Pirates earn second place trophy at Western A divisional tournament
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BUTTE — The Polson Pirates are headed to their second consecutive State Class A boys basketball tournament after out-lasting the Hamilton Broncs during the Western A divisional boys’ basketball tournament, held in Butte last weekend.
In Thursday’s first round of action, the Broncs exploded out of the chute, outpacing the Pirates 15-6 in the first quarter. The Pirates narrowed the Broncs’ advantage a bit as both teams entered the locker rooms at the half with Hamilton leading 23-17.
Down 33-27 heading into the fourth quarter, the Pirates corralled the Broncs by outscoring Hamilton 13-4 to take the narrow 40-37 win. Colton Graham scored a Pirate team-high 17 points.
It took extra frames in Friday’s semifinal matchup against the Frenchtown Broncs for the Pirates to come away with the 51-45 overtime win and a spot in Saturday’s evening divisional championship game.
Graham scored a game-leading 22 points, eight of which came in overtime, followed by 14 points by Darian Williams who hit four 3-pointers.
Saturday night’s Western A divisional tournament championship game was a low-scoring defensive battle, which saw the Dillon Beavers prevail over the Pirates for the second time this season, 42-32.
Dillon jumped out to a quick 11-6 first-quarter lead over the Pirates to start the game but finished at the half with score of 16-14. In the second half, the Beavers outpaced the Pirates 19-11 in the fourth quarter for the victory.
Graham was the lone Pirate to score in double digits with 15 points.
The state tournament begins on Thursday in Great Falls at the Four Seasons Arena where the 15-2 Pirates are scheduled to face the 12-6 Lewistown Golden Eagles in first-round action.
Western A Divisional boys’ basketball, Butte Civic Center
First round
Polson Pirates 40
Hamilton Broncs 37
Polson 6 11 10 13 – 40
Hamilton 15 8 10 4 – 37
POLSON – Xavier Fisher 4; Jarrett Wilson 9; Darian Williams 3; Colton Graham 17;
Trevor Lake 6; JC Steele 1.
Semifinals
Polson Pirates 51
Frenchtown Broncs 45 - OT
Polson 13 12 8 8 10 – 51
Frenchtown 17 8 10 6 4 – 45
POLSON – Xavier Fisher 3; Jarrett Wilson 5; Darian Williams 14; Colton Graham 22
Trevor Lake 5; Braunson Henriksen 2.
Championship
Dillon Beavers 42
Polson Pirates 32
Dillon 11 5 7 19 – 42
Polson 6 8 7 11 – 32
POLSON – Xavier Fisher 9; Jarrett Wilson 6; Colton Graham 15; Trevor Lake 2.
