'Beeters Thump North Star, Fort Benton

The Chinook Sugarbeeters were home Friday night as they welcomed the North star Knights to town. The 'Beeters have been close this year, but had struggled getting over the hump. That all changed Friday as the 'Beeters rolled to a 51-31 win over the Knights. Saturday the boys were on the road, taking on the Longhorns in Fort Benton. After a somewhat slow start with the defense leading the way the 'Beeters dominated the second half and coasted to a lopsided 60-25 win.

The 'Beeter have had some really good spurts on both ends of the court this season and if indications are a sign of things to come their start to 2022 is nothing but positive. Senior Toby Niederegger scored five first quarter points to help Chinook open up an early eight point lead, 13-5 over the visiting Knights.

The offense struggled a bit before the break managing just eight second quarter points. Pula steadied the ship with four in the quarter, but also spearheaded a defensive effort that kept the Knights at bay.

Patience is something the 'Beeters are becoming very good with and it paid off after the break as the offense was finally able to find a bit of a groove while the defense continued to stand strong.

Brendan Fetter scored six in the third as did Niederegger to keep the offense rolling. Pula again proved he can knock down the long ball, guiding the Sugarbeeters to a strong third quarter effort that saw them outscore the visiting Knights 16-14 and take a 37-27 lead into the fourth quarter.

To state the level of play that 'Beeter defense has shown to start the new year can only be described as dominate, suffocating and most of all reliable. Chinook completely shut down any hope of a North Star comeback in the fourth quarter by limiting the Knights to just four points the final eight minutes.

The offense did its part as well, scoring 14 fourth quarter points to secure a well deserved 51-31 conference win and move up in the standings.

Niederegger had a huge night for the 'Beeter offense leading the way with 17 big points. Pula had another strong performance, scoring 13 in the win while Fetter finished with 12. The win was a big one for the 'Beeters as they evened their conference mark at 3-3.

The 'Beeters entered the contest Saturday with the Longhorns with a ton of momentum and were looking to build on that. The 'Beeters had battled back to an even mark, 3-3 in the District 9C to start the contest and were looking to do the same with their overall record with a win on Saturday.

Pula has been a force for the 'Beeters all over the court this season. The senior standout leads the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, but Saturday he began the contest with the Longhorns by showing off his range.

Pula connected from downtown three times in the first quarter to ignite the 'Beeter offense. The Sugarbeeters scored 17 in the stanza senior Braden Eoff, senior Toby Niederegger, junior Brendan Fetter and sophomore Jackson Nordboe each scoring a bucket.

Chinook began the second quarter with a 17-13 advantage in what seemed to be a normal high school boys basketball game. Niederegger dropped in a dagger from distance, Pula added four more and the 'Beeters had built the lead to nine, 27-18 by the halftime intermission.

The defense really stepped up before the break, limiting the generally high scoring Longhorns to just five second quarter points. Little did anyone know, that would be as good as it would get for the Longhorn offense.

The 'Beeters kept up their attack on the offensive end after the intermission. Eoff scored five in the third, adding a triple to his stat line. Niederegger added five and Fetter and Pula each scored four. The Longhorns managed just five points in the stanza, giving the 'Beeters a 47-23 advantage heading into the fourth quarter of action.

The 'Beeter defense was either unbelievably good down the stretch or they simply had broken the Longhorns will, but they gave up just two points the remainder of the contest in securing a rather easy 60-25 win over the Longhorns. The 'Beeters improved to 4-3 in conference and 5-5 overall while the Longhorns fall to 5-2 and 7-3.

Chinook was led on the night by Pula with 21 and Niederegger with 12. Eoff added seven in the win. Chinook will be back in action this Thursday when the Big Sandy Pioneers will bring their conference best 9-1 (6-1) record to town. Box Elder will be in town on Saturday in what should be another barn burner. Chinook has a golden opportunity to avenge a pair early season losses and make a huge statement in the process.