Chiefs fall to 7-11 after 2 losses
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RONAN – It was a tough go for the Ronan Chiefs basketball team last week as they lost to Mission and Columbia Falls, falling to 7-11 overall on the season. Head coach Steve Woll was disappointed with the big loss to the Bulldogs, but thought his boys played well against No. 4 Columbia Falls.
“We got blasted (against Mission),” Woll said. “Things didn’t go too bad against Columbia Falls.”
Against Mission, the Bulldogs were able to break Ronan’s press, which caused big problems for the Chief’s offensive flow.
“The more they broke our press, the more we scrambled and the worse our defense got,” Woll said. “They took it to us.”
Mission jumped out to a 17-11 lead after the opening quarter and stretched its lead to 35-24 lead at the break. Mission remained strong in the second half, as the Bulldogs went on a 20-11 run in the third, eventually coasting to a 69-49 win.
Recent returning starter Chris Clary led the Chiefs with 15 points, while Marcus Hungerford tacked on 11.
For Mission, Nikko Alexander finished with a game-high 17 points, while Stuart Grant added 14. Jarred Smith-Brown capped off the trio of double-digit scorers with 11.
On Friday, the Chiefs put up a good fight against nonconference opponent Columbia Falls at home, where Ronan held the Wildcats to only 50 points, but it wasn’t enough as Columbia Falls pulled out a 50-38 victory.
“We broke their backcourt trap, but their size and length was the difference,” Woll said. “I thought we did a good job handling their pressure. We held them to three points in the third, and got it under 10 points a few times, which was the goal for our defense. We did some really good things.”
The Wildcats jumped out to a 16-7 first-quarter lead, and extended their lead to 31-15 by halftime. The Chiefs came out strong in the second half, holding the Wildcats to only three points to pull within 10. It wasn’t enough, as Columbia Falls pulled out a 50-38 win.
Hungerford and Clary led Ronan with 10 points each, while Brady Oakland added eight.
For Columbia Falls, Jared Trinastich led the way with 10 points, while Parker Johnson tallied nine.
The Chiefs played Mission again on Tuesday in Ronan in the District Tournament play-in game. The winner advances to the District Tournament, which will be held in Hamilton beginning Feb. 17.
SUMMARY
Col. Falls 50, Ronan 38
Col. Falls 16 15 3 16 - 50
Ronan 7 8 9 14 - 38
COLUMBIA FALLS - Ronny Gallegos 2, Ty Morgan 3, Luke Kazlauskas 4, Anthony Correa 7, Parker Johnson 9, Brian Marcille 7, Austin Barth 8, Jared Trinastich 10.
RONAN - Carston Baertsch 2, Edmond Dupuis 2, Marcus Hungerford 10, Robert Faoa 2, Marley Tanner 2, Brady Oakland 8, Chris Clary 10, Jalen Bell 2.
Mission 69, Ronan 49
Mission 17 18 20 14 - 69
Ronan 11 13 11 14 - 49
ST. IGNATIUS - Austin Durglo 9, Paden Alexander 10, Dylan Evans 6, Nikko Alexander 17, Stuart Grant 14, Jarred Smith-Brown 11, Will Powell 2.
RONAN - Edmond Dupuis 4, Robbie Gauthier 1, Marcus Hungerford 11, Marley Tanner 4, Brady Oakland 2, Jalen Bell 1, Carston Baertsch 4, Zach Wagner 2, Robert Faoa 5, Chris Clary 15.
