Pioneers run past North Star for Northern C Divisional berth

On Saturday at Havre High Gymnasium, the District 9C Boys Basketball Tournament consolation game took place between the Big Sandy Pioneers and the North Star Knights. With a spot in the Northern C Divisional on the line, the Pioneers got rolling early and never looked back as they won 65-25.

"The first half of that game was probably the best first half of basketball we've played all season," Big Sandy head coach Rhett Simanton said. "We really need that. It came when we needed it, we came to play and were ready to go that first half to really put it away."

The Big Sandy Pioneers were coming off a loss to Chester-Joplin-Inverness the previous night in the semifinal, so they had to win two games Saturday in order to qualify for the Northern C Divisional. After the loss, the Pioneers quickly got back to work to put themselves in position to make a run.

"We knew that we didn't play to our capability (against CJI) and we went home and watched a lot of film," Big Sandy senior Kody Strutz said. "We came ready this morning and we executed. We then watched even more film on North Star because they had just played a great game before us and then we built our game plan for them and executed."

The Pioneers got going early as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the contest. Strutz made an early impact during this stretch with six points. Braydon Cline and Isaac Pedraza then knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to give Big Sandy a 16-0 lead. The Knights finally scored thanks to a bucket from Gavin Clawson, but Big Sandy's lead of 16-2 to end the first quarter had set the tone for the game.

"We played as a team very well. We trusted each other, we passed to each other and we were just moving well," Strutz said. "We played super hard on defense and held them to two points in the first quarter. Not a lot of teams can do that."

The Pioneers continued to dominate with a 15-0 run to start the second quarter. Strutz and Lane Demontiney each scored five points during the run to help Big Sandy build a 31-2 lead.

Even with the huge lead, the Pioneers continued to roll as they built themselves a 48-11 lead heading into halftime. The Pioneers scored early in the third quarter to start a running clock as they coasted towards the victory and third place in the District 9C.

The Pioneers finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from deep. Cline led the team with 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field and 2-for-5 shooting from deep. Demontiney added 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 shooting from deep.

The Pioneers also played good defense as the Knights only shot 27 percent from the field. Garrett Spicher led North Star with nine points on 3-for-6 shooting from deep.

With their win, the Pioneers clinched their spot in the Northern C Divisional to extend their season. While the Pioneers will be the No. 3 seed from the District 9C, Strutz looks forward to demonstrating what they are capable of this week.

"I'm proud of our boys but I'm looking forward to divisionals and showing that we're not the three seed but that we can play with a lot of these teams," Strutz said.

The Big Sandy boys basketball team will begin the Northern C Divisional at the Great Falls Four Seasons Arena this Wednesday at 7 p.m. when it faces Great Falls CC.

Big Sandy 65, North Star 25, Consolation

BS - 16 30 15 4 - 65

NS - 2 9 7 7 - 25

BS - Braydon Cline 20, Lane Demontiney 15, Kody Strutz 14, Isaac Pedraza 5, Wylee Snapp 4, Cooper Taylor 3, Rusty Gasvoda 2, Ryder Galbavy 2.

NS - Garrett Spicher 9, Gavin Spicher 6, Gavin Clawson 6, Carter Campbell 2, Parker Hansen 2.

3-pointers: Lane Demontiney 3, Garrett Spicher 3, Braydon Cline 2, Cooper Taylor 1, Kody Strutz 1, Isaac Pedraza 1. Fouls: BS 16, NS 9. Fouled Out: None.

North Star 48, Fort Benton 46, LO

NS - 7 9 15 17 - 48

FB - 11 11 13 11 - 46

NS - Garrett Spicher 13, Gavin Spicher 13, Parker Hansen 12, Gavin Clawson 5, Carter Campbell 3, Christopher Burkhartsmeyer 2.

FB - Landis Arganbright 19, Cody Evans 7, Brock Grossman 6, Lincoln Pfile 5, Kellan Diekhans 4, Sam Smith 3, Eli Arganbright 2.

