Winifred takes home Class C title

By The Standard Staff - 03/02/2008

Winifred’s Zack Wichman battles with Rocky Boy’s Eric Schildt, left, and Lindsey Eagleman for the ball in the second quarter of the Class C Boys State Championship game played Saturday night in the Butte Civic Center.

Three teams located within 50 miles of each other claimed all the hardware there was to give, as the Northern C completed a sweep of the boys’ Class C State Basketball tourney Saturday at the Butte Civic Center.

Winifred completed a perfect 26-0 season and claimed its second state basketball title in 34 years in front of an estimated crowd of 4,800 with a methodical 68-54 win over Rocky Boy. Red Raider head coach David Udelhoven and assistant Jim Foran were players on Winifred’s 1974 state championship team.

“It’s twice as good as a coach,” Udelhoven said.

Foran said he could enjoy this win more than the one he scored in high school.

“As a junior, I was pretty unaware of what we had done,” Foran said. “I didn’t realize how hard it was.”

Big Sandy, the third seed out of the Northern C Division, won in double overtime over Scobey to claim third place, completing the Northern C domination of the tournament.

The Spartans survived a double-overtime thriller against Twin Bridges to emerge from morning loser-out action, while Big Sandy eased past Plenty Coups.

Championship

Winifred 68, Rocky Boy 54

Near the end of the championship game against the Stars, Brian Foran was getting cheers of “MVP” from the Winifred crowd.

With 29 points and 20 rebounds in the championship game alone, he earned it. Over the three games the Red Raiders won in the tourney, Foran had 76 points, 39 rebounds 11 assists, six steals and four blocked shots.

But even Foran wouldn’t say

See WINIFRED, Page B6

that he did it alone.

“Everyone came out and played as a whole,” Foran said after the victory.

Winifred had beaten Rocky Boy 60-53 a week earlier in the Northern C title game, where Foran had been held to four points due to a box-and-one defense. The Stars employed the same tactic in the early going of the state title game, but Foran’s teammates stepped up and rendered the defensive tactic useless.

Dustin Kinkelaar netted a 3-pointer on Winifred’s opening possession, and other than an early tie, the Raiders never trailed. D.J. Dyer added another field goal, followed by a second trey from Kinkelaar, and it was clear the Stars would have to refocus their defensive effort.

“The guys hit some shots early that opened it up for us,” Foran said.

The 6-foot-1 senior then went on to make 10 points over the remainder of the first half, as Jared Foran — Brian’s cousin — drove in for a layup before the intermission buzzer to give the Raiders a 35-25 lead.

Winifred maintained the lead over the third quarter, then expanded the margin in the fourth when Dillon Udelhoven and Joe Stulc scored with seconds of each other to put a mark of 53-36 on the scoreboard.

At that point the Raiders tried to slow the game down and hang on to the ball, but the high-powered Rocky Boy team didn’t agree to the plan. The Stars reeled off eight unanswered points — six from sophomore post Eric Schildt — and had Winifred reconsidering, even with an 11-point lead.

“We had a letdown when we were trying to hold the ball with five minutes left,” Coach Udelhoven said. “That’s too long.”

Adding to the unease was the fourth foul on Foran near the end of the Star run.

“You’re always concerned when Brian gets his fourth,” Udelhoven said. “But we have a good bench. I wasn’t too worried.”

Winifred collected 13 of the next 19 points scored before clearing the bench with a 1:24 left to play.

Stulc finished up with 11 points and five rebounds, while Dyer tacked on nine points for the Raiders.

Rocky Boy completed a 22-5 season with 14 points from Mike Sangrey Jr., while Schildt totaled 12 points and 11 rebounds.

A perfect 26-win season needs a little luck mixed in to happen, Udelhoven said.

“We stayed healthy, and we always played hard,” he said. “We never looked past anyone.”

