BILLINGS — Caleb Bellach scored 42 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out three assists and had two steals and a block on Saturday night, as Manhattan Christian won its first boys basketball state championship since 1984.
Bellach, the Eagles’ standout senior who has committed to play basketball at Montana State, averaged 24.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks during the three-day State C boys basketball tournament held at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark in Billings.
On Monday, Bellach was named the MontanaSports.com MVP of the tournament. He was one of three Manhattan Christian athletes selected to the all-tournament teams. The Eagles defeated Fairview, Melstone and Arlee en route to the title, avenging the past two state championship losses against the Warriors.
Arlee’s Greg Whitesell was a first-team all-tournament selection after averaging 23.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Whitesell also posted 11 steals and seven assists in the Warriors’ three games. Center Isaac Fisher joined Whitesell on the all-tournament teams, earning second-team honors.
Melstone’s Brody Grebe tallied the second-most votes after guiding the Broncs to the semifinals, before eventually being eliminated by Scobey on Saturday morning. Grebe averaged 22.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 steals and 2.3 assists during the tournament, Melstone’s second straight appearance. Grebe had 26 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and five steals in Thursday’s 78-55 victory over Hays-Lodgepole.
Rounding out the first team were guards Alex Schriver of Fairview and Sam Leep of Manhattan Christian.
Scobey sophomores Aidan Fishell and Caden Handran each earned second-team honors following the Spartas third-place finish.
The full State C boys basketball all-tournament teams, as selected by MontanaSports.com, are below.
First team
Caleb Bellach sr., Manhattan Christian — MVP
Brody Grebe, sr., Melstone
Greg Whitesell, sr,. Arlee
Alex Schriver, jr., Fairview
Sam Leep, jr., Manhattan Christian
Second team
Aidan Fishell, so., Scobey
Isaac Fisher, sr., Arlee
Cord Schneider, sr., Chinook
Cody Asbeck, jr., Fairview
Caden Handran, so., Scobey
Honorable mention (listed in alphabetical order by last name)
Josiah Amunrud, jr., Manhattan Christian
Isaac Bell, sr., Chinook
Shayden Cooke, jr., Melstone
Julian Glenn, sr., Plenty Coups
Josh Herron, jr., Fairview
