11-1 'Beeters rolling as they Head to Fort Benton Saturday to Play for No. 1 Seed

If the start of February is a sign of things to come we are in for one exciting ride when it comes to high school basketball in Blaine County. The Chinook Sugarbeeters improved to 11-1 this past week after earning victories over the Box Elder Bears (70-39) on Tuesday, the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks (81-42) on Friday and the Turner Tornadoes (91-30) Saturday night. The Tornadoes on the other hand began the week, Tuesday night, with a come from behind victory over the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds, 56-50 to pick up their second win of the season. The Thunderbirds closed out their third game of the week in a thrilling fashion, defeating the Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks in overtime, 54-51to earn their second win of the season.

The Harlem Wildcats resumed play after a nearly three week hiatus do to Covid-19 restrictions, February 9 against Poplar. Harlem will play five more conference games before the start of the District 2B Tournament in Wolf Point on February 25.

The Sugarbeeters opened up a 16-6 lead at the end of one against the Bears and led 35-17 at the intermission. Senior Reese Elliot scored 10 first half points and junior Oskar Pula added nine. Junior Toby Niederegger tossed in eight third quarter points for the 'Beeters as they have proven to be able to get points from anywhere on the court.

Chinook led 53-35 at the end of three and cruised to a 70-39 conference win over the Bears. Elliot finished with 14 on the night, Pula added 13 and Niederegger 12. Senior Ethan Bell rounded out a balanced attack with nine for the 'Beeter offense.

Friday the 'Beeters were in Chester where they again controlled all aspects of the game from the opening tip. Elliot and Niederegger each scored 10 first quarter points and Bell added five more, including a triple to give the 'Beeters a 30-12 lead heading into the second quarter.

Chinook would give some back in the second but still maintained a 42-29 advantage at the break. The 'Beeters got eight more from Niederegger in the third quarter to get the offense rolling again. Chinook coasted to a 81-42 win over the Hawks. Niederegger finished with 22 in the contest while Elliot added 20.

Saturday at home against the Tornadoes the 'Beeters closed out the first quarter with a bang. The 'Beeters got nine points from Niederegger and six apiece from Elliot, Pula and Bell. Chinook scored 15 points in the final 90 seconds of the frame, including a 50' heave at the buzzer from senior Damon Hannum to take a 36-10 lead.

The Sugarbeeters never slowed down, leading 51-19 at the break, 77-30 at the end of three and 91-30 when the final horn sounded. Bell finished with 25 to lead the offense, Elliot scored 14 and Niederegger 13 for Chinook. Senior Shane Kimmel tossed in 17 points to lead the Tornado effort.

The Turner Tornadoes rallied from an early deficit Tuesday night in Hays as they took on the Thunderbirds. After trailing 13-3 at the end of one and 28-14 by intermission the Tornadoes stormed all the way back to secure a tough 56-50 win over Hays/Lodge Pole for their second win of the season. Turners first win came back in week one against the Thunderbirds as well. Turner was led on the night by Kimmel with 17 points. Senior Austin Welsh added 13 and junior Charlie Calvert 12 in the win. Hays/Lodge Pole was led by junior Estevan Granados with 22 points.

Saturday in Hays the Thunderbirds picked up win number two with a thrilling 54-51 overtime win over the visiting Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks. The offense for both teams controlled the pace for both teams in the first half with the Hawks holding a 34-33 lead at the intermission.

Defense was the name of the game in the second half. The Thunderbirds outscored the Hawks 14-13 in regulation to force overtime. Sophomore Brandon Castillo and Granados each knocked down a pair from the charity stripe and junior Tyshawn Shambo added three more to help lead the Thunderbirds to a 54-51 overtime win over the Hawks. Shambo finished with 18 in the win, sophomore Daniel Henry scored 14 more for the Thunderbirds.

Chinook 70 Box Elder 39

Box Elder 6 11 8 14 - 39

Chinook 16 19 18 17 - 70

Box Elder - Jayden Jillot 2 0-0 4, Gabe Saddler 3 0-1 6, Malique Rossette 1 0-0 2, Kayden Duran 2 1-2 7, Tyus Lamere 1 0-0 2, Kimowen Corcoran 0 0-0 0, Gyme Kell III 1 0-0 3, Elkin Big Knife 1 0-0 3, Morris Meyers 0 0-0 0, Tayce St. Pierre 3 3-4 9, Theron Oats Jr. 0 0-0 0, Jayden Gopher 1 0-0 3, King ReggedRobe 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 15 4-7 39.

