Chinook headed back to the Northern C as No. 2 Seed, Wildcats No. 2 at Northern B

The District 2B and District 9C Tournaments are in the books and for the Chinook Sugarbeeters and the Harlem Wildcats their effort on the court will allow them to continue their seasons at this weeks Divisional Tournaments in Malta and Great Falls. For the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and the Turner Tornadoes, they saw their seasons end following a pair of losses in Havre.

The Sugarbeeters will advance to the Northern C this week at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls after finishing second at the District 9C to earn the No. 2 Seed. The 'Beeters opened with a lopsided 71-36 win over the Thunderbirds in the first round. In the semi-final Chinook blew past Big Sandy 74-34 to advance to the championship against the Fort Benton Longhorns. The 'Beeters stayed within striking distance for the bulk of the contest but a strong finish by the Longhorns set the 'Beeters back 49-38. The Wildcats went 1-1 at the District 2B in Malta defeating the Glasgow Scotties 75-60 to advance to the championship against the Wolf Point Wolves. The two teams split their regular season meetings with each winning on their home court Saturday night it was the Wolves taking advantage of the neutral court to top the Wildcats 69-58 sending Harlem to the Northern B as the No. 2 Seed.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds finished the season with a 3-17 record but were competitive in many contests that didn't go their way. Following the first round loss to Chinook the Thunderbirds fell in a hard fought contest 51-43 to the Chester/Joplin Inverness Hawks. Head Coach Derrick Shambo is sure to implement a rigourous off season package that will have them competing for a spot in the Northern C next year.

The Turner Tornadoes began tournament play against the top seeded Fort Benton Longhorns and were defeated 79-22. Thursday morning in a loser out contest with the Box Elder Bears their season came to an end with a 82-64 set back. The Tornadoes finished the season 0-20 but to their credit they never hung their heads and competed as hard as they couls start to finish.

The Sugarbeeters have become accustomed to being at or near the top of the District 9C for many years now and this year Head Coach Mike Seymour again has his team in position to make another deep post season run. Wednesday evening in their opening round contest of the District 9C Tournament, played at the Havre High School Gymnasium, they faced the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds.

The contest was fairly competitive early as the Thunderbirds came ready to play. Junior Ethan Bell knocked down a first quarter triple and scored seven points early on, junior Benton Elliot added a deep three of his own to help the 'Beeters take a 18-13 lead into the second quarter.

Both teams offenses struggled mightily in the second quarter with Chinook managing just eight points to the Thunderbirds five sending the teams to halftime with the 'Beeters up 28-26.

Chinook found a solution to their offensive woes upon taking the court to start the third. Bell scored nine in the frame as did junior Reese Elliot. Senior Hunter Neibauer added six and sophomore Toby Niederegger 5. As a team the 'Beeters outscored the Thunderbirds 29-8 to take control of the contest. Benton Elliot added another bomb from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, boosting Chinook to a 71-36 first round win.

Bell finished with 19 points and five assists to lead the 'Beeters. Reese Elliot controlled the paint in the second half after missing the bulk of the first in foul trouble. He finished the contest with 15 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Neibauer added 12 while Niederegger contributed 11.

In the semi-final Thursday against the Big Sandy Pioneers the 'Beeters were steady in their attack building on an early lead and cruising to a 40 point win. Bell nailed a pair of first quarter triples and scored eight in the opening frame as Chinook took a 19-13 lead into the second quarter. Bell added another triple in the second and Reese score seven inside as the 'Beeters opened up a 39-20 halftime advantage.

Chinook kept the offense functioning at a high level coming out of the half time locker room, Neibauer scored six in the third and Reese added five more to his total sending the 'Beeters onto the fourth quarter with a comfortable 58-28 advantage.

The offense stayed strong down the stretch but it was the 'Beeter defense that dominated the second half limiting the Pioneers to just 14 in all, including six in the final stanza.

Chinook advanced to the championship with a dominate 74-34 over the eventual third place Pioneers. Bell tallied 22 points in the win. Reese Elliot added 18 points, 19 rebounds and six blocks in a dominate effort. Niederegger finished with 12 points seven boards and five assists while Neibauer added nine points and seven assists.

In the championship game the 'Beeters took on the top seeded and undefeated Longhorns. The 'Beeters suffered a pair of regular season setbacks in which the final score was a bit one sided, The 'Beeters have proven to be good at making adjustments and while round three with the Longhorns didn't result in a win they were within striking distance until the final minutes.

Chinook trailed 11-8 after eight minutes and 22-18 at the halftime break. The teams entered the fourth quarter with the Longhorns on top 39-30. The 'Beeters closed to within four on a couple of occasions but the Lonhorns were able to secure a 49-38 win down the stretch. While they may not have gotten the win this week, they proved that they can compete and maybe this week in Great Falls the teams, should they face each other, will have a different outcome.

Bell paced the offense with 14 points and five rebounds. Reese Elliot finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds in the loss. Chinook will enter the Northern C as the District 9C No. 2 and open with the District 8C No. 2 Roy/Winifred Outlaws Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

The Harlem Wildcats took the No. 1 seed into the District Tournament, played at the Malta High School Gymnasium. Harlem began the tournament Friday evening with a semi-final contest against the Glasgow Scotties. Senior Brad Cichosz knocked down a pair from distance as did sophomore RJ Ramone. Senior Trent Main scored seven inside and the Wildcats took a 24-10 lead into the second quarter.

Sophomore Daniel Lawrence would add two more from distance to the Wildcats total and sophomore Tyler Cichosz would knock one down as well showing off the Wildcats propensity for success from beyond the arc. Lawrence added another triple in the third and Tyler score six the old fashioned way, inside the arc sending the teams into the fourth with Harlem holding a 57-44 advantage.

Ramone would bury three more from downtown and Brad Cichosz drained his third of the contest from distance. In the end the Wildcats drained 12 triples in cruising to a 78-60 win to advance to the championship. Ramone led the offense with 22 points, Brad Cichosz added 16, Henry 15 and Tyler Cichosz 12 in victory.

In the finale against the Wolves the Wildcats played catch up start to finish and were never able to over come a 19-13 first quarter defecit.

Wolf Point led 34-22 at intermission but the Wildcats had a little pep in their step to start the third. Harlem got a trifecta of triples and 11 points from Ramone in the third to help Harlem outscore Wolf Point 24-16 in the frame and send the teams into the final frame with the Wildcats down just 50-46.

Down the stretch the Wolves converted at the charity strip and Harlem managed just three three-point field goals and 12 points, falling 69-58 in the contest. Harlem was led on the night by Brad Cichosz and his 17 points, Ramone added 16 in the loss

As a result the Wildcats will take the District 2B No. 2 Seed into the Northern B Divisional this week, also being played at the Malta High School Gymnasium. Harlem will open Divisional play Thursday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. against the District 1B No. 3 Seed Rocky Boy Stars. The two teams split their regular season meetings with each winning on the others home court.