

District 11C at Manhattan Christian

Loser Out

Lone Peak 55, Shields Valley 49

White Sulphur Springs 52, West Yellowstone 35

Third Place

White Sulphur Springs 58, Lone Peak 54

Championship

Manhattan Christian 94, Gardiner 47

District 12C at Butte Central

Loser Out

Drummond 60, Harrison-Willow Creek 37

Phillipsburg 54, Sheridan 35

Third Place

Drummond 46, Phillipsburg 30

Championship

Twin Bridges 39, Ennis 36

District 13C at Frenchtown

Loser Out

Lincoln 68, Victor 25

Seeley-Swan 49, Clark Fork 35

Third Place

Lincoln 60, Seeley-Swan 45

Championship

Valley Christian 81, Darby 56

District 14C at Pablo

Loser Out

Charlo 62, Noxon 47

Third Place

Hot Springs 65, Charlo 49

Championship

Arlee 66, Plains 45

GIRLS

Billings Senior 81, Laurel 40

Billings Skyview 36, Butte 35

Columbia Falls 87, Stevensville 33

Glendive 55, Miles City 44

Great Falls 52, Billings West 41

Great Falls Russell 51, Bozeman 43

Havre 55, Browning 37

Kalispell Flathead 59, Missoula Big Sky 36

Lewistown (Fergus) 58, Livingston 49

Missoula Hellgate 30, Kalispell Glacier 20

Polson 44, Whitefish 28

District 1B at Cut Bank

Loser Out

Rocky Boy 89, Cut Bank 65

Shelby 52, Conrad 39

Third Place

Rocky Boy 63, Shelby 53

Championship

Fairfield 50, Choteau 38

District 2B at Malta

Third Place

Glasgow 47, Wolf Point 42

Championship

Malta 61, Poplar 50

District 3B at Colstrip

Third Place

Lame Deer 86, Lodge Grass 75

Championship

Colstrip 65, St. Labre 51

District 4B at Red Lodge

Loser Out

Joliet 63, Huntley Project 47

Red Lodge 46, Columbus 40

Third Place

Red Lodge 66, Joliet 44

Championship

Shepherd 32, Roundup 24

District 5B at Belgrade

Loser Out

Manhattan 60, Jefferson (Boulder) 41

Townsend 55, Whitehall 29

Third Place

Townsend 48, Jefferson (Boulder) 33

Championship

Three Forks 50, Big Timber 38

District 6B at Hamilton

Loser Out

Deer Lodge 36, Anaconda 32

Missoula Loyola 68, St. Ignatius 62

Third Place

Deer Lodge 44, Missoula Loyola 36

Championship

Ronan 61, Florence 48

District 7B

Third Place

Eureka 40, Libby 39

Championship

Troy 48, Bigfork 40

District 2C at Sidney

Loser Out

Froid/Medicine Lake 53, Bainville 21

Savage 50, Circle 20

Championship

Mon-Dak 57, Plentywood 33

District 3C at Glasgow

Third Place

Lustre Christian 68, Frazer 48

Championship

Scobey 55, North Country 26

District 4C at Custer

Third Place

Broadus 40, Ekalaka 36

Championship

Melstone 47, Wibaux 38, OT

District 6C at Huntley Project

Third Place

Park City 54, Plenty Coups 44

Championship

Harlowton 49, Broadview-Lavina 45

District 8C at Lewistown

Loser Out

Centerville 60, Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap 56, 2OT

Winnett-Grass Range 39, Denton-Geyser-Stanford 29

Third Place

Winnett-Grass Range 44, Centerville 40

Championship

Belt 57, Roy-Winifred 31

District 11C at Manhattan Christian

Loser Out

Manhattan Christian 54, Gardiner 29

Shields Valley 55, West Yellowstone 41

Third Place

Manhattan Christian 52, Shields Valley 35

Championship

Lone Peak 49, White Sulphur Springs 40

District 12C at Butte Central

Loser Out

Drummond 35, Harrison-Willow Creek 28

Phillipsburg 39, Lima 34

Third Place

Drummond 42, Phillipsburg 33

Championship

Twin Bridges 54, Ennis 40

District 13C at Frenchtown

Loser Out

Darby 55, Valley Christian 43

Victor 38, Lincoln 30

Third Place

Victor 46, Darby 43

Championship

Seeley-Swan 61, Clark Fork 31

District 14C at Pablo

Loser Out

Charlo 38, Hot Springs 26

Third Place

Charlo 33, Plains 32

Championship

Arlee 38, St. Regis 28

 

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