The Hamilton Broncs had to come from behind earn the first ever Southwest A district basketball championship on Saturday night. With little more than a minute remaining in the game, Hamilton trailed by three points. But Broncs sealed the win by sinking six free throws in the final 30 seconds to take the win, 61-57.
The Broncs jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter and led by as many as eight points before the young Butte Central Maroons got going. Carter Kearns, Hunter Omlid and Tanner Goligoski set the pace for the Broncs in the first quarter and were tough to stop.
However, in the second quarter, the Broncs were in a bit of foul trouble and backed off on their aggressive defense. Hamilton maintained their scoring with Omlid and Kearns leading the way. But Butte Central’s Cade Holter found his range in the second quarter and scored all 10 of his points in the quarter. Hamilton had a six-point lead going into the locker room at the half.
Whatever Maroons’ coach Brodie Kelly told his Butte Central team at the half worked. They came out shooting and by the middle of the quarter, took the lead when Dylan Sestrich hit a trey. While Hamilton was hitting a slump, Butte Central was winding up. They went on to hit nine shots in a row for a five point lead at the end of the quarter. Turnovers and cold shooting by the Broncs put them in a hole they had to dig out of.
In the fourth quarter, every time Hamilton made a run, Butte Central answered and kept the lead. Omlid pulled the team within one point after making a layup and sinking a free throw. But Braden Harrington sank a free throw to extend the lead. Carson Rostad muscled his way in for a basket to tie the game with three and a half minutes remaining. But once again Butte Central sank a shot and a free throw. Hamilton took the lead when Kearns hit two shots at the charity line. With time running out, Hamilton fouled Sestrich who missed both shots. Now it was Butte Central who was looking for a chance for the win. With only 4.3 seconds remaining, Kearns again fouled Sestrich. Sestrich sank the first and then deliberately missed the second. But he also missed the rim and so Hamilton got the ball back. Omlid was fouled and sank both shots for the 61-57 win and extended their record to 20-0.
Hamilton will open the Western A Divisional at the Butte Civic Center in Butte on Thursday morning at 9:30. They will play Libby, the No. 4 seed from the Northwest A.
Championship
Hamilton 61, Butte Central 57
Hamilton – Cam Rothie 3, Carson Rostad 6, Tyler Chouinard 2, Hunter Omlid 23, Tanner Goligoski 7, Carter Kearns 20.
Butte Central – J. Simkins 12, Heaphy 15, M. Simkins 2, Harrington 7, Sestrich 10, Holter 10, Richards 1.
As the No. 1 seed in the Southwest A conference, Hamilton had a first-round bye. They played Dillon in the semi finals on Friday night. Dillon had defeated Corvallis to advance to the semi finals. The Broncs came out playing their signature game of speed and shooting and making Dillon work hard on defense. After the break, Dillon tried a different defense but it still didn’t slow down Hamilton. Dillon could not slow down the Broncs who won, 48-36. Kearns led all scorers with 14 points.
Hamilton 48, Dillon 36
Hamilton – Rothie 10, Rostad 3, Chouinard 8, Omlid 7, Goligoski 6, Kearns 14.
Dillon – King 5, Kokpi 3, Cervelli 3, Anderson 9, Truman 2, Fitzgerald 11, Allison 3.
Corvallis opened up against Dillon on Thursday. The Blue Devils stayed with the Beavers in the first half but then came out cold in the third quarter and only scored two points. Dillon went on to win, 44-25.
Dillon 44, Corvallis 25
Dillon – Ferris 1, King 4, Cervelli 3, Truman 4, Rakich 6, Petersen 5, J Fitzgerald 13, Walker 2, Allison 6.
Corvallis – Caleb Warnken 7, Caeson Jessop, Ryal Jessop 3, Zach Jessop 1, Kobe Jessop 5, Garret Brown 2.
Saturday morning, Corvallis took on Frenchtown in loser out action. Frenchtown had lost to Butte Central Friday night. Corvallis jumped out to an early lead and led by 10 points at the end of the first quarter. But then Frenchtown got busy and outscored the Blue Devils by 14 points in the second quarter. At the half, Corvallis was down by four points. The third quarter was a disaster for both teams with only a total of six points scored. Corvallis reduced the difference by two. Frenchtown came back to outscore the Blue Devils and win, 46-41. Ryal jessop had 24 points in the loss.
Frenchtown 46, Corvallis 41
Corvallis – Tanner Jessop 5, Caeson Jessop 2, Ryal Jessop 24, Ryan Wiggins 1, Kobe Jessop 9.
Frenchtown – Pyron 7, Baker 4, Hoppie 22, Botkin 4, Cole 3, Leishman 3.
Stevensville had to play Dillon in the other loser out game on Saturday morning. With nothing to lose, the Yellowjackets gave Dillon a tough battle. By the end of the half, Stevensville was up by two points. In the third quarter, Dillon put two players on Dalton Bragg to slow him down inside. He finished with 18 points. Although Stevensville never gave up, they were not able to catch Dillon and lost, 60-54.
Coach Tony Anderson said his team never stopped playing. “We played the game we wanted to play,” he said.
With Bragg only returning eight games ago, the team adjusted well to his return. “He (Bragg) is the emotional leader of the team but the junior class had a baptism by fire,” according to Anderson.
Dillon 60, Stevensville 54
Dillon – Ferris 4, King 18, Anderson 2, Rakich 12, Peterson 10, Fitzgerald 2, Walker 4, Allison 8.
Stevensville – Colby Meeds 6, Logan Roth 17, Dalton Bragg 18, Jaren Gum 4, Alex Gavlak 5, Devin Sherman 4.
Stevensville lost to Frenchtown, 53-29, on Thursday. Bragg led all scorers with 18 points.
Frenchtown 53, Stevensville 29
Frenchtown – Pyron 6, Baker 11, Rugg 2, Hoppie 5, Baker 10, Botkin 7, Rugg 6, Larson 2, J Cole 4.
Stevensville – Meeds 2, Roth 6, Bragg 18, Gum 3.