Pirates battle back for third place finish at state tourney

In the opening round of the State A Tournament, the Pirates tried their best to dodge Billings Central, but found their horns to be Ram tough when they rallied by Polson in the final frame to relegate the Bucs to the consolation round. 

Polson led three quarters of the contest and held a half dozen margin heading into the final frame. But the Rams went mountain climbing on a 12-2 run that included a Zach Hanser triple to pull within one, 40-39, with five minutes remaining. A triple by Montana State football recruit 6-6 Jacob Hadley vaulted the Rams ahead for good. After BC stretching their lead to a quartet, 40-44, the Pirates pulled within one, 43-44 with 1:29 remaining. But a plague of untimely turnovers turned the tide against them to scuttle the Pirates aground while the Rams closed out their scoring from the free-throw line.

Polson averaged in the 50th percentile for both deuces and treys in the first half, but their accuracy washed overboard as their shooting percentages plummeted to less than half into the 20th percentile the second half. On the flip side, Billing Central almost doubled their conversion rate during the second half compared to the opening half.

The Pirates were led by Jeremiah NorthPiegan with 11 points, who scored above his half dozen and change average. But a pair of Polson’s most productive point producers were held to less than half their averages even after factoring in adjustments on account of having to face higher caliber defenses.

The Pirates shifted over to the consolation side of the bracket.

Polson 16 13 9 5 – 43

Billings 13 11 8 15 – 47

POLSON (16-6) – Jeremiah North Piegan 5-7 1-2 11, Payton Lefthand 3-6 0-0 9, Matthew Rensvold 3-4 1-3 7, J’von Niemeyer 2-4 0-0 5, Tanner Wilson 1-4 1-2 4, Julian Jones 1-10 1-2 3, Shade Main 1-4 1-4 2, Wyatt DuCharme 1-1 0-0 2. 17-40 4-9 43.

BILLINGS CENTRAL (14-8) – Jacob Hadley 15, Chrishon Dixon 5-10 1-3 11, Zach Hanser 6, Shay Dantic 5, Michael Stanton 4, Johnny Elliott 3, Micah Holt-Seavy 3. 17-44 7-16 47.

3FGs – P5-17 (Lefthand 3-6, Niemeyer 1-3, Wilson 1-3), BC6-21 (Hadley 3-14, Z.Hanser 2-4, Dantic 1-2). REBOUNDS – P28* (North Piegan 8, Rensvold 4, Jones 3, Main 3, Lefthand *3, Ducharme 3, *Hudson Smith *2, Niemeyer, Wilson), BC25 (Hadley 7). ASSISTS – P10 (Jones 4, Lefthand 2, Ducharme, Wilson, Main, Rensvold), BC10 (Stanton 5). STEALS – P9* (Jones 3, Lefthand 2, NorthPiegan, Niemeyer, Ducharme, *Wilson), BC6. BLOCKS P2 (NorthPiegan 2). TURNOVERS – P15, BC 12. FOULS – P13, BC10. Fouled out – Jones. (Th03Mar16gm2ste)

Asterisk (*) denotes venue stat variant(s): Ptm24r (Lefthand 1r, Hu.Smith 0r), Ptm8s (Wilson 0s).

Polson 51, Hamilton 50

On Friday afternoon in a consolation round clash, the Bitterroot Broncs and the Polson Pirates met for the third time this season with tournament continuation implications riding on the outcome. Both preceding contests had been close until the final going, but this matchup would be the closest of them all. After Hamilton led much of the first half, the Pirates finally tightened the reins on the Broncs to pull even at 32 apiece, then edged ahead just as the third period drew to a close. The Pirates would maximize their advantage to eight, 42-34, after a pair of free throws by Julian Jones, but thereafter Hamilton would counter as they crept back within reach.

With Polson nursing a precarious four-point spread 48-44 with under a minute remaining, Bronc Burch would drain a triple to pull within one, 48-47. After an empty Polson trip to the charity stripe, Jones would grab the offensive rebound and was fouled, splashing both free-throw attempts to give the Pirates a 50-47 advantage. After a timeout, Bronc frosh phenom Hunter Omlid would hit nothing but net on a trey with under ten seconds remaining to tie the match at 50 apiece.

Polson would draw up a play to see if they could get off one last shot before heading into overtime. With Payton Lefthand at the top of the arc above the key, he released a triple attempt with .3 seconds remaining and was fouled in the process. After missing his first attempt, he netted the second and may have deliberately butchered the third to eek out the win for the Pirates.

Matt Rensvold led all scorers with 27, while Julian Jones chipped in another dozen. Jones also paced the Pirates with a trio of assists and a quartet of steals.