— Pat Ryan,

The Montana Standard

ROCKY BOY (22-5) — Lindsey Eagleman 1-5 3-6 5, Mike Sangrey Jr. 5-13 3-4 14, Rodney Turn Toes 3-7 0-0 6, Eric Schildt 3-10 6-8 12, Jerod Parker 3-15 0-0 7, Leisin Oats 1-4 0-0 3, Jerason Oats 0-0 1-2 1, Loren Standing Rock 1-1 0-0 2, Glen Doney 0-1 0-0 0, John Sunchild 0-0 0-2 0, Chad Taylor 1-2 1-3 4, Garrett Lafromboise 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-58 14-25 54.

WINIFRED (26-0) — Brian Foran 13-20 3-3 29, D.J. Dyer 4-9 0-0 9, Jared Foran 2-6 1-2 5, Zach wichman 0-3 1-2 1, Dustin Kinkelaar 2-5 1-2 7, Joe Econom 0-0 0-0 0, Dillon Udelhoven 1-2 0-0 2, Joe Stulc 4-8 2-2 11, Jared Lee 1-2 0-0 2, Tel Foran 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey Berg 0-0 0-0 0, Brandt Lee 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 28-56 8-13 68.

Rocky Boy 11 14 11 18 — 54

Winifred 17 18 14 19 — 68

3-point goals—Rocky Boy 4-19 (Taylor 1-2, L. Oats 1-4, Sangrey 1-5, Parker 1-6, Eagleman 0-2), Winifred 4-14 (Kinkelaar 2-4, Dyer 1-3, Stulc 1-3, Wichman 0-1, Udelhoven 0-1). Rebounds—Rocky Boy 37 (Schildt 11), Winifred 37 (B. Foran 20). Fouls — Rocky Boy 14, Winifred 20. Technicals—Rocky Boy (Chad Taylor). Fouled out — Dyer. Assists — Rocky Boy 5, Winifred 17 (B. Foran 5, Wichman 5). Turnovers — Rocky Boy 21, Winifred 19. Blocks — Rocky Boy 0, Winifred 2. Steals — Rocky Boy 4, Winifred 5.

Third-place

Big Sandy 58, Scobey 51, 2OT

The Big Sandy Pioneers wrapped up third-place hardware with free throws and defensive rebounds.

The game went into double overtime after Scobey missed a free throw with 24 seconds left. After that, Big Sandy’s Corbin Pearson missed a shot in the lane and a Scobey half-court attempt at the buzzer rimmed out.

The Pioneers sealed the deal in double overtime outscoring the Spartans 9-2. Pearson and Taylor Ophus grabbed critical defensive rebounds in the final minute.

Big Sandy climbed back from a five-point deficit early in the fourth quarter. The team took the court after halftime and managed only nine points in the third quarter.

Big Sandy had two chances to win the game late in the fourth, but missed the first shot and couldn’t get a shot off after the final inbounds.

Before the third quarter, Big Sandy had controlled the game allowing only 13 points in the first half. The team lost a 22-13 lead in the first three minutes of the third quarter.

Pearson came up huge in the win with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Blake Brumwell had 22 points and nine boards before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Big Sandy senior Darin Ray totaled nine points. Ryne Labuda contributed six assists and four points. Pat Louvar had five points and five rebounds.

Scobey’s Michael Crandell had a hot hand with 21 points, including three 3-pointers. Dylan Solbert put up 12 points.

Scobey posts Chase Buer and Eric Maldonado both played well against the bigger Pioneers. Maldonado was good for nine points and nine rebounds.

Michael Dighans came off of the bench to light the scoreboard up for seven points.

Big Sandy will likely return a favorite in Class C next season after losing only four seniors and returning its two biggest scorers.

— Sean Eamon, The Montana Standard

SCOBEY (22-7) — Dylan Solberg 5-18 1-3 12, Michael Crandell 8-18 0-0 19, Taylor Plante 0-0 0-0 0, Chase Buer 1-3 2-6 4, Eric Maldonado 3-7 3-7 9, Michael Dighans 2-7 3-6 7, Logan Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Baldry 0-1 0-0 0, Doug States 0-0 0-0 0, Cory Huda 0-0 0-0 0, Zach Dighans 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 9-22 51.

