Last-minute foul shots lift Polson past Chiefs, 59-50

At the Ronan Events Center this past Friday, the host Chiefs and the visiting Pirates battled to the brink in a classic round of their annual rez roundball rivalry wrangle.

Trailing 44-36 early in the final frame, the Chiefs rallied to erase the deficit for a fleeting moment before Polson countered to reacquire their edge.

A Dallas Durheim deuce pulled the Chiefs within 49-47 with 3:42 remaining. A Pirate counter deuce by Micah Askan extended the margin back to four with under two minutes remaining, but Chief Jacob Gatch hit a trey to pull Ronan within one 51-50 with under a minute remaining.

Colton Graham would dish an exquisite assist to Trevor Lake crashing the board to edge the Pirates ahead 53-50. Less than optimal passing resulted in a Ronan turnover, but while Polson missed underneath, Micah Askan corralled the rebound. The subsequent foul would sent him to the charity stripe for a pair along with another bonus duo from an ensuing technical. Askan would convert all four for a 57-50 advantage. Graham would be fouled and converted his pair at the line to account for the final margin.

Trevor Schultz was the lone Pirate scorer to reach double digits, while the Chiefs put Randy Finley and Dallas Durheim in double figures. Durheim just missed a double-double with nine boards.

The Pirates will have already hosted Columbia Falls on Tuesday, then host SWA Hamilton on Friday, followed by a doubleheader homestand against Browning on Saturday, all three games at the SKC gym.

Polson 59, Ronan 50

Chief junior Jacob Gatch and Pirate senior Robin Ericksson both crested the century (100) point plateau for season scoring.

Ronan (2-6, 3-10), Polson (4-3, 6-7)

Polson 14 20 8 17 – 59

Ronan 8 23 4 15 – 50

POLSON – Trevor Schultz 5 4-5 14(7r,1s,1b), Robin Erickson 4 1-2 9(1r,3a,1s), Micah Askan 2 4-6 8(7r,1s), Ryker Wenderoth 2 2-2 7(6r,3a,3s), Bo Kelley 2 1-2 6(3r,1a,3s), Colton Graham 1 2-2 5(8r,3a,1s,1b), Parker Toth 2 0-0 4, Trevor Lake 1 1-4 3(3r,1a,1b), Seth Lake 1 1-2 3(3r,2a,2s).

RONAN – Randy Finley 4 2-2 12(1r,1a,1s), Dallas Durheim 3 5-5 11(*9r,2a,*3s,2b), Jacob Gatch 2 3-5 8(4r,1a,3b), Terrell Stump 3 0-0 7(1s), Aidan Birdinground 2 1-2 5(7r,1a,1s), Bubba Bush 0 3-4 3(4r,6a,1s), Zarec Couture 0 2-2 2(*4r,1a), Trey Don’tMix 2(1r), Leonard Burke 0 0-2 0(*1r,1a,*1s).

3FGs – P3-18 (Wenderoth 1-6, Kelley 1-5, Graham 1-4), R4-13 (Finley 2-3, Stump 1-3, Gatch 1-6). (Fr25Jan19)

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) where informal JH tally differs from sideline specs.

MtHSAthSS variants – Polson(39r,14a,12s,3b): Erickson 2r2a, Askan 6r, Wenderoth 5r, Kelley 5r0a, Graham 9r5a0s, Toth 1s, S.Lake 2r2a1s; Ronan(28r,13a,6s,5b): D.Durheim 8r2s, Couture 3r, Burke 0r0s

C-Falls edges Chiefs in OT

At Columbia Falls last Tuesday, Jan. 22, the visiting Chiefs and the host Wildcats played a tightly contested match much like they did back in December when Ronan eeked out a 36-35 win. This time around, home court advantage was on the side of the Cats, who forced the Chiefs to rally late in the game in an effort to extend it. Jacob Gatch drained a triple late in the fourth frame that gave Ronan its first lead of the game at 45-44. Gatch would also convert a key free throw that tied the game 47-all to extend the contest into overtime.

But the Cats would manage to scratch out the win.

Last weekend in Missoula, the Chiefs got outflanked by a phalanx of Sentinel Spartans.

The Chiefs will have already faced Whitefish on Tuesday, Jan. 22, then host State B champion Bigfork on Thursday, Jan. 31.

Sentinel 73, Ronan 29

NWA Ronan (3-11), WAA Sentinel (7-4)

Ronan 7 8 10 4 – 29

Sentinel 14 19 25 15 – 73

RONAN – Terrell Stump 7, *Dallas Durheim 4, Leonard Burke 3, Randy Finley 3, Aidan Birdinground 2, Bubba Bush 2, Girma Detwiler 2, Jacob Gatch 2, Trey Don’t Mix 2.

MISSOULA SENTINEL – Rylan Ortt 11, Scott Malikie 9, Bryan Mikulski 9, Neil Daily 8, Jack Colyer 8, Elias Dewaters 7, Hayden Kolb 5, Tanner Devlin 4 Brock Field 4, Troy Frohlich-Fair 3, TJ Rausch 2. (Sa26Jan19)

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) where sideline specs differ from media coverage: Durheim misidentified as Elijah.

Columbia Falls 58, Ronan 55 (OT)

Ronan (2-5, 3-9), C-Falls (1-5, 2-11)

Ronan 10 13 9 15 8 – 55

C-Falls 12 14 10 11 11 – 58

RONAN – *Jacob Gatch 6 3-6 20(11r,2a), Dallas Durheim 4 4-11 13(15r,1s,1b), Leonard Burke 2 1-2 7(1r,1s), Randy Finley 6(7r,3a,3s), Zarec Couture 2 0-0 4(3r,1a), Aidan Birdinground 1 1-2 3(2r), Bubba Bush 2(3r,1a), Terrell Stump (2a,3s).

COLUMBIA FALLS – Sam Hovde 15, Drew Morgan 15(11r), Dillon Shipp 11(9r), Dillon Wanner 7, Danny Henjum 7, William Dyon 3.

3FGs – R10-25 (Gatch 5-7, Burke 2-4, Finley 2-6, D.Durheim 1-2), CF7-25 (Henjum 2-3, Shipp 2-9, Morgan 1-2, Dyon 1-5, Wanner 1-5). (Tu22Jan19)

Asterisk (*) denotes stat variant(s) where venue data differs from visitor sideline specs: Gatch 17p, D.Durheim 14p, Burke 9p