Local teams do well at Billings All-Star tourney
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BILLINGS - Several local basketball players were in action during the weekend of March 18-20 as the Crowne Plaza in Billings put on its annual Treasure State Tournament.
The all-star style tournament showcases the best seniors from around the state in all classifications.
Ronan Chiefs head basketball coach Steve Woll and Mission head coach Lloyd Phillips once again made their way to the tournament to coach the Class A North team as well as the Class B West team. The duo had an outstanding tournament as their teams combined to go 8-2. The Class B squad finished second in the tournament while the Class A squad came in third.
"I've never seen two west teams finish in the top four since I have been doing this, and I have done it for 17 years," Woll said. "The highest I can remember finishing was coming in second with a team one year."
What is more impressive than the high finishes is that the teams did it despite having to play with ever-changing rosters.
"Our rosters were pretty depleted because of the proms that were going on in our area that weekend," Woll said. "Some kids came over for a game or two and some were not able to come at all. We had a lot of things to work around."
According to Woll, he invited 13 Class A players to join the team but only four were able to come from those he invited. Once at the tournament, the team had to look around to pick up more players.
The crazy roster situation didn't seem to hurt the teams much as they made a strong showing at the tournament.
"The kids played phenomenal," Woll said. "It really is a great event for them. It extends their season by a week and they get to play in front of a lot of college coaches. It gives them a good chance for exposure. They get to see how good they really are and they get to have a good time doing it."
Along with the great finish in the tournament, the A North and B West teams also made a strong showing in the tournament's 3-point shootout as Ronan's J.J. Tanner won the competition by edging out Bigfork's Christian Ker.
In game action, the B West team opened the tournament with an 85-82 win over AA Central Friday as Florence-Carlton's Adam Greger led the way with 26 points while Bigfork's Christian Ker added 17.
The North A team also opened the tournament with a win as they downed the C West team, 108-75. Ronan's Justin Dustybull led the way with 26 points in the win while Polson's Lois Mohr added 23.
The squads continued to pick up wins Saturday as the B West team defeated the A East team 70-54. Ker was the leading scorer in that win with 14 points.
The A North team picked up a 71-66 win over the B East squad Saturday morning as Tanner led the way with 24 and Dustybull added 14.
The two squads had to play each other in the tournament semi-finals as Woll coached the A squad while Phillips led the B squad. Phillips will get to hold bragging rights for at least a year as his B West team narrowly took down the A North squad, 89-88.
Greger led the B West team with 36 points in the win while Tanner led the A North team with 29.
Only one of the squads came away with a win Sunday as the A North team won the third-place game over C North, 107-85. Dustybull led the way with 27 points in the win while Tanner added 21 and Lucas Black had 16.
The B West team finished second as they fell to AA South in the championship game, 84-79. Ker led the squad with 27 in the loss while Ross Mangun added 18.
Three players from the two squads picked up All-Tournament selections as Ker and Tanner were named to the First Team while Bigfork's Evan Jordt was an Honorable Mention selection.