Chinook - Levi Jensen 0 0-0 0, Ethan Bell 3 2-2 9, Damon Hannum 1 0-0 2, Flint Annis 0 0-0 0, Braden Eoff 0 0-0 0, Benton Elliot 3 0-0 7, Toby Niederegger 6 0-0 12, Reese Elliot 6 2-5 14, Ethan MacLeod 4 0-0 9, Oskar Pula 4 5-6 13, Braxton Inman 0 0-0 0, Jackson Nordboe 1 0-0 2. Team Totals 29 9-13 70.

Three Point Field Goals - Chinook 3 (Ethan Bell 1, Benton Elliot 1, Ethan MacLeod 1), Box Elder 6 (Kadyn Duran 2, Gyme Kell III 1, Elkin Big Knife 1, Jayden Gopher 1); Team Fouls - Chinook 10, Box Elder 12; Fouled Out - None.

Turner 56 Hays/Lodge Pole 50

Turner 3 11 17 25 - 56

Hays/L.P. 13 15 9 13 - 50

Turner - Shay Humphreys 3 0-0 7, Austin Welsh 4 5-10 13, Chantry Jorgenson 0 0-0 0, Tate Beck 0 0-0 0, Shane Kimmel 8 1-2 17, Caleb Zellmer 0 0-0 0, Charlie Calvert 5 2-6 12, Trent Billmayer 1 0-0 2, Carson Maloney 0 0-0 0, Ryan Doyle 1 3-4 5, Trevor Kimmel 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 22 11-22 56.

Hays/L.P. - Julius Ball 1 0-0 2, Isaiah Denny 1 0-0 3, Brandon Castillo 0 1-2 1, Daniel Henry 2 5-6 9, Tyshawn Shambo 4 3-7 11, William Has The Eagle 0 0-0 0, Estevan Granados 11 0-0 22, William Hughes Jr. 0 0-0 0, DeVonte Sullivan 0 2-2 2, Avery Boe Jr. 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 19 11-17 50.

Three Point Field Goals - Turner 1 (Shay Humphreys 1), Hays/L.P. 1 (Isaiah Denny 1); Team Fouls - Turner 17, Hays/L.P. 19; Fouled Out - Hays/L.P., Isaiah Denny.

Chinook 81 Chester/Joplin-Inverness 42

Chinook 30 12 19 20 - 81

Chester/J-I 12 17 5 8 - 42

Chinook - Levi Jensen 2 1-1 5, Ethan Bell 2 2-2 7, Damon Hannum 1 0-0 3, Flint Annis 0 0-0 0, Braden Eoff 0 0-0 0, Benton Elliot 4 1-4 9, Toby Niederegger 10 2-4 22, Reese Elliot 9 2-5 20, Ethan MacLeod 2 0-0 5, Oskar Pula 3 0-0 6, Jackson Nordboe 1 2-5 4. Team Totals 34 10-21 81.

Chester/J-I - Bryce Ghekiere 0 0-0 0, Braden Mattson 0 0-0 0, Kyle Harmon 3 5-8 12, Jordan Bender 0 0-0 0, Karson Pulst 0 0-0 0, Bryce Kammerzell 4 0-0 9, Blake Harmon 2 4-5 9, Adam Grammar 0 0-0 0, Trevin Grammar 5 0-0 10, Pat Dahlin 0 0-0 0, Kealy Haaland 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 14 9-14 42.

Three Point Field Goals - Chester/J-I 3 (Kyle Harmon 1, Bryce Kammerzell 1, Blake Harmon 1), Chinook 2 (Ethan Bell 1, Ethan MacLeod 1); Team Fouls - Chester/J-I 19, Chinook 19; Fouled Out - None.

Fort Benton 75 Turner 37

Fort Benton 23 22 17 13 - 75

Turner 11 7 10 9 - 37

Fort Benton - Damon Bird 5 1-2 12, Landis Argenbright 0 0-0 0, Jace Thompson 4 1-3 9, Jacob Giles 0 0-0 0, Nick Marias 0 0-0 0, Hayden Diekhans 10 3-4 26, Tim Lane 1 0-0 2, Cody Evans 4 1-2 9, Cody Olson 0 0-0 0, Billy Ullery 1 0-0 2, Jackson Schmele 4 0-0 8, Andrew Ballentine 3 1-1 7. Team Totals 32 7-12 75.

Turner - Shay Humphreys 1 0-0 3, Austin Welsh 3 2-2 10, Tate Beck 0 0-0 0, Shane Kimmel 5 3-7 13, Caleb Zellmer 0 0-0 0, Charlie Calvert 1 0-0 2, Trent Billmayer 0 0-0 0, Carson Maloney 0 0-0 0, Ryan Doyle 3 1-2 9, Trevor Kimmel 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 13 6-11 37.

