GREAT FALLS — Fort Benton built a lead and then withstood a challenge from Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine on Friday for a 54-52 overtime win to advance to Saturday’s championship game of the Northern C boys divisional tournament.
Box Elder and Power-Dutton-Brady clashed in the other semifinal, with the Bears rolling to a 75-29 win to earn the other title-game berth.
Fort Benton 54, DGSG 52, OT
In undoubtedly the best game of the weekend, the Fort Benton Longhorns needed overtime to top Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine 54-52.
Fort Benton, the No. 3 seed out of District 9C, jumped on top of the 8C champs 18-9 in the first and led by 16 midway through the second quarter. But the Bearcats would claw back behind a heroic performance from Axel Becker who recorded 24 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.
They would tie the game just before the fourth quarter buzzer to seize the momentum and force overtime knotted up at 48.
The teams traded buckets in the extra frame before Kellan Diekhans scored with under 15 seconds left to give the Longhorns a 54-52 lead. Blaze Becker pulled up from 3 and connected with 3.2 seconds left, but the points were wiped away after his coach called a timeout.
DGSG went 0 for 15 from beyond the arc in the game.
The Bearcats couldn’t get a good look as time expired and the Longhorns started the celebration after an improbable win to advance to the Northern C title game on Saturday night.
Diekhans led Fort Benton with 17 points and nine rebounds. Truman Giese added 16 points, with Eli Arganbright pitching in 11 in the win.
In addition to Becker with 24, Tyce Smith scored 14 points to join his teammate in double figues in the loss.
Fort Benton will face Box Elder on Saturday at 8:30 p.m., with the winner earning a guaranteed spot at the state tournament. DGSG heads to the consolation bracket.
Box Elder 75, Power-Dutton Brady 29
When Box Elder gets humming, there’s not a lot any team can do to stop them.
And on Friday, they showed why their the undefeated defending state champs with a 75-29 win over Power-Dutton-Brady in the Northern C semifinals.
The Bears jumped out to a 25-0 lead in the first quarter before the Titans finally broke through late in the first quarter. Box Elder led 31-2 after the first eight minutes.
The frame featured several highlight reel transition dunks from Dreyden Anderson who scored a game high 21 points in the win.
The lead ballooned to 48 in the third quarter before Box Elder pulled its starters.
Tracen Jilot added 19 points and three steals while Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette had 14 points and six assists. Alex Four Colors also reached double figures with 10 points.
Tanner Vick led the Titans with nine points, whiile Jared Boetticher added seven.
Box Elder will face Fort Benton Saturday’s championship game at 8:30 p.m., while Power-Dutton-Brady will face Chester-Joplin-Inverness in the consolation semifinals.
