GLASGOW — Rocky Boy and Shelby can’t get enough of one another.
The Northern Stars and Coyotes will meet for the Northern B divisional championship on Saturday evening, after each team advanced in Friday’s semifinal round, albeit in different fashion.
Rocky Boy lit up the scoreboard in its 84-54 win over District 1B rival Choteau in the first semifinal game on Friday afternoon. Ben Iron Eyes led the way with 20 points on three 3-pointers, while Kendell Windy Boy added 19 points in the win. The Northern Stars scored 22 first-quarter points, opening a 10-point lead over the Bulldogs, and never led by less than double digits the rest of the way.
Windy Boy scored 10 points in the opening quarter, before Frankie Bacon added 12 of his 17 in the second period, and the rout was on.
Sayer Patton (16) and Jonathan Moore (13) scored 29 combined for the Bulldogs in the loss. Choteau faces Poplar on Saturday morning in loser-out action. The game is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
Shelby’s path to the championship was more challenging, as rival Fairfield had an upset on its mind. The Coyotes defeated the Eagles 62-61 after Fairfield missed an attempt at the buzzer.
Down one point with only seconds remaining, the Eagles inbounded the ball from the far end, throwing a full-court heave to the other baseline. Ethan Schenk caught the pass while falling backward out of bounds, and tossed it back in play to a streaking Kolbe Pitcher, whose attempt was too strong.
Pitcher had a team-high 16 points in the loss. Fairfield faces Glasgow on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. in loser-out action.
Shelby rode its usual combination of Aaron White and TJ Reynolds — White scored 14 and Reynolds added 12 — but Kade Leck added 12 points off the bench for the Coyotes, who led 16-13 after the first quarter.
Fairfield took a 30-29 lead into halftime, then took over the third period. Pitcher scored six points, including a big 3-pointer early in the quarter, and Ryder Meyer added seven more for the Eagles, who led 50-43 entering the final eight minutes. But the Coyotes chipped away, with Reynolds scoring 11 of his 12 points in the final stanza. The MSU-Northern commit made four of five free throws, and hit a 3-pointer to go with a pair of field goals.
Shelby made 10 3-pointers in the win, four from Leck.
The Coyotes, who defeated Rocky Boy 57-46 in last week’s District 1B finale, take the floor at 8 p.m. Saturday evening.