Polson 11 10 15 15 – 51

Hamilton 17 11 6 16 – 50

POLSON – Matthew Rensvold 9-13 9-11 27, Julian Jones 3-8 6-13 12, Payton Lefthand 3-9 1-3 8, J’von Niemeyer 1-4 0-2 2, Tanner Wilson 1-7 0-2 2, Shade Main 0-2 0-2 0, Hudson Smith 0-1 0-0 0. 17-44 16-33 51.

HAMILTON – Hunter Omlid 12, Carter Kearns 9, Bret Huxtable 8, Ky Burch 7, Jaylen Taggart 6, Josh Heath 4, Bridger Bauder 2, Tyler Chouinard 2. 15-39 15-17 50.

3FGs – Polson 1-9 (Lefthand 1-4), Hamilton 5-15 (Huxtable 2-4, Kearns 1-3, Burch 1-4, Omlid 1-4). REBOUNDS – Polson *35 (Rensvold 9, Jones 7, Lefthand *5, Ducharme 3, Main *3, Wilson 3, Niemeyer 2, Hudson Smith, noID 2), Hamilton 26 (Omlid 9). ASSISTS – P9 (Jones 3, Niemeyer 2, Wilson, Ducharme, Lefthand, NorthPiegan), H11 (Heath 3). STEALS – P10 (Jones 5, Rensvold 2, Lefthand 2, Niemeyer), H5 (Taggart 2). BLOCKS – P2* (*Ducharme, *Jones), H5 (Kearns 2). TURNOVERS – P13, H14. FOULS – P16, H22. Fouled out – Huxtable. (Fr04Mar16gm5ste)

Asterisk (*) denotes venue stat variant(s): Ptm31r (Lefthand 4r, Main 2r), Ptm0b.

Polson 64, Hardin 56

In the Saturday morning loser out match, the Pirates rallied from a first frame deficit to tighten a collar around the neck of the Bulldogs, extending their advantage by as much as 19 with about two minutes remaining in the third period, 40-21. The Bulldogs, whom average about 70 points per game, seemed to awaken from a sleepy-eyed slumber that had seemed to muzzle them much of the contest up to that point, erupting for a huge final quarter. But despite the Pirates being outscored, they responded with their own final frame flourish of two dozen to punch their ticket for the evening hardware bout with breathing room to spare.

The Pirates placed a trio of players in double figures to counter the quartet by Hardin, led by Matt Rensvold with 20, supplemented by a collaboration on 27 more by Payton Lefthand and Tanner Wilson. Julian Jones led the team in assists by dishing out half a dozen.

Polson 8 11 21 24 – 64

Hardin 10 3 13 30 – 56

POLSON (18-6) – Matthew Rensvold 7-10 6-9 20, Payton Lefthand 2-9 10-16 14, Tanner Wilson 6-10 0-1 13, Jeremiah North Piegan 1-3 5-6 7, J’von Niemeyer 1-3 2-2 5, Julian Jones 1-6 0-6 3, Shade Main 1-1 0-0 2, Wyatt DuCharme 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 19-39 23-40 64.

HARDIN (14-10) – Virgil McCormick 7, Clarence Little Wolf 11, Beau Venne 11, Larry McCormick 14, Darnell Left Hand 10, Holman Real Bird 3, Cordell Bird 0, Kyle Spotted Horse 0. 17-49 16-19 56.

3FGs – Polson 3-10 (Lefthand 0-1, Niemeyer 1-3, Jones 1-3, Wilson 1-3), Hardin 6-24 (V. McCormick 1-4, Little Wolf 1-8, Venne 1-2, L. McCormick 2-4, Left Hand 0-2, Real Bird 1-2, Spotted Horse 0-2). REBOUNDS – P31 (Rensvold *9, Jones 6, Lefthand *4, NorthPiegan *4, Ducharme 2, Niemeyer 2, Hu.Smith, Main), H37 (Left Hand 11). ASSISTS – P13* (Jones 6, Niemeyer 3, Lefthand, Wilson, *Rensvold), H7 (V. McCormick 2, Little Wolf 2). STEALS – P10* (Lefthand *2, Rensvold *2, Jones 2, NorthPiegan 2, Niemeyer, Wilson), H7 (V. McCormick 2, Venne 2). BLOCKS – P2 (North Piegan, Rensvold), H1 (Venne). TURNOVERS – P11, H17. FOULS – P16, H26. Fouled out – Little Wolf, Real Bird. (Sa05Mar16gm10st)

Asterisk (*) denotes venue stat variant(s): Ptm26r (Rensvold 8r, NorthPiegan 2r, Lefthand 2r), Ptm12a (Rensvold 0a), Ptm8s (Rensvold 1s, Lefthand 1s).

