The Hamilton Broncs’ basketball season came to an end on Friday when they lost out to Polson at the Class A state tournament. Hamilton entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed from the Western A Divisional. The other six teams there were Dillon, Butte Central, Billings Central, Hardin, Laurel and Belgrade. Dillon defeated Billings Central for the championship and finished undefeated this season. Polson topped Belgrade for third.
Polson took the lead early in their game against Hamilton and although challenged by Hamilton in the third quarter and again in the fourth quarter, Polson held on. At the end of the third quarter, Hamilton trailed by only four points. The Broncs continued to push Polson in the fourth quarter. Jaylen Taggart two free throws off a Polson foul that pulled Hamilton within two points. Just 10 seconds later, Tanner Goligoski got a steal for the Broncs. Taggart was fouled again and went to the charity line once more. He hit the second to reduce the margin to only one point. After Polson made another two points, Hamilton took another run at the Pirates. Their first shot didn’t connect but Goligoski got the rebound and dished the ball out to Hunter Omlid who sunk a three point shot to tie the game at 41. A few seconds later, Carter Kearns made a steal and was fouled. He sank both free throws and Hamilton had the lead. But turnovers and fouls gave the advantage back to Polson who went on to win, 51-45.
Polson 51, Hamilton 45
Hamilton – Ky Burch 4, Hunter Omlid 9, Jaylen Taggart 7, Tanner Goligoski 13, Carter Kearns 10, Carson Rostad 2.
Polson – J’Von Johnson 5, Jaydon Bautista 14, Tanner Wilson 9, Jeremiah North Peigan 2, Matthew Rensvold 16, Connor Lanier 3, Shade Main 2.
Hamilton opened their play at the state tournament against the No. 1 team from the Eastern A, Laurel. The Locomotives jumped out to an early lead and held that lead throughout the first half. By the time the break came along, Hamilton was down by eight points. But the Broncs came out determined to claw their way back into the game and they did that in the third quarter. By the end of the quarter, Hamilton had tied the game while holding Laurel to only six points. But the Broncs ran out of steam late in the fourth quarter and fell to Laurel, 57-48. Laurel out rebounded Hamilton by 14 boards. Omlid had 13 points to lead the Broncs.
Laurel 57, Hamilton 48
Laurel – Shay Osborne 2, Christian Jones 13, Layne Willis 14, Dawson Cortese 11, Chance Lawrence 3, Isaiah Renner 2, Casey Cole 9, Braden Ewalt 3.
Hamilton – Ky Burch 7, Hunter Omlid 13, Jaylen Taggart 1, Tanner Goligoski 4, Carter Kearns 11, Cam Rothie 8, Carson Rostad 4.