Huskies Battle in Billings

Karl Koontz

 

March 23, 2023

J.D. Shepard

Last weekend the Huskies rolled into Billings in search of the school's fourth state championship. While they came up short of that goal, they put on a show for three days that thrilled home town fans and foes alike.

The State Class C Basket- ball Tournament was of the highest quality, pitting the top two teams from each of Montana's four divi- sions against each other at the Met- ra-Park Arena in the Magic City. The Belt contingent of fans num- bered about 400 and they certainly got their money's worth.

Belt High entered the com- petition boasting first place trophies from the 8-C and Northern C tour- naments and an impressive 22-2 record. They split their four games down south, finishing just off the podium when the final horn sound- ed Saturday night.

The Huskies opened up against the Fairview Warriors

Thursday afternoon. For those fa- miliar with Belt's style of play the game was what one would expect. The Maroon and Gold squad played exceptional man-to-man defense like usual and attacked the Warriors from the outside with precision passing and perimeter shooting.

Belt led at halftime in a close contest 25-23 as they con- tained Warriors' star Hunter Shar- bono as best they could. The Husky faithful also know that the boys can go on scoring droughts and that happened in the third. Going score- less for over three minutes in the third frame allowed the Warriors to pull ahead by 6 points heading into the fourth quarter.

Spurred by senior Bridger Vogl, the lid came off the basket in the final period and the Huskies took charge. Belt dominated the 4th quarter, outscoring Fairview 21-5, to claim the first round victory and advance to the semifinal game Fri- day night. The final score was 53- 43. Vogl finished with 17 and Reese Paulson added 13 in the win.

Friday night was an instant classic, as Belt matched up against defending champ Manhattan Chris- tian. The Eagles are tall and experi- enced, having played in five of the

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previous seven state title games. The Huskies held their own

on the boards against the much tall- er boys from Christian, but the post play and drives from the wing helped the Eagles forge a 24-14 lead at the break.

rd Belt showed great heart in the 3 , putting together a 13 point run behind the outside shooting of Vogl and Garett Metrione. The score was 35-32 in favor of Man- hattan Christian entering the 4th, and the Metra was electrified with about 4,500 fans roaring their approval with every bounce of the ball.

Belt grabbed a 49-45 lead, but the Eagles were undaunted, scoring the last four points in regu- lation to tie the game at 49 and send it to overtime. The extra four minutes were as good as the first 32 as the teams traded baskets. The Huskies edged ahead 56-55 before the boys from Manhattan hit a bas- ket and nailed four consecutive free throws to emerge with a 61-56 over- time win which propelled them into the title tilt and relegated Belt to consolation play.

Vogl notched 29 and Metrione add- ed 16 to the cause against the Ea-

gles.

It's always tough coming

off a semifinal loss to play the next morning. The atmosphere was de- cidedly more subdued when the Huskies took on the Lustre Chris- tian. The Lions were unbeaten when they went to Billings and seemed taken aback by the quality of defense they faced at state.

The Belt team jumped out early and led the entire way to keep their season alive. Vogl and Metri- one combined for 25 points and 20 rebounds as Belt coasted to a 47-24 loser-out triumph. Zach Feldman, Keaghn McDaniel, and Ethan Tri- plett were rock-solid inside on de- fense.

Coach Paulson benefits from a deep bench and Belt needed it as his team prepared for their fourth game in three days. The con- solation game was a rematch with Fairview. In addition to help in the paint, Clayton Jassen and Jeremy Nebel chipped in valuable minutes in the front court.

Fairview and Belt have a lot of history lately and the weekend added to the rivalry. Belt won the

Fairview 13 10 15 5 43 Belt 16 9 7 21 53) state title game in 2015 against

Fairview. In the 2022 state tourney Belt ousted the Warriors from the games. These two schools also met on the gridiron to open the football season this past fall, so combined with Belt's Thursday night win the Eastern foe was hungry for revenge when the two met once more in the consolation game.

Both teams started sluggish- ly as it took most of the first quarter before they found their legs for the season finale. The Huskies led after one period by 3 points, although each side only managed single dig- its. Fairview tied things up by halftime at 19 apiece. The second half was a see-saw affair that fea- tured six lead changes and several ties.

Midway through the final quarter Fairview hit their stride, es- pecially from the free throw line where they were almost perfect. Belt fell behind by 7 points and couldn't close the gap. Fairview claimed the third place trophy by a final score of 49-43.

While the tournament didn't work out as many of the boys and fans hoped, the weekend in Billings capped a great season. The Huskies

added another chapter to their sto- ried basketball history with first place finishes at both the district and divisional levels while posting a 24-4 record. Congratulations to Coach Paulson and his squad on a fine season.

Zach Feldman

Husky fans will have to ad- just to basketball without the ser- vices of graduating seniors Zach Feldman, Owen Halley, Keaghn McDaniel, Garett Metrione, and Bridger Vogl next season. These boys have all played since 8th grade and have made tremendous contri- butions to the program. Their four years of high school included an impressive four trips to the state tournament and a 3rd place finish in 2021-22. As Bob Hope once sang (and more recently Fall Out Boy), "Thanks for the Memories."

The Eagles of Manhattan Christian snatched their second consecutive state crown Saturday night behind a 74-65 championship effort over Northern C runner-up Big Sandy. On the girls side of the bracket, the North Country Maver- icks (Saco-Whitewater-Hinsdale) cruised to the title with a 59-26 win over Twin Bridges.

 

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