Strong start
Chiefs win 2 to open season
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HAMILTON - Wins come in all shapes and sizes. That was the lesson the Chiefs learned this weekend as they picked up a pair of wins at the Northwest vs. Southwest Tip-Off tournament to start the season.
After picking up a 38-point blowout win over Anaconda to open the tournament in Corvallis Friday, the Chiefs needed a fourth-quarter comeback and an offensive explosion from Kevin Wroblewski to get past Corvallis in Hamilton Saturday.
While head coach Steve Woll said he is happy with the wins, he says he thinks his team still has a lot of work to do.
“I thought that, like everyone else, you could tell that it was our first weekend playing. All of the teams were pretty shaky,” he said. “We were not very smooth, offensively. We didn’t have great rotations on defense. It was a typical first weekend. The difference is that last year we were 0-2 at this point, and now we are 2-0.”
The season could not have gotten off to a much better start than it did against Anaconda Friday as 11 of the 12 Chief players scored in a 78-40 rout of the Copperheads.
Ronan opened the contest on a roll, building a 22-5 lead after one quarter of play. The Chiefs had a bit of a letdown in the second quarter, though, as the Copperheads came storming back to cut the Ronan lead to just 35-27 at halftime.
“I was not a happy camper. I figured that if we were going to play that way, fouling and giving up layups, then the kids were going to have to figure it out for themselves,” Woll said. “With that in mind, I did my Phil Jackson impression and didn’t call any timeouts. Then we went on a little run in the third quarter and that pretty much broke Anaconda’s back.”
Ronan put the game away in the second half, outscoring Anaconda 43-13 over the final 16 minutes of play to pull away for the lopsided win.
Lucas Black led the way for the Chiefs in the win with 18 points while J.J. Tanner added 10 more. Wroblewski scored nine and added seven rebounds and three assists in the win. Justin Dustybull and Robby Gautier each scored eight. Gordon North Piegan III scored six, Brady Oakland scored five and added a team-high eight rebounds, Marcus Hungerford had five points, seven rebounds and four assists, Robert Faoa had four points, Marley Tanner added three and Edmond Dupuis scored two points in the win.
Things were not quite so easy for the Chiefs in the second game of the tournament Saturday as they trailed by as many as 16 against Corvallis. Ronan trailed by seven heading into the fourth quarter, but Wroblewski came up big with 15 fourth-quarter points to lead the Chiefs to a 62-56 victory.
“I was disappointed in our first half, but we gutted it out in the second half and found a way to win,” Woll said. “It wasn’t pretty but hustle, effort and digging down deep got us the win.”
Ronan fell behind early in the contest as shots were not falling for the Chiefs. Corvallis built a 17-8 advantage after one quarter of play and led 30-21 at the half.
“We couldn’t hit anything in the first half. Shots that kids usually make just weren’t going down for us,” Woll said. “We talked about that a little at halftime. I told them that if we could just make our layups and uncontested shots, we would be right back in it.”
Ronan was able to cut the Corvallis lead to 45-38 heading into the fourth quarter.
Then Wroblewski and the Chief defense took over. A half-court trapping defense forced the Blue Devils into several turnovers that that the Chiefs were able to take advantage of in the final eight minutes of the game.
The Chiefs were able to close the gap and tie the game at 50 on a pair of free throws by Jackson Jore with 3:23 to play before Hungerford gave the Chiefs their first lead with a layup moments later.
A three from Wroblewski helped seal the deal late in the game as Wroblewski scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the final frame.
“Kevin had a huge fourth quarter for us,” Woll said about Wroblewski’s performance. “He couldn’t hardly hit the rim in the first quarter, though. I’m glad he came alive when he did.”
Wroblewski also added a team-high seven rebounds in the win while J.J. Tanner ended the game with 15 points despite battling foul trouble throughout the contest. Dustybull and Black each added nine points, Oakland had four and Hungerford added two points, four rebounds and four assists.
Woll said he was happy to leave the tournament with two wins, but said it was strange getting them in such different ways.
“I thought we did some pretty good things on the first day. We came out with a lot of energy,” he said. “In contrast, I thought we were very flat Saturday against Corvallis. That game was pretty ugly, to be honest with you.”
The Chiefs continue the season this week as they play at home against Hamilton Friday before hosting Mission Saturday.
Ronan 62, Corvallis 56
Ronan8131724-62
Corvallis17131511-56
RONAN - Wroblewski 23, Tanner 15, Black 9, Dustybull 9, Oakland 4, Hungerford 2.
CORVALLIS - Anderson 18, Henderson 16, Landis 7, Connors 6, Connolly 6, Zdralek 3.
Ronan 78, Anaconda 40
Ronan21141825-78
Anaconda52276 - 40
RONAN - Black 18, J. Tanner 10, Wroblewski 9, Gauthier 8, Dustybull 8, Piegan III 6, Hungerford 5, Oakland 5, Faoa 4, M. Tanner 3, Dupuis 2.
ANACONDA - Wagner 15, Moore 14, Cook 8, Green 2, Allick 1.
