by Scott Sacry
The Hamilton boys season ended at the Class A State tournament in Butte on March 7-9. The Broncs started on a high note by beating Havre 60-55 in their opening round game. This sent them to the semifinal game on Friday where they were defeated 51-59 by eventual State Champion Dillon. This loss sent them to the loser-out bracket on Saturday morning where they were defeated by Columbia Falls 48-71.
Things just didn’t go Hamilton’s way at State: the ball bounced this way instead of that way, good shots didn’t fall, and their opponents seemingly got all the breaks. This is the frustrating beauty of sports, as anything can happen. The season didn’t end how the Broncs wanted, but, as a whole, it was an impressive season. They went 20-4, won their conference regular season title, and were the Western A Divisional champions.
Hamilton 60, Havre 55
In a contest of thoroughbreds, the Hamilton Broncs defeated the Havre Blue Ponies 60-55 in the first round of the Class A State tournament in Butte on Thursday. It was a roller coaster of a game. After an even start, Hamilton ended the 1st quarter on a 9-0 run to take a 17-9 first quarter lead, thanks in part to solid inside play by Hamilton’s Tristan Koerner.
Hamilton extended their lead in the 2nd quarter, and after a Canaan Magness breakaway dunk, Hamilton led by 21 points, 32-13. Havre rallied late in the 2nd quarter, but Hamilton still led 34-24 at halftime, and they seemed to have the game under control.
But the game’s momentum changed after halftime and Havre scratched their way back into the game. Hamilton was outscored 13-20 in the third quarter and held a slim 47-44 point lead going into the final frame.
At the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Blue Ponies closed the gap, and with under three minutes to play in the game, Hamilton fell behind 54-55.
But as they have done all year, the Broncs responded and controlled the game down the stretch. Their defense had three straight steals and Magness, Koerner, and Jackson Jessop went a combined 6 of 6 from the free throw line to preserve the hard fought victory.
A key to Hamilton’s victory was rebounding. They out-rebounded Havre 35-21, limiting Havre’s second chances and creating their own.
For Hamilton, Canaan Magness led the way with 21 points and 5 rebounds, and went 8 for 8 from the free throw line. Tristan Koerner had one of his best games of the year with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 steals. Tyler Jette had 7 points and played solid defense. Jackson Jessop had 6 points and 7 rebounds, Francesco Baruffini had 5 points, and Cole Dickemore had 3 points and 2 steals.
Hamilton 51, Dillon 59
In the state semifinal game, Hamilton met conference rival Dillon. The teams split their regular season contests, but in this game, Hamilton was defeated by Dillon 51-59.
The Broncs started slow, and fell behind 5-12 after one quarter and 17-28 at halftime. Hamilton rebounded in the second half to narrow the gap, but could never get a run together to push them over the edge.
The Broncs had a hard time hitting their three pointers. In Hamilton’s Jan. 11th victory over Dillon, the Broncs were on fire from beyond the 3-point line, but in this game they only shot 3 of 15 from behind the arc.
Individually for Hamilton, Tristan Koerner had another strong game with 21 points (on 9 of 12 shooting) and 14 rebounds. Tyler Jette had 13 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals, Canaan Magness (who was mirrored by Beaver defenders all night) had 11 points. Cole Dickemore and Francesco Baruffini each added 3 points.
Hamilton 48, Columbia Falls 71
The Dillon loss sent them to a loser-out game on Saturday morning where they were defeated 48-71 by Columbia Falls, who would eventually finish 3rd at state. Hamilton narrowly defeated Columbia Falls in their previous two matchups by three total points, but this game would prove different.
The game can be summed up in shooting percentage. Columbia Falls was on fire and Hamilton shots were in and out. Columbia Falls shot an eye-popping 65% from the field (8 for 12 from the 3-point line) for the game and Hamilton shot 32% for the game. Hamilton fell behind 9-20 after the first quarter and was never able to get back into the game. They would make a run, but Columbia Falls would have the answer. For Hamilton, Canaan Magness and Tristan Koerner each had 13 points, Jackson Jessop had 11, Tyler Jette had 8, Francesco Baruffini had 2, and Cole Dickemore added 1.