Pirates capture District title, get ready for showdown with Frenchtown

RONAN –Polson High School boys basketball coach Randy Kelley approached the Class A Northwestern District like a Divisional Tournament.

Kelley knew with the expansion of the teams for 2017-2018, the competition level at District would increase and his team’s level of intensity would have to compensate for the expanded talent pool of teams.

The philosophical approach to the amplified intensity paid dividends for the second-seeded Pirates and resulted in wins against Libby and county-rival Ronan that allowed them the Northwestern A District title.

“We treated (Districts) more like a Divisional tournament with all of the teams making significant improvement since the Tip-Off Tournament,” Kelley said. “I thought it was very competitive and there were great games. You have to do the little things and I thought our kids did pretty well at executing the little things to get us to the move on to Divisionals.”

The Pirates played efficiently, according to Kelley, and also received a couple of breaks throughout the course of the tournament when Ronan upset the No. 1 seeded Browning Indians 72-60 in the semifinal round of Districts. In the two meetings with Browning, the Pirates fell 61-49 on Dec. 22 and 50-40 on Feb. 3.

Kelley attributed his team’s success throughout the tournament to the confidence his young team has continued to build on during the course of the season.

“Winning is a confidence thing and some of our kids are shooting (the basketball) with confidence and they are looking for the shot,” Kelley said.

The Pirates were catapulted by the performance and now fearless nature of guard Robin Erickson. Erickson’s ability to take the ball to the basket applied pressure to the Loggers and Chiefs’ defense and allowed the Pirates to gain momentum in crucial times.

“That is one thing Robin Erickson has given us is another dimension as far as what we can do offensively,” Kelley said.

Kelley and his coaching staff don’t want to be satisfied with just a District title as they prepare to play the Frenchtown Broncs in the opening round of Divisionals Feb. 22-24 at the Butte Civic Center.

There are two areas Kelley would like to see the Pirates correct as they prepare for their biggest game of the season with the Broncs.

“We just need to be more focused at the free throw line, we need to be able to take care of the ball defensively and we have to work to get better,” Kelley stated. “We can’t be satisfied with just winning Districts. We now have to focus on Divisionals.”

The Pirates got contributions from Conner Lanier, Trevor Schultz, Shade Main and Asa Askan, according to Kelley. He will expect even more from all of their starting five and critical pieces off the bench.

“They are very athletic and they have really big size,” Kelley said. “That (Cade) Baker kid does a great job of taking care of the basketball and I noticed the Bronc’s defensive intensity. Frenchtown is able to pick up and play man-to-man defense this time of year and they have great man-to-man defense. It’ll be interesting to see how our motion offense matches up. Our team has been very patient and has waited for the opportunity to attack. We rebound very well, get body on body, attack the hole and get to the free throw line. Against Frenchtown, we are going to have to be consistent on offense.”

Against the Bronc’s man-to-man defense, Kelley said he felt the biggest matchup will be how they defend Polson’s power forward Shade Main.

“I think the biggest matchup will be whoever they put on Shade,” Kelley said. “He is going to have to shoot the ball better than he has and we are going to have to shoot the three-ball a little bit better than we have in the past weekend. I’ve liked a lot of the looks and we’ve had the techniques to be able to accomplish this as far as shooting. Erickson is very athletic and quick and when you play man-to-man defense like they do, you have to be pretty confident in your personnel. Hopefully, we will be able to exploit their defense a little bit.”

Polson has amplified its intensity on defense in the tournament and against Libby they turned their defensive pressure into offensive point production.

“I thought we did a great job against Libby and I thought we did a good job of putting pressure on them and getting easy transition buckets,” Kelley said. “Against Ronan, we had our mindset of playing more half court defense as far as defensively and we pushed the ball more than we had earlier and were able to get better looks. I always tell the kids ‘there is a time to go slow and a time to go,’ and I think the kids have done a good job of accepting that. Robin Erickson just came alive.”

