The last time the Hamilton Broncs went to the state basketball tournament, it was 1994. It’s been a goal for every team since then but this year; the goal became a reality with the fourth place finish in the Western A Divisional.
“It feels pretty awesome,” said senior Josh Heath. “We were kind of bummed out we didn’t win that last one but it still feels pretty sweet.”
The Broncs lost to Butte Central in the consolation match at the Western A Divisional in Butte. Both teams had played earlier in the day to advance and were tired. Butte Central came out firing and quickly took the lead. Hamilton came back to take the lead at the end of the quarter. Hamilton continued to hold the lead through three quarters. However in the fourth quarter, the Maroons made a run and took the lead midway through the period when Nate McGree sank two free throws. Hamilton couldn’t stop the outside shooting of Butte Central and lost, 45-42. Hamilton made just two of 11 shots from three-point land.
Butte Central 45, Hamilton 42
Hamilton – Josh Heath 4, Bret Huxtable 4, Ky Burch 5, Hunter Omlid 8, Carter Kearns 15, Bridger Bauder 2, Jaylen Taggart 4.
Butte Central – Johnston 5, McGree 10, Harper 18, Kump 8, Richardson 2, Holter 2.
Hamilton opened against the Frenchtown Broncs and quickly established they were in control. Behind the shooting of Carter Kearns who scored 30 points, Hamilton dominated in a 72-51 win. Hunter Omlid scored 14 points, Heath seven, Taggart and Burch six points each, Bauder five, and Tyler Chouinard and Bret Huxtable two points each.
With the win, Hamilton advanced to the semi finals where they met up with Polson. Hamilton caught Polson off guard and quickly took the lead with Kearns putting up six points. But the Pirates are a run and gun team and came back to lead by one point at the buzzer. Polson dominated on the boards, which limited second chance shots by Hamilton. Kearns and Heath teamed up at the end of the third quarter to pull the Broncs back within two points. However a couple of turnovers and a foul turned the tempo for the Broncs. Polson scored eight unanswered points to pad the lead and went on to win, 57-47.
Polson 57, Hamilton 47
Hamilton – Burch 10, Omlid 6, Kearns 31.
Polson – Ducharme 8, Lefthand 9, Rensvold 20, Jones 11, Niemeyer 3, Main 2, North Piegan 4.
Hamilton then had to play Whitefish in loser out action. The Broncs came out strongly and built up a 12-point lead before Whitefish got going. Omlid had the hot hand early and dropped in 10 points in the quarter. Whitefish came back to push the Broncs in the second quarter but didn’t take the lead until the end of the quarter. A couple of free throws by Heath put the Broncs back in the lead.
“This morning’s game was a hard one,” said Blome. “Waking up to play at 8 am was really difficult. Today we knew it was just going to be a war of attrition.”
Hamilton came out in the second half and pulled away to 61-43 win. Omlid had 17 points to pace Hamilton and Burch and Kearns each added 15 more.
Heath said it was difficult to slow the game down in the second half. “Both teams like to get up and down so we were both pretty tired. It was a tough game this morning, especially that first half. But now it’s a new tournament, new start.”
Hamilton will open the State Class A tournament at noon on Thursday in Dahlberg Arena at the University of Montana. They will play Havre who took the championship in the Eastern A Divisional. Havre’s top player, Dane Warp, scored 34 points in the championship game against Hardin. Havre won, 70-64.
Corvallis lost out Saturday morning to Butte Central, 57-42. The Blue Devils only scored one point in first quarter in the early morning game before gaining steam. Chase Jessop ended his high school career with 21 points.
Corvallis opened against Columbia Falls on Wednesday. Columbia Falls outscored the Blue Devils, 11-3, in overtime to seal the 48-40 victory and send Corvallis to the losers’ bracket. Chase Jessop had 19 points in the game.
Corvallis next took on Frenchtown in loser out action. The Broncs led in the first half but Corvallis came back to take the lead in the third quarter. They went on to win, 50-45. Chase Jessop had 17 points and Tylor Nixon added 12 more.
Corvallis then met up with Stevensville. Stevensville had lost to Polson the day before. Corvallis jumped out to an early lead and put up 23 points before Stevensville’s James Fry got going. He finished with 28 points in the game but it was not enough as Corvallis won, 69-57. Stevensville pulled to within three at the half but couldn’t maintain the pressure on the Blue Devils. Nixon led the Blue Devils with 20 points.
Corvallis 69, Stevensville 57
Corvallis – Caleb Powell 9, Jacob Geary 2, Tylor Nixon 20, Justin Catanach 6, Chase Jessop 17, Danner Miller 5, Dillon Lewis 6, Tannon Allred 4.
Stevensville – Liam LeCoure 7, Jarod Kingsberry 4, James Fry 28, Dalton Bragg 14, Bryce Torrey 3, Keanu Miwa-Vogan 1.