Harlem takes second, Rocky Boy fourth at divisionals

While all eyes were on the Havre High basketball teams competing in the Eastern A Divisionals in Billings and the District 9C schools playing in the Northern C Divisionals in Great Falls this past weekend, the Hi-Line was also represented at the Northern B Divisionals in Glasgow over the week.

From the Hi-Line, the Harlem and Rocky Boy boys basketball teams competed and even made it all the way to Saturday night. In the consolation game, Rocky Boy lost, 59-50, to Shelby to finish fourth in the tournament. In the championship game later that night, Malta defeated Harlem, 83-67, to win the divisional title.

Both teams played hard over the week to make it to Saturday. The tournament started Thursday afternoon with Harlem defeating Conrad 71-24. The Wildcats came out hot to start the tournament as they raced out to a 20-3 lead in the first quarter. By halftime, the lead had ballooned to 54-12, allowing the Wildcats to cruise through the second half.

R.J. Ramone started the tournament with 20 points for Harlem while Caleb Cole scored 15 points and Daniel Lawrence chipped in 13 in the winning effort. Devon Baney and Sam Blanchard each scored seven points for Conrad.

Later that afternoon, Rocky Boy defeated Poplar, 74-48, to start the tournament. The Stars came out strong as they took an early 31-12 lead. The huge lead allowed them to coast to victory over the next three quarters. Ben Crebs opened the tournament with 24 points while Joe Demontiney had a strong game with 20 points. Dennis Redeagle led Poplar with 18 points.

On Friday night in the semifinals, Harlem defeated Rocky Boy, 82-79, to advance to the championship game. The Wildcats took momentum early as they took a 22-11 lead in the first quarter. The Stars found their rhythm in the second quarter but Harlem took a 48-34 lead into halftime.

The Wildcats continued to play well in the third to take a 71-54 lead into the fourth. The Stars attempted to rally in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to three points, but Harlem was able to hold on for the win. Ramone had a strong night for the Wildcats as he scored 36 points. In the losing effort, Demontiney scored 26 points and Crebs scored 25.

After losing to Harlem, Rocky Boy played in a loser-out game Saturday morning against Fairfield. With the season on the line, Rocky Boy won 56-53. The Stars fell behind early as the Eagles took a 15-11 lead in the first quarter. But the Stars responded in the second quarter to take a 28-27 at halftime.

The Eagles struck back in the third quarter to take a 37-35 lead heading to the fourth. But the Stars ended the game strong to pull out the win. Demontiney led the Stars with 22 points while Crebs chipped in 14 points. Kaelob Flores led Fairfield with 19 points and Owen Cartwright-Gines scored 12 points in the loss.

With the win, the Stars advanced to the consolation game Saturday night where they lost 59-50, to Shelby. The Coyotes came out strong as they took a 20-9 lead in the first quarter. But the Stars continued to battle as they cut the deficit to 31-24 at halftime.

The Stars continued to fight in the third quarter as they cut the deficit to 44-38 heading to the fourth. However, the Stars ran out of steam as Shelby held on for the win. Even though the Stars placed fourth in the tournament, they failed to qualify for the Class B State Tournament. In the final game of his career, Demontiney led the Stars with 17 points. Shelby was led to victory by Rhett Reynolds with his 28 points.

To end the tournament, Malta defeated Harlem, 83-67, to win the divisional title. The Wildcats played well early on as they led 20-16 at the end of the first quarter. The Mustangs responded in the second quarter to tie the game, 35-35, at halftime.

The Mustangs then dominated the third quarter to take a 57-45 lead into the fourth. The Wildcats did get their offense rolling again in the fourth, but they could not limit the Malta offense to climb their way back. Tyler Cichosz led Harlem with 19 points and Lawrence contributed 15 in the losing effort. Rex Williamson led Malta with 23 points and Conner Tuss and Treyton Wilke each scored 15.

Despite the loss, Harlem's second-place finish allowed them to qualify for state. The Wildcats will begin the Class B State Tournament on March 10 at 8 p.m. at the MSU Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman.

Harlem 71, Conrad 24

CON - 3 9 8 4 - 24

HAR - 20 34 13 4 - 71

CON - Devon Baney 7, Sam Blanchard 7, Brayden Stordahl 4, Braidyn Denzer 2, Trevor Volk 2, Roscoe Shaw 2.

HAR - RJ Ramone 20, Caleb Cole 15, Daniel Lawrence 13, Devon Denoy 8, Teegan LeValdo 5, Marly Stewart 4, Deshon Shambo 3, Tyler Cichosz 2, Tommy Champagne 1.

Rocky Boy 74, Poplar 48

RB - 31 16 14 13 - 74

POP - 12 11 11 14 - 48

RB - Ben Crebs 24, Joe Demontiney 20, Sean Gibson 15, Kellen Colliflower 6, Teague Stump 5, Tayce St. Pierre 2, Kenny Corcoran 2.

POP - Dennis Redeagle 18, Delray Lilley 9, Kaniel Ricker 7, Allen Russell 6, Joe Bear 4, Geordy Medicine Cloud 2, Preston Ogle 2.

Harlem 82, Rocky Boy 79, SF

RB - 11 23 20 25 - 79

HAR - 22 26 23 11 - 82

RB - Joe Demontiney 26, Ben Crebs 25, Sean Gibson 14, Teague Stump 7, Tayce St. Pierre 4, Kellen Colliflower 3.

HAR - RJ Ramone 36, Daniel Lawrence 14, Tyler Cichosz 13, Caleb Cole 9, Teegan LeValdo 6, Deshon Shambo 4.

Rocky Boy 56, Fairfield 53, LO

FAI - 15 12 10 16 - 53

RB - 11 17 7 21 - 56

FAI - Kaelob Flores 19, Owen Cartwright-Gines 12, Daniel Faith 7, Brian Ward 7, Cooper Christensen 7, Brydan Batson 1.

RB - Joe Demontiney 22, Ben Crebs 14, Tayce St. Pierre 7, Sean Gibson 5, Kellen Colliflower 4, Kenny Corcoran 2, Teague Stump 2.

Shelby 59, Rocky Boy 50, 3rd

RB - 9 15 14 12 - 50

SHE - 20 11 13 15 - 59

RB - Joe Demontiney 17, Tayce St. Pierre 12, Ben Crebs 7, Sean Gibson 5, Kellen Colliflower 4, Kenny Corcoran 3, Teague Stump 2.

SHE - Rhett Reynolds 28, Trenton Emerson 8, Kyle McDermott 8, Kolby Lohr 7, Taylor Parsons 4, Randon Richman 4.

Malta 83, Harlem 67, 1st

MAL - 16 19 22 26 - 83

HAR - 20 15 10 22 - 67

MAL - Rex Williamson 23, Conner Tuss 15, Treyton Wilke 15, Stockton Oxarart 13, Bohdi Brenden 9, Jared Eggebrecht 8.

HAR - Tyler Cichosz 19, Daniel Lawrence 15, Caleb Cole 14, RJ Ramone 12, Deshon Shambo 3, Teegan LeValdo 2, Lance Morgan 2.