Chiefs upset Libby to earn Divisional berth

Ronan netted 30 points, more than half of its total points for the whole game, in the final quarter as they rallied past the Loggers 54-49 in a divisional play-in game Monday night.

Led by Leonard Burke’s hot hand, as well as Zarec Couture and Trey Don’t Mix’s big inside presence, Ronan came back from a tdouble-digit deficit to earn a ticket to the Western A Divisional tournament starting Thursday Feb. 27.

Burke tallied a game high 18 points, leading the team’s nearly 80% second-half field goal shooting. Couture had 12 points with and Trey Don’t Mix recorded 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Keith Johnson played well for Libby with 16 points, but the Loggers had no answer for Ronan’s final hot streak.

This game followed a tough loss on Tuesday, Feb. 18 when Ronan traveled to Columbia Falls for the final game of its regular season. The Chiefs fought hard to keep up with the Wildcats, but lost the game in the final seconds 57-55.

The Chiefs came out fairly cold, and continued to struggle shooting outside shots.

“The kids did what we asked. We didn’t make many shots in the first half, Columbia Falls made them, a lot more than we did,” Ronan coach Ron Couture said following the game.

Senior Trey Don’t Mix was a bright spot for Ronan though as he was a force inside the paint. When the Chiefs struggled to make shots, Don’t Mix kept the pressure on Columbia Falls and recorded a game high 18 points.

“When we got Trey the ball down there we saw he had a mismatch with two shorter guys on either block,” coach Couture said. “We stuck the ball into him and Trey made some big shots, made some big moves. He got us back into it, he was a big time motivator there in the last 3-4 minutes.”

Ronan has had quite a few games as of recent that ended in a five point or less difference. They have been able to keep themselves in ballgames late in the season, and that is key going into the Western A Divisionals this weekend.

Ronan faces Southwest A top-seeded Butte Central in the first game of the tournament Thursday, Feb. 27 at 11 a.m.

Ronan 54, Libby 49

Ronan 5 7 12 30 – 54

Libby 12 9 16 12 – 49

RONAN – Leonard Burke 5 7-8 18, *Zarec Couture 4 3-6 12, *Trey Don’t Mix 4 2-6 10, Elijah Tonasket 3 0-0 6, Girma Detwiler 3 0-0 6, Ruben Couture 2. 20-40 12-21

LIBBY – *Keith Johnson 16, *Chandler Bower 10, *Ryder Davis 6, Ryan Goodman 5, Jay Beagle 5, TJ Andersen 4, Caden Williams 3. 17-33 15-23

3FG – R2-12 (Z.Couture 1-3, Burke 1-5), L0-6. REB – R24 (G.Detwiler 7, T.DM 7, Z.Couture 3, Tonasket 2, L.Burke 2, Jordan Gatch, noID2), L26 (Johnson 7, Williams 6, Goodman 5). AST – R6 (Tonasket 2, G.Detwiler 2, Z.Couture, Sage Coffman), L6 (Beagle 3, Goodman 2). STL – R9 (G.Detwiler 2, Z.Couture 2, L.Burke 2, T.DM 2, Tonasket), L9 (Bower 3, Johnson 3). BLK – R5 (T.DM 2, G.Detwiler, Z.Couture, L.Burke), L0. (M24Feb20)

Columbia Falls 59, Ronan 41

C-Falls 10 23 13 13 – 59

Ronan 9 14 8 10 – 41

COLUMBIA FALLS – Hannah Schweikert 9 1-2 25, Josie Windauer 8 2-4 18, Maddie Robison 4 0-1 8, Graceanne Sevesind 2 0-2 4, LaKia Hill 2, Madysen Hoerner 2. 25-53 3-9

RONAN – Regan Clairmont 6 0-0 13, Kieauna DeRoche 4 1-2 10, Jaylea Lunceford 3 0-0 6, Madison Clairmont 2 1-2 5, Lexi Wirz 1 1-2 4, Analeta YellowBird 3, Ari Burke 0 0-2 0, Jaeleigh Gatch 0 0-2 0. 17-40 3-11

3FG – CF6-19 (Schweikert 6-12), R4-20 (YellowBird 1-3, L.Wirz 1-3, R.Clairmont 1-6, DeRoche 1-7). REB – CF27 (Windauer 6, Sevesind 5, Hill 5, Madyson Hoerner 4), R29 (Lunceford 9, M.Clairmont *6, Jaeleigh Gatch *4, R.Clairmont 3, DeRoche 2, L.Wirz 2, A.Burke, LaReina Cordova, noID 1). AST – CF (Maddie Robison 7), R16 (A.Burke 4, M.Clairmont 3, YellowBird 2, L.Wirz 2, Gatch 2, DeRoche, Lunceford, Madeline McCrea). STL – CF24 (Robison 7, Schweikert 6), R15 (M.Clairmont*5, L.Wirz 2, R.Clairmont 2, Lunceford*2, *DeRoche, A.Burke, *YellowBird, Dani Coffman). BLK – CF (Windauer), R2 (R.Clairmont, L.Wirz). (Tu18Feb20)