Tough Northern B the end of the line for Stars, Wildcats

The Northern B boys divisional basketball tournament has always been known as a brutal, three-day grind, and one of the toughest tournaments in all of Montana high school basketball.

For the Rocky Boy Stars, the 2017 Northern B was all of that. The District 1B champion Stars came up one game shy of a Class B state tournament berth, after falling to the Choteau Bulldogs Saturday morning in Cut Bank.

The Stars started the tournament with a rousing win over rival Harlem Thursday afternoon. The Wildcats hung with Rocky Boy for an 18-16 first quarter, but after that, it was all Stars in a 93-47 final. Ben Iron Eyes led four Stars in double figures with 19 points, while Corbin Brockie and Brad Cichosz scored 13 for the Wildcats.

Friday started with Harlem being eliminated from the tournament by Glasgow, while Rocky Boy went up against 1B rival Shelby in a semifinal showdown. But with a berth in the state tourney on the line, it was the Coyotes, led by former Havre Blue Pony Tom Reynolds, who started hot and never looked back in an 83-59 win. Shelby was on fire from the outside and got a game-high 36 points from Andrew Johnson, while Chase Corcoran scored 18 for the Stars.

After the loss to Shelby, Rocky Boy was looking for a trip to the consolation game Saturday night, but Choteau had other ideas. The defending state champion Bulldogs led the Stars 38-36 at halftime, but Rocky Boy wrestled the lead away early in the fourth stanza. However, the Bulldogs came roaring back and held off the Stars at the end, 78-76. Iron Eyes had 24 points for Rocky Boy, but the Stars couldn’t slow down Sayer Patton, who had a tournament-high 41.

The loss ended a great season for Rocky Boy. Meanwhile, Shelby went on to beat Cut Bank in the championship game, while Malta edged Choteau in the consolation game. Shelby, Cut Bank and Malta will all head to this week’s Class B state tourney in Billings.

Rocky Boy 93, Harlem 47

Harlem 16 12 13 6 – 47

Rocky Boy 18 24 19 32 – 93

Harlem – Corbin Brockie 13, Brad Cichosz 13, Terry Sandcrane 8, Lane Allen 5, Hollin Fox 3, Samual Main 4, Damon Adams 1. Totals 16 12-18 47.

Rocky Boy – Kordell Small 18, Ben Iron Eyes 19, Jarrell Gopher 15, Chase Corcoran 12, Kendall Windy Boy 8, Kade Galbavy 6, Dashan Scott 3, Jordan Tyner 9, Frankie Bacon 3. Totals 38 3-9 93.

3-point – Cichosz 2, Allen; Small 3, Iron Eyes, Gopher 3, Corcoran 2, Galbavy 2, Scott, Tyner, Bacon.

Shelby 83, Rocky Boy 59, sf

Rocky Boy 15 14 18 12 – 59

Shelby 22 18 24 19 – 83

Rocky Boy – Kordell Small 8, Ben Iron Eyes 12, Jarrell Gopher 5, Chase Corcoran 18, Kendall Windy Boy 12, Jordan Tyner 4. Totals 19 15-18 59.

Shelby – TJ Reynolds 7, Logan Watson 10, Zach Torgerson 3, Aaron White 17, Brock Whitted 2, Andrew Johnson 36, Macager McAllister 8. Totals 29 20-27 83.

3-point – Gopher, Corcoran 4, Iron Eyes; Watson 2, Torgerson, White, Johnson.

Choteau 78, Rocky Boy 76, lo

Rocky Boy 16 20 21 19 – 76

Choteau 18 20 18 22 – 78

Rocky Boy – Kordell Small 10, Ben Iron Eyes 24, Jarrell Gopher 12, Chase Corcoran 11, Kendall Windy Boy 8, Jordan Tyner 11. Totals: 30 12-15

Choteau – Darrien Garcia 14, Jonathan Moore 5, Trenton Durocher 5, Wyatt Allen 8, Sayer patton 41, Kyler Crabtree 5. Totals: 27 15-26.

3-pointers – Iron Eyes, Gopher 3, Garcia, Durocher , Allen 2, Patton 4, Crabtree.