BIG SANDY (20-10) — Ryne Labuda 2-5 0-0 4, Blake Brumwell 9-11 4-6 22, Pat Louvar 1-4 3-4 5, Darin Ray 4-10 1-3 9, Corbin Pearson 5-16 4-6 15, Dustin Kulbeck 1-3 0-0 3, Taylor Ophus 0-1 0-2 0, Weston Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Michael Field 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Gullickson 0-0 0-0 0, Scott Drga 0-0 0-0 0, Jeff Zeiger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 12-21 58.

Scobey 9 4 21 12 3 2 — 51

Big Sandy 12 10 9 15 3 9 — 58

3-point goals — Scobey 4-19 (Crandell 3-11, Solberg 1-6, Baldry 0-1, Dighans 0-1), Big Sandy 2-8 (Pearson 1-3, Kulbeck 1-3, Labuda 0-2). Fouled out-Brumwell, Ray. Rebounds — Scobey 33 (Maldonado 9), Big Sandy 43 (Pearson 13). Assists — Scobey 11 (Solber 4), Big Sandy 11 (Labuda 6). Steals — Scobey 9 (Buer 4), Big Sandy 6 (Labuda 4). Blocks — Scobey 2 (Buer, Maldonado), Big Sandy 1 (Brumwell). Turnovers — Scobey 11, Big Sandy 15. Total fouls — Scobey 16, Big Sandy 18. Fouled out — Brumwell, Ray. Technicals — none.

Loser-outs

Scobey 63, Twin Bridges 55, 2OT

The Spartans outscored Twin Bridges 11-3 in the second overtime of their consolation semifinal game, sending the Falcons home with a 25-2 season record. Scobey (22-6) earned a trip to the consolation final with the win.

Michael Crandell scored five of his team-high 21 points for Scobey in overtime, and one of his six 3-pointers forced the second overtime, tying the game 52-all.

“Give Scobey credit,” said Twin Bridges coach Neil Christiaens. “They shot the ball well, and then foul trouble caught up to us.”

The Spartans stretched to a 17-6 lead late in the first period, as Crandell connected on three 3-pointers. Twin Bridges spent the rest of regulation trying to erase the deficit.

“We got pretty worn down, especially after a tough one (Friday) night,” Christiaens said.

Pete Anderson played his best game of the tournament, hitting 67 percent of his shots from the floor and 8-of-10 from the stripe in chalking up a game-high 22 points. Anderson, a junior, also grabbed three steals in a good defensive effort, but his offense in the third and fourth quarters helped the Falcons back into the game.

Senior guard Heath Hansen hit only one of five 3-pointers Saturday, but the one he made was the one the Falcons needed. With 27 seconds left in regulation, Hansen drained a long ball from the top of the arc to tie the game 46-46, where it remained when the clock ran down.

Scobey also got 14 points and eight rebounds from Dylan Solberg, while senior post Eric Maldonado hit for 10 points and 13 boards.

Playing with the flu, junior post Clay Pierson notched a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while snagging four steals and blocking a shot.

“Clay was absolutely manly,” Christiaens said. “They all went out there and sucked it up. I couldn’t be prouder.

“After they went 14-15 last year, then to come in here 24-0, it shows their character and heart and their absolute will.”

— Pat Ryan,

The Montana Standard

TWIN BRIDGES (25-2) — Clay Pierson 10-17 1-2 21, Heath Hansen 2-7 0-0 5, Pete Anderson 6-9 8-10 22, Luke Banks 0-2 0-0 0, Austin Mailey 1-14 0-1 2, Jake Schmit 2-5 0-2 5, Jon Ashcraft 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Tilstra 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 9-15 55.

SCOBEY (22-6) — Dylan Solberg 3-12 7-10 14, Michael Crandell 6-12 3-4 21, Taylor Plante 0-0 0-0 0, Chase Buer 4-6 1-3 9, Eric Maldonado 4-6 2-4 10, Michael Dighans 2-8 3-4 7, Logan Hansen 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-45 16-25 63.