Three Point Field Goals - Turner 5 (Ryan Doyle 2, Austin Welsh 2, Shay Humphreys 1), Fort Benton 4 (Hayden Diekhans 3, Devin Bird 1); Team Fouls - Turner 12, Fort Benton 11; Fouled Out - None.

North Star 72 Hays/Lodge Pole 56

Hays/L.P. 10 14 21 11 - 56

North Star 22 15 17 18 - 72

North Star - Carter Campbell 0 0-0 0, Joey Wendland 1 0-0 2, Colton Spicher 0 0-0 0, Michael Berg 2 0-0 4, Porter Ditmer 1 0-1 1, Garrett Spicher 5 1-3 12, Payne Ditmar 4 0-0 10, Gavin Spicher 8 1-2 19, Jaden Sargent 6 2-4 14, Ty Hansen 3 0-0 7, Rhett Wolery 0 2-3 2, Tristan Swick 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 30 6-13 72.

Hays/L.P. - Estevan Granados 6 5-6 18, Brandon Castillo 1 0-0 2, Michael Roper 0 0-0 0, William Hughes Jr. 0 0 1-2 1, DeVonte Sullivan 0 0-0 0, Tyshawn Shambo 4 2-4 10, Daniel Henry 9 1-2 25, Isaiah Denny 0 0-0 0, Julius Ball 0 0-0 0, Kaleb Walker 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 20 9-14 56.

Three Point Field Goals - North Star 6 (Payne Ditmar 2, Gavin Spicher 2, Ty Hansen 1, Garrett Spicher 1), Hays/L.P. 7 (Daniel Henry 6, Estevan Granados 1); Team Fouls - North Star 17, Hays/L.P. 15; Fouled Out - North Star, Rhett Wolery.

Chinook 91 Turner 30

Turner 10 9 11 0 - 30

Chinook 36 15 26 14 - 91

Turner - Shay Humphreys 1 0-0 3, Austin Welsh 4 0-0 10, Chantry Jorgenson 0 0-0 0, Tate Beck 0 0-2 0, Shane Kimmel 8 0-0 17, Caleb Zellmer 0 0-0 0, Charlie Calvert 0 0-0 0, Trent Billmayer 0 0-0 0, Carson Maloney 0 0-0 0, Ryan Doyle 0 0-0 0, Trevor Kimmel 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 13 0-2 30.

Chinook - Levi Jensen 1 0-0 2, Ethan Bell 12 0-0 25, Damon Hannum 3 0-0 7, Flint Annis 1 2-2 4, Braden Eoff 0 0-0 0, Benton Elliot 2 0-2 6, Toby Niederegger 6 0-2 13, Reese Elliot 7 0-1 14, Ethan MacLeod 1 0-0 2, Oskar Pula 6 0-0 12, Braxton Inman 1 0-0 2, Jackson Nordboe 1 0-0 2, Lane Hassler 0 0-0 0, Wylee Simenson 1 0-0 2. Team Totals 42 28 91.

Three Point Field Goals - Chinook 5 (Benton Elliot 2, Ethan Bell 1, Damon Hannum 1, Toby Niederegger 1), Turner 4 (Austin Welsh 2, Shay Humphreys 1, Shane Kimmel 1); Team Fouls - Chinook 8, Turner 7; Fouled Out - None.

Hays/Lodge Pole 54 Chester/J-I 51 Overtime

Chester/J-I 17 17 8 5 4 - 51

Hays/L.P. 18 15 6 8 7 - 54

Chester/J-I - Bryce Ghekiere 0 2-3 2, Braden Mattson 0 0-0 0, Kyle Harmon 3 1-2 7, Jordan Bender 1 0-0 2, Karson Pulst 0 0-0 0, Bryce Kammerzell 3 0-0 6, Blake Harmon 5 3-5 14, Trevin Grammar 0 0-0 0, Pat Dahlin 0 0-2 0, Kealy Haaland 8 3-4 20. Team Totals 20 9-16 51.

Hays/L.P. - Brandon Castillo 3 4-4 10, Estevan Granados 4 2-7 10, Daniel Henry 6 0-2 10, Tyshawn Shambo 7 4-10 18, Julius Ball 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Denny 0 0-0 0, DeVonte Sullivan 1 0-0 2, William Hughes Jr. 0 0-0 0, Isaiah Denny 0 0-0 0, Kaleb Walker 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 21 10-23 54.

Three Point Field Goals - Hays/L.P. 2 (Daniel Henry 2), Chester/J-I 2 (Kyle Harmon 1, Kealy Haaland 1); Team Fouls - Hays/L.P. 14, Chester/J-I 22; Fouled Out - Chester/J-I, Kyle Harmon, Blake Harmon, Kealy Haaland