Polson 66

Havre 65 (OT)

In the State A Tournament consolation championship at Dahlberg Arena in Missoula this past Saturday, the Pirates played the Ponies and won their wager over the Blue hue horse crew from Havre with a bronze medal payout for third place. The game saw 19 lead changes that included five ties. The contest remained close throughout with the lead for neither team straying beyond the reach of two scores as Havre led early by half a dozen and Polson three times by five.

The Pirates were tasked with the basketball equivalent of trying to hold the lid on a boiling pot without burning their fingers in the form of Class A leading scorer Dane Warp, who led tournament scoring with 123 points to wrap up his senior season with 675. Warp scored 19 in the first half to account for almost two thirds of the Havre offense. In a strategic halftime adjustment, Tanner Wilson would turn in a defensive gem despite a broken bone in his wrist by tightening the reins on the Blue Pony wild stallion, limiting his second half output to no third quarter field goals and only a quartet the rest of the game, the remainder coming from the charity stripe.

As the final half minute of regulation came to a close, Polson was nursing a precarious three-point edge after Payton Lefthand capitalized on the full complement of a one-and-one opportunity. Warp would break free of his containment to erase the advantage with his only triple of the second half to tie things up at 54 apiece. Polson had an opportunity to retake the lead, but came up empty at the charity stripe during a one-and-one opportunity.

After a timeout, Havre would work for the game winner. Jerod Boles would put up a shot attempt, but Pirate Matt Rensvold came to the rescue for the Pirates by rejecting it with a block. With mere seconds remaining in regulation, Havre would attempt to inbound the ball once again, but Julian Jones would intercept to send the game into overtime.

Polson opened overtime with a 5-0 run after Jones converted on a steal and Wilson drained a triple. Havre pulled back within two after a pair of deuces sandwiched a Pirate free-throw 60-58. Jeremiah NorthPiegan reacquired the margin of five with a conventional three-point play, but a pair of Havre deuces whittled it back down to one once again. Pirate Jones would go 3-4 after two trips to the charity stripe to extend the margin out of four 66-62, but Warp converted on a traditional three-point play to pull back within one, 66-65, with half a minute remaining.

In a subsequent sequence, Jeremiah NorthPiegan would be whistled for a questionable offensive foul when he allegedly knocked a Blue Pony off his horse as he pivoted after receiving a pass, but Havre was unable to capitalize on the gift. With 15ish seconds remaining, the outcome of the match would hinge more on fatigue from both teams playing morning games and less on superior execution by either club. Warp, an almost 70th percentile free-throw shooter, would goose egg his final trip to the charity stripe, which Polson would then oblige at their end. With mere seconds remaining in the overtime period, Havre would inbound the ball for the final possession with Polson guarding their precarious advantage against intrusion. But time would gallop off the clock on the Blue Ponies before they could saddle a launch sequence for the final shot.

Rensvold and NorthPiegan split three dozen to lead the Pirates, while Lefthand along with Wilson collaborated on another 20 for the team treasure trove.

Havre 17 12 11 14 11 – 65

Polson 13 18 8 15 12 – 66

HAVRE (18-6) – Dane Warp 10-17 9-15 32, Ivar Aageson 10, Jacob LaBrie 8, Jerod Boles 6, Nate Korb 6, Zachary Hunt 3, Michael Loftus 0. 21-49 15-21 65.

POLSON (19-6) – Matthew Rensvold 6-11 6-8 18, Jeremiah NorthPiegan 8-10 2-3 18, Payton Lefthand 4-14 2-2 11, Tanner Wilson 4-5 0-0 9, Julian Jones 1-6 3-7 5, J’von Niemeyer 1-4 1-1 3, Wyatt DuCharme 1-1 0-0 2. 25-49 14-21 66.

3FGs – Havre 8-23 (Boles 2-8, Warp 3-6, Hunt 1-1, LaBrie 2-6, Aageson 0-2), Polson 2-13 (Lefthand 1-6, Wilson 1-2, Jones 0-3, Niemeyer 0-2). REBOUNDS – H26 (Warp 8), P33* (NorthPiegan 9, Rensvold 6, Jones 6, Lefthand 4, Niemeyer 3, Ducharme, *Shade Main, *Hudson Smith, noID2). ASSISTS – H10 (Warp 7), P15 (Lefthand 5, Jones 4, Main 2, Wilson, Rensvold, Niemeyer, Hu.Smith). STEALS – H6 (Warp 3), P8* (Jones *5, Lefthand, Main, NorthPiegan). BLOCKS – H1 (Warp), P3 (Rensvold, Jones, Main). TURNOVERS – H9, P14. FOULS – H17, P18. Fouled out – Boles, NorthPiegan. INJURY – Nate Rismon calf. (Sa05Mar16gm11st)

Asterisk (*) denotes venue stat variant(s): Ptm29r (Main 0r, Hu.Smith 0r), Ptm6s (Jones 3s).