Ronan boys' basketball roundup

KALISPELL - Ronan beat Whitefish twice in two days to advance to the third-place game last Saturday against Libby.

In the first meeting, Woll said his team came out and set the tone on defense.

"It allowed us to set up," he said.

With a five-point lead at the half, Ronan notched a 9-point third quarter on its way to a 56-41 win.

Ronan had three players in double-digit scoring. Wroblewski sunk four 3-pointers and totaled 18 points for the Chiefs. Tanner added 16 points while Dustybull totaled 12.

Next up was top-seed Columbia Falls.

"It was kind of like David and Goliath, but David lost this time," Woll said.

Ronan fell 64-36 after trailing by 10 at the half.

"We just couldn't get the shots to go in," Woll said.

Black led with 10 points and made two 3-pointers.

The loss matched Ronan against Whitefish again in a loser-out contest. Whitefish entered the game after a day off while the Chiefs entered 14 hours after their previous game.

Woll said he wondered if his team was going to be ready for its third game in three days.

"Gosh darn, the kids came out ready," he said.

Ronan trailed 28-19 at the half before outscoring Whitefish 36-23 in the second half.

The Bulldogs shut down Wroblewski, who totaled three points after scoring 18 in the previous meeting.

"It's always a big factor if Kevin doesn't score," Woll said. "It always seems like someone else steps up. I just wish I knew who it would be every night."

Dustybull stepped up and dropped in 17 points.

"We went to him and put the ball in his hands and told him to go to work," Woll said. "Jarod brought energy and Lucas and Marcus set the tone by pressuring their guards. It was a team win."

The win put Ronan in the third place game after entering the tournament as the fifth seed.

Against Libby, fatigue was a factor. Ronan was entering its third game in less than 24 hours.

"A little bit of everything factored in," Woll said.

The Loggers started four guards in anticipation of Ronan's press, but Ronan kept the game close, down by one at the half.

Woll said that was part of his team's strategy to make it a 16-minute game. Ronan didn't pressure too hard in the first half to keep its legs.

Before entering the court for the second half, Woll told his team this could be the last 16 minutes of the season.

"I told them to ‘dig deep, go as hard as you can for as long as you can'," he said. "Our bench was key."

As it turned out, it wasn't going to be the Chiefs last 16 minutes of play this season.

Cheff, Oakland and Gauthier were subbed in and out to keep Ronan's legs fresh.

Ronan worked to a tie game after the third and put 20 points on the board in the last eight minutes for a 57-51 win.

Wroblewski led with 17 points and made five 3-pointers while Dustybull added 16.

"Kevin hit some big shots," Woll said. "We let [Justin] go to work and attack the rim."

The Chiefs ended the season after a great run, taking fourth in the conference.

Ronan will return many of its players, only graduating two seniors.

"The kids believe in our program," Woll said.