Ronan men improved throughout season
Cristal Jones for the Leader - Ronan celebrates their victory over Eureka last week at the divisional tournament in Whitefish. The Chiefs showed steady improvement all season and should be a force next year. From left to right are Moss Tanner, Jordan St. Clair, head coach John Hollow, Cameron Barber, and Nolan Harris.
Zach Urness
Leader Staff
WHITEFISH — A season that saw the Ronan Chiefs end a 23-game losing streak and earn a fourth place finish in the conference came to an end last weekend as the Chiefs took fifth place at the divisional tournament. They finished the season with a 10-11 overall record — a vast improvement from last year’s winless season.
“The team played really hard,” said head coach John Hollow. “We just didn’t have enough gas in the tank to get a win. It wasn’t because of a lack of effort. It was a good atmosphere though, and we’ll be returning kids who will hopefully be in this situation next season.”
Ronan came up short in the first round against eventual finalist Libby on Thursday. The Chiefs jumped out to a 19-14 lead after the first half, but were outscored 38-29 in the second half and lost by a final score of 74-64.
“They just shot the lights out,” said Hollow. “We did pretty well on offense, but we didn’t play good enough defense. It was great game for the most part.”
Cameron Barber, who was playing in his last divisional tournament, scored 25 and pulled down 13 rebounds. Nolan Harris went off for six 3-point baskets and finished with 20 points. Moss Tanner hit double-figures as well, scoring 10 points. Ryan Hesselgesser had three points and Gene Adams had two points in the game.
The Chiefs came to play against Eureka on Saturday morning in the tournament’s “loser out” game, as they won, 85-67. Ronan took control of the game in the second and third quarters, tearing up Eurkea on offense and outscoring them 53-28 in those quarters en route to a 85-67 win.
“That was our best game of the year on offense,” commented Hollow. “We were able to get some shots to fall, and get up and down court and get the tempo going. We did a nice job of putting them away.”
Cameron Barber led the Chiefs with 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Moss Tanner added 19 points and Nolan Harris, who hit three 3-point baskets, also scored in double-figures with 11 points. Jordan St. Clair hit five points, Billy Antoine had seven, and Mike Fisher, Ryan Hesselgesser and Levi Maughan each had two points.
Ronan was unable to duplicate their scoring effort in the consolation championship game against Columbia Falls. Ronan took a 26-25 lead into half time, but were outscored 36-24 in the second half and lost 61-50.
“We got a little tired in the second half,” said Hollow, noting that it was the second game Ronan played that day. “But we played our tails off.”
Mike Fisher led the team in scoring with 12 points. Cameron Barber dropped eight points to go along with 12 rebounds and Gene Adams followed with seven points. Jordan St. Clair had six points, Moss Tanner had four points and Billy Antoine had two.
The Chiefs will lose top scorer and rebounder Cameron Barber to graduation as well as Billy Antoine, Gene Adams and Kyle Orr. They will retain some very good players, however, in Moss Tanner, Nolan Harris, Mike Fisher and Jordan St. Clair, all of whom will be expected to step up next season.
“Most of the kids coming back have lots of experience,” said Hollow. “Losing Cameron is going to hurt and we’ll be a much different team next year — very small and very quick. I am excited about the opportunity. I think we can be pretty good if we work as hard as we did this year.”