There is a lot of basketball to be played between now and the championship game but Ronan and Polson could potentially meet again in the winner’s bracket. Both teams are currently on opposite ends of the bracket and are both two wins away from playing each other in a Divisional Championship game.

Kelley, who is from the Mission Valley, said a Polson-Ronan championship game would be “huge” for the community.

“It would be awesome because I grew up in this valley and it would be nice to pack the Civic Center with Mission Valley people,” Kelley said. “The game would be great for our kids and it reminds me of back in the day in the 80s and even in the 70s when Polson-Ronan was a true rivalry. That is what you play the game for. I thought Lucky (Larson) put on a great tournament. The District championship was a great atmosphere for our fans also.”

The Pirates are in a difficult bracket that includes Browning, a team they’ve lost to twice 61-49 onDec. 22 and 50-40 on Feb. 3. They also fell to Butte Central 51-40 and lost to Frenchtown 62-47 on Dec. 21.

Kelley knows that anything can happen in a tournament and said he hopes his team isn’t complacent with capturing the Districts as they attempt to get another State berth after losing four senior starters to last year’s squad.

“That is what you are looking for,” Kelley said. “Hopefully, we don’t accept that for winning District as our main goal and hopefully, we will be able to make some noise. It would be a great accomplishment for the kids and the team to qualify for the State tournament.”

NWA championship

Polson 63, Ronan 51

Polson (11-9), Ronan (9-12)

Polson 11 16 12 24 – 63

Ronan 11 13 7 20 – 51

POLSON – Robin Erickson 4 7-10 15, Trevor Schultz 5 0-4 11, Connor Lanier 4 3-5 11, Weston Danley 4 1-3 9, Micah Askan 6, Asa Askan 2 1-2 5, Shade Main 2 0-0 4, Sam Schultz 2.

RONAN – Ezekel Misa 7 10-14 24, Anthony Camel 6 1-2 15, Dallas Durheim 3 1-2 7, Nate Dennis 3, Randy Finley 2.

3FGs: P1 (T.Schultz), R3 (Camel 2, Dennis). REBOUNDS – P32r (Lanier 9, Main 9, A.Askan 5, Erickson 2, T.Schultz 2, Danley 2, M.Askan 2, S.Schultz), R22r (D.Durheim 8, Misa 6, Camel 4, Dennis 3, Zarec Couture). ASSISTS – P10a (Lanier 4, Erickson 3, T.Schultz, Main, Danley), R5 (Misa 3, Randy Finley, Camel). STEALS – P6s (Lanier 2, S.Schultz 2, A.Askan, Danley), R7s (Finley 2, D.Durheim 2, Bryant Hales, Dennis, Bubba Bush). (Sa17Feb18gm16nwa)

Polson 59, Libby 50 (semi)

At the Ronan Event Center, the Pirates held the Johnston & Johnson tandem in check by countering with a trio of players in double digits. Shade Main surpassed the quadruple century (400) point plateau for varsity career scoring, while Connor Lanier passed the varsity career triple century (300) mark.

Polson (10-9), Libby (12-8)

Libby 10 12 12 16 – 50

Polson 22 9 13 15 – 59

LIBBY – Ryggs Johnston 6 8-8 25, Keith Johnson 13, Nik Jones 8, Ryan Goodman 2, Brian Peck 1, Jay Beagle 1.

POLSON – Shade Main 17, Robin Erickson 15, Connor Lanier 12, Asa Askan 9, Sam Schultz 3, Trevor Schultz 2, Micah Askan 1.

3FGs: L5 (Johnston 5), P4 (A.Askan 3, S.Schultz). P28reb (Main 9, Lanier 8, S.Schultz 4, Danley 3, A.Askan 2, Erickson, Keyan Dalbey). P10ast (Lanier 3, A.Askan 2, T.Schultz, Main, S.Schultz, Danley, noID1). P9stl (Main 4, A.Askan 2, Erickson, Lanier, M.Askan). P5blk (Main 4, A.Askan). (Fr16Feb18gm8nwa)

Stat specs derived from informal JH tally. Some details may vary from alternative sources.