THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED?

by Dylan Kitzan & Leader Reporter
| March 1, 2012 8:30 AM

HAMILTON — The Ronan Chiefs’ up-and-down season came to a close at the Class B Divisional Tournament in Hamilton, but that’s not what people will be talking about for years and, perhaps, decades to come.

What they will be talking about is arguably one of the greatest games in the history of Montana basketball. In their opening-round game in Hamilton, the Chiefs outlasted the Troy Trojans in an incredible four overtimes, willing their way to a 77-69 victory.

“The kids played on guts, heart and adrenaline,” Ronan head coach Steve Woll said. “It was an incredible display of heart, desire and willingness to win. We were down a couple times by seven or eight points and came back each time.”

Marcus Hungerford led Ronan with 24 points, Edmond Dupuis added 16 and every Chief saw playing time in a game nobody is likely to forget anytime soon.

“The first thing I told them (after the game) was that every kid could tell their grandkids they played in that four overtime game,” Woll said. “The second thing was to enjoy it, then focus on Deer Lodge, but I was proud of them.”

In the marathon, the Trojans led 12-11 after one, but Ronan bounced back with a solid defensive effort to take a 17-15 halftime edge.

Troy regained the lead after three quarters, 26-24, but a 14-12 fourth sent the game into bonus time with the score knotted at 38. While fans thought they were in for an exciting ending, in actuality, the game had hardly begun. Heck, Ronan hadn’t even scored half of its eventual total after regulation.

Both teams scored 10 in the first extra frame, 12 in the second and six in the third. In the fourth overtime, after the teams had already played 44 minutes, the Chiefs kept the offense going with 11 points, while limiting the Trojans to three, to win.

Robbie “Le Bourreau” Gauthier scored nine, Zach Wagner eight and Marley Tanner seven in the victory. On weary legs and fumes from the night prior, Ronan came within a bucket of advancing to the tournament finals, falling in a heartbreaker to Deer Lodge 37-36.

“I thought the fatigue from a night before caught up to us,” Woll said. “We tried using our bench, but you could tell in our shots and our legs. As much effort as we spent, fatigue played a bit of a factor.”

Hungerford paced the Chiefs with 13 points, while Wagner added six and Carston Baertsch five for Ronan. Up 8-5 after one, the Chiefs entered halftime down just 14-13. The Wardens put another point of separation between the teams, heading to the fourth up 24-22 before the see-saw battle concluded with Ronan falling just shy of another victory.

In all, seven different players scored for the Chiefs, a night after eight tallied in the win against Troy. The bench, a key cog all season to Ronan’s success, helped them knock off Troy and stay as fresh as possible throughout the rest of the tournament.

“We think our bench is as good as anyone’s,” Woll said. “We had big contributions all year and this weekend. We feel comfortable playing our bench. They closed the gap for us many times. It was a total team effort all weekend.”

That effort continued into Friday, when the Chiefs faced the Loyola Sacred Heart Rams. Without a day of rest to recuperate, Ronan still put forth a gritty effort before being downed 50-47 in the fourth match between the two teams, ending the Chiefs’ season.

“Our defense was incredible in the tournament,” Woll said. “It kept us in the game against Loyola. We were down 36-26 and people started getting up to leave. I told our other coaches that I wouldn’t go anywhere if I were them, they’re going to miss a show.”

The departed did miss a show, which nearly ended with another Ronan win. Despite being outscored in each quarter, the Chiefs trailed just 32-25 entering the final period. When the Rams started pulling away, some thought that Ronan, being mentally and physically drained from an exhausting tournament, would go quietly.

Not so.

The Chiefs put up 22 points in the fourth, their highest total of the tournament and a number they eclipsed just once during the regular season, in clawing their way back into things.

Loyola, unfortunately, kept pace just well enough to win and end Ronan’s campaign.

Wagner led the Chiefs with 11 points, Hungerford continued his excellent tournament with eight and Baertsch and Chris Clary each added seven.

Even in defeat, Ronan’s run over the last few weeks was an exhilarating way to end the year.

“We played our best basketball at the end of the season,” Woll said. “I’m proud of our boys, they really started clicking. It was an emotional three weeks since we didn’t know if we’d even go to districts, then we played well against Florence there, but not well against Loyola.”

As a whole, Woll was happy with how the year went for his team, especially considering that early on, he wasn’t exactly sure what he had.

“We had injuries and weird things happen to us,” Woll said. “We didn’t have a lot of experience and didn’t know some things coming into the year. Our kids came together and had good chemistry.”

RONAN VS TROY (4OT)

R - 11 - 6 - 7 - 14 - 10 - 12 - 6 - 11 - 77

T - 12 - 3 - 11 - 12 - 10 - 12 - 6 - 3 - 69

Chiefs scoring - Marcus Hungerford 24, Edmond Dupuis 16, Robbie Gauthier 9, Zach Wagner 8, Marley Tanner 7, Carston Baertsch 6, Brady Oakland 4, Chris Clary 3

RONAN VS D-LODGE

Ronan - 8 - 5 - 9 - 14 - 36

D-Lodge - 5 - 9 - 10 - 13 - 37

Chiefs scoring - Marcus Hungerford 13, Zach Wagner 6, Carston Baertsch 5, Edmond Dupuis 4, Brady Oakland 4, Chris Clary 2, Robert Faoa 2

RONAN VS LOYOLA

Ronan - 8 - 10 - 7 - 22 - 47

Loyola - 11 - 13 - 8 - 18 - 50

Chiefs scoring - Zach Wagner 11, Marcus Hungerford 8, Carston Baertsch 7, Chris Clary 7, Marley Tanner 6, Brady Oakland 5, Edmond Dupuis 3