SHELBY — The Poplar Indians clinched their first state tournament berth since 1985 in a Friday overtime win over Fairfield.
But they weren’t satisfied.
The Indians continued their strong postseason run with a 68-58 over District 1B champ Rocky Boy for a Northern B boys basketball divisional title.
In a game the Indians never trailed, Poplar rode strong performances from Kenny Smoker (13 points, eight assists) and Wynn Main (13 points, 12 rebounds) and clinched the North’s No. 1 seed at next week’s State B tournament in Belgrade.
Rocky Boy was led in scoring by Wyatt Caplette with 15 points and Frankie Bacon with 14. The Poplar defense held Rocky Boy to just 35 percent shooting on the night.
Poplar will face Southern B runner-up Three Forks in the first round of the State B tournament Wednesday at 3 p.m., while Rocky Boy will face Missoula Loyola at 7:30 p.m.
SHELBY 56, CHOTEAU 50
The Shelby boys are heading back to the State B tournament for the fourth consecutive year after a 56-50 win over District 1B rival Choteau in the Northern B boys consolation final.
Shelby led from wire-to-wire, building an 11-point lead in the third quarter. Choteau star Sayer Patton sparked a 9-1 run in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to one, but two big Coyote 3-pointers iced the game.
Logan Leck led Shelby with 15 points and eight rebounds, freshman post Rhett Reynolds added 14 points and nine rebounds. Patton, Class B’s leading scorer, scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but 11 of his points came in the third quarter.
Shelby will be the No. 3 seed from the North at the State B tournament in Belgrade on Wednesday and will face Southern B champ Colstrip in the first round at 6 p.m.