Twin Bridges 9 9 15 13 6 3 n 55

Scobey 18 4 12 12 6 11 n 63

3-point goals — TB 4-15 (Pierson 0-1, Hansen 1-5, Anderson 2-3, Mailey 0-3, Schmit 1-3), Scobey 7-15 (Solberg 1-4, Crandell 6-10, Dighans 0-1). Rebounds — TB 32 (Pierson 14, Hansen 6, Schmit 5), Scobey 37 (Maldonado 13, Solberg 8, Buer 7). Fouls — TB 23, Scobey 14. Fouled out — Mailey, Tilstra. Assists — TB 6 (Hansen 2, Mailey 2), Scobey 11 (Solberg 5). Turnovers — TB 17, Scobey 22. Blocks — TB 1 (Pierson), Scobey 3. Steals — TB 16 (Pierson 4, Hansen 4, Anderson 3), Scobey 4 (Solberg 2, Crandell 2).

Big Sandy 72, Plenty Coups 64

The Plenty Coups Warriors cut into a 61-48 lead late in the fourth quarter to make this loser-out morning game seem closer than it actually was.

Big Sandy missed six-straight free throws down the stretch in the fourth quarter and the Warriors went on a 10-2 run in the final stanza and came within six points of the lead before finally giving the game to the Pioneers.

Big Sandy sophomores Corbin Pearson and Blake Brumwell each turned in good efforts for the Pioneers. Pearson had a game-high 37 points and 14 rebounds. Brumwell totaled 15 points and grabbed 13 boards.

Senior captain Darin Ray had 12 points and nine rebounds for Big Sandy. Starters Pat Louvar and Ryne Labuda both finished with four points.

Big Sandy held a 53-40 rebounding advantage, but lost the turnover battle 28-17. The Warriors shot 21-for-41 at the charity stripe.

Plenty Coups’ Avery Bull Shows turned in a solid all-around game with eight points, six rebounds and four assists. Rumeal Decrane was the Warriors’ leading scorer with 19 points. Alton Smart Enemy had 18 points and nine rebounds.

Plenty Coups had 25 more shot attempts than Big Sandy. The squad played much better in the second half, making 40 percent of its shots.

The team suffered from 29 personal fouls in the loss.

The Warriors will lose a strong contingent of seniors next season including Bull Shows, DeCrane, J.D. Blaine, Smart Enemy and Buddy Door.

— Sean Eamon,

The Montana Standard

BIG SANDY (19-10) — Ryne Labuda 1-5 2-5 4, Blake Brumwell 5-8 5-10 15, pat Louvar 1-1 2-4 4, Ray Darin 5-10 2-7 12, Corbin Pearson 12-27 10-15 37, Ophus Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 21-41 72.

PLENTY COUPS (21-3) — Avery Bull Shows 4-13 0-0 8, Rumeal Decrane 7-20 3-3 19, J.D. Blaine 3-12 0-0 8, Alton Smart Enemy 7-11 4-7 18, Buddy Door 1-11 0-2 2, Sonny Bouyer 1-3 0-0 2, Joey Gutierrez 0-0 0-0 0, Lenny Bear Tusk 2-5 0-0 5, Kevin Little Light 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 26-76 7-13 64.

Big Sandy 21 11 21 19 — 72

Plenty Coups 14 7 18 25 — 64

3-point goals — BS 3-7 (Labuda 0-2, Pearson 3-5), PC 5-24 (Bull Shows 0-3, Decrane 2-8, Blaine 2-7, Smart Enemy 0-1, Door 0-1, Bouyer 0-2, Bear Tusk 1-2). Rebounds — BS 53 (Pearson 14, Brumwell 13, Louvar 12), PC 29 (Smart Enemy 9). Assists — BS 14 (Labuda 5), PC 7 (Bull Shows 4). Steals — BS 8 (four with two), PC 10 (Bull Shows 5). Turnovers — BS 28, PC 17. Total fouls — BS 15, PC 29. Fouled out — Ray, Blaine, Smart Enemy, Door.

State C Boys

at Butte Civic Center

Saturday

Scobey 63, Twin Bridges 55, 2OT, lo

Big Sandy 72, Plenty Coups 64, lo

Big Sandy 58, Scobey 51, 2OT, third place

Winifred 68, Rocky Boy 54, first place