Class C semis: Box Elder holds off Scobey to advance to another title game
BUTTE – Down by a point at the half Friday after only shooting 30 percent from the floor, Box Elder’s Jeremy MacDonald pulled aside his senior starters.
Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette, Alex Four Colors, Tracen Jilot and Dreyden Anderson huddled with their head coach, who reminded his team leaders of the last big game the program played at the Butte Civic Center.
It was the 2014 Class C basketball championship game, in which the Bears trailed Westby-Grenora by one at the break before winning 74-54. The star guard Jilot then reminded the group of last year’s state title game in Great Falls when Box Elder was behind Manhattan Christian following the first 16 minutes.
“These boys know how to handle adversity,” MacDonald said. “They’re able to pick themselves off the mat. That football experience that they have, too, trailing at times and just answering the bell. Tonight they did that.”
The defending state champion Bears (25-0) held off Scobey in the Class C state semifinals 68-55, pulling away in the fourth quarter to move just one game away from a second straight perfect season. Box Elder will take on the winner of Fort Benton and Manhattan Christian in the state title game on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
This story will be updated following the conclusion of the Longhorns’ matchup with the Eagles.
In girls’ loser-out action, Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine fell to Melstone 52-41 Friday afternoon. The Broncs will play Scobey, which defeated Plenty Coups 51-49 in overtime, in the girls’ third-place game at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Roy-Winifred and two-time defending champion Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale will square off in the title round in a rematch of last year’s championship game at 7 p.m.
Anderson led all scorers with 29 points for the Box Elder boys, shooting 12 for 20 from the field on top of 4 steals and a pair of assists. Jilot finished the contest with 23 points and six rebounds, spearheading a fourth-quarter Box Elder run.
Up by just four in the final stanza, Jilot followed a step-back jumper with a 3-pointer on the wing, falling to the ground after contact to draw the and-one before completing the four-point play.
Baskets from Timothy Rosette III and Stiffarm-Rosette preceded a steal and fast break from Anderson, who threw down a dunk to make it a 13-point game with 2:20 to play.
“It just felt good to electrify the crowd and get them behind our back,” Anderson said of the dunk. “We just knew that was the dagger.”
Stiffarm-Rosette tallied a double-double for Box Elder with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Four Colors added 12 boards, 5 steals and a pair of assists. The Bears ended the game shooting 42 percent from the field and caused 23 Scobey turnovers behind 10 steals as a team.
John Carney led Scobey (24-1) with 23 points, scoring 12 in the opening frame on four 3-pointers. Bram Handran added 15 for the Spartans and was near a double-double with 9 rebounds.
MacDonald said Scobey did a fine job countering Box Elder’s full-court press and making things difficult for the Bears offensively.
“We’re trying to pressure for 32 minutes, some teams can do a good job of handling it and obviously Scobey handled it very well tonight,” MacDonald said. “Hats off to Coach (Jason) Wolfe and those Spartans. They battled hard in a championship atmosphere. We thought we had them early and then (Carney) got hot. Then it was back and forth and low scoring and wasn’t our pace of basketball, because they’re a great defensive team and they disrupted us.”
The Bears started off fast, racing out to a 14-3 lead behind 7 points apiece from Jilot and Anderson, the latter of whom took a steal to the rack and finished with a dunk.
The hot shooting of Carney brought the Spartans right back, hitting four 3-pointers in the opening frame. Scobey took the lead as Cooper Axtman beat the buzzer at the end of the first on a fast break and completed a 3-point play.
The Spartans led by as many as seven in the second after Kolten Machart scored inside on a dish from Handran, but Box Elder closed out the half on a 6-0 run – with Anderson weaving through traffic for the late bucket.
Box Elder 17 8 22 21 – 68
Scobey 20 6 15 14 – 55
Box Elder – Dreyden Anderson 29, Timothy Rosette III 2, Tracen Jilot 23, Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette 12, Alex Four Colors 2.
Scobey – John Carney 23, Brecken Maher 3, Bram Handran 15, Kolton Machart 5, Cooper Axtman 6, Reese Tande 3.
3-pointers – Anderson 2, Jilot 2, Stiffarm-Rosette 2; Carney 7, Handran, Tande.
DGSG girls eliminated by Melstone
Avery Eike poured in a game-high 17 points as the Broncs took down DGSG in the consolation semis.
Bella Collins added 13 for Melstone while Emma Mhyre put up 10 points and 8 rebounds.
Freshman Ella Smith paced the Bearcats with 15 points, 3 assists and 4 steals, while sophomore BriElla Becker and freshman Emma Smith each added 12 points.
DGSG’s season ends at 23-3 as it made its first state tournament appearance in co-op history.
DGSG 12 12 7 10 – 41
Melstone 11 11 13 17 – 52
DGSG – BriElla Becker 12, Kaitaia Vincent 2, Ella Smith 15, Emma Smith 12.
Melstone – Bella Collins 13, Emma Mhyre 10, Avery Eike 17, Savannah De Jaegher 6, Maggie Eike 6.
3-pointers – Becker, Ella Smith 2, Emma Smith 2; Collins, A. Eike 4, M. Eike 2.
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Montana Class C state basketball semis: Box Elder tops Scobey
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