3-pointers: Parker Hansen 4, Garrett Spicher 3, Gavin Spicher 3, Brock Grossman 2, Sam Smith 1. Fouls: NS 16, FB 9. Fouled Out: None.

Big Sandy 70, Turner 57, LO

BS - 15 18 23 14 - 70

TUR - 13 10 14 20 - 57

BS - Braydon Cline 17, Isaac Pedraza 15, Wylee Snapp 13, Lane Demontiney 12, Kody Strutz 7, Cooper Taylor 4, Karter Jurenka 2.

TUR - Ryan Doyle 22, Trent Billmayer 10, Tate Beck 9, Caleb Zellmer 8, Charlie Calvert 8.

3-pointers: Ryan Doyle 3, Isaac Pedraza 2, Lane Demontiney 1, Braydon Cline 1, Tate Beck 1, Trent Billmayer 1. Fouls: BS 21, TUR 16. Fouled Out: None.

Friday

Turner 49, Hays-Lodgepole 38, LO

HLP - 10 13 10 5 - 38

TUR - 8 11 13 17 - - 49

HLP - Haiden Grant 13, Daniel Henry 7, Jacoby Ball 6, Cash Messerly 6, Davontae Sullivan 4, Russell Plainfeather 2.

TUR - Ryan Doyle 17, Trent Billmayer 14, Caleb Zellmer 12, Charlie Calvert 4, Tate Beck 2.

3-pointers: Caleb Zellmer 2, Trent Billmayer 1, Davontae Sullivan 1, Daniel Henry 1, Haiden Grant 1. Fouls: HLP 13, TUR 14. Fouled Out: None.

North Star 53, Chinook 48, LO

NS - 13 6 15 19 - 53

CHI - 19 11 8 10 - 48

NS - Garrett Spicher 23, Gavin Spicher 13, Gavin Clawson 10, Christopher Burkhartsmeyer 4, Carter Campbell 3.

CHI - Brenden Fetter 18, Flint Annis 16, Braxton Inman 7, Levi Jensen 3, Jackson Nordboe 2, Quentin Edwards 2.

3-pointers: Garrett Spicher 5, Brenden Fetter 2, Carter Campbell 1, Gavin Spicher 1. Fouls: NS 16, CHI 16. Fouled Out: Gavin Clawson.

Box Elder 64, Fort Benton 62, Semifinal

FB - 16 19 16 11 - 62

BE - 14 19 19 12 - 64

FB - Landis Arganbright 21, Cody Evans 11, Lincoln Pfile 9, Brock Grossman 6, Kellan Diekhans 6, Sam Smith 5, Truman Giese 2, Brett Evans 2.

BE - Tracen Jilot 20, Matthias Blackbird 16, Alex Four Colors 7, Skylar Walker 6, Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette 6, Julian Henry 5, King Ragged Robe 4.

3-pointers: Tracen Jilot 1, Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette 1, Julian Henry 1, Alex Four Colors 1, Sam Smith 1, Lincoln Pfile 1. Rebounds: FB 13, BE 14. Fouled Out: None.

CJI 60, Big Sandy 53, Semifinal

BS - 11 11 17 14 - 53

CJI - 14 14 10 22 - 60

BS - Kody Strutz 20, Braydon Cline 13, Cooper Taylor 7, Wylee Snapp 5, Lane Demontiney 4, Isaac Pedraza 2, Jake Darlington 2.

CJI - Blake Harmon 17, Nate Nelson 14, Braden Mattson 12, Karson Pulst 11, Adam Grammar 6.

3-pointers: Kody Strutz 2, Braydon Cline 2, Lane Demontiney 1, Cooper Taylor 1, Nate Nelson 1, Karson Pulst 1, Braden Mattson 1, Blake Harmon 1. Fouls: BS 14, CJI 16. Fouled Out: None.