Hoopin' Champs!

The Badgers entered the 10C District Tournament seeking the school's first District title. The boys had done everything they could to position themselves to win. An undefeated conference season snagged us the #1 seed and a 1st round bye. All that was left was for the team to finish the job. On Saturday night, the team proudly hoisted the Conference and District titles, and celebrated a successful tournament that ended with our boys as Champions.

The tournament action started for the Badgers on Thursday night in a semifinal matchup vs Simms. The Tigers were fresh off a 1st round 48-44 victory over Power and looking for the upset and a trip to the Championship game. Our Badgers poured in 25 1st quarter points and quickly made it clear that we would not be denied. The Badgers didn't lose a quarter to the Tigers en route to a 71-55 victory. Kaden Jorgensen scored 14 points in the contest. He also added 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Tyler Lane has been fighting a nagging ankle injury, but despite that, he stuffed the stat sheet with 9 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Gavin Gilham and Brent Ethridge dominated the paint during the tournament. Against Simms, Gilham scored 21 with 10 rebounds, and Ethridge added 17 points and 15 rebounds.

The win moved the Badgers to the title game. Our opponent would be the Dutton-Brady Diamondbacks. The D-Backs had won their semifinal game against Heart Butte by an impressive 86-49 margin. We knew that it was going to take a great effort for our team to win the game and the 10C District title. The boys did not disappoint!

From the opening tip, the team was playing with great energy. Our defense suffocated the D-Backs high scoring offense and the 1st quarter ended with our Badgers enjoying a 22-12 advantage. The defense was even better in the 2nd quarter, the D-Backs only managing to score 7 points, and the Badgers went into halftime with a 34-19 lead. Any chance for a 2nd half comeback was quickly erased when our boys dominated the 3rd quarter 21-8. In the end, the Badgers left the floor with a 67-43 victory. Kaden Jorgensen finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Tyler Lane hit two big triples and scored 12 points, while adding 6 rebounds.

Our Seniors finished their conference careers with a bang. Caiden Sekuterski scored 8, pulled in 9 rebounds to go with 7 assists and 2 steals. Gavin Gilham drilled two early 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Brent Ethridge ended the night with 16 points, 18 rebounds and 2 blocked shots.

The hard work added up to a well-deserved celebration on the court in Shelby. It was awesome to watch the boys enjoy achieving their goal. Thanks to all the parents and fans that celebrated with us!

Now we move on to the Northern C Divisional Tournament. This year's tournament is in Great Falls at Four Seasons Arena. Our 1st round game is scheduled for Thursday, February 22nd. We will face off against the Winnett-Grass Range Rams at 9:30 AM.