Chiefs outlast Wildcats

Ronan faces Whitefish in championship game tonight at 8

The Chiefs found their swagger - and a championship-game berth - thanks to an unlikely hero.

Kyle Hendrickx hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in overtime Friday night, and the Ronan High School boys' basketball team edged Columbia Falls 57-53 in semifinal action at the Northwestern A divisional tournament at Glacier High School.

The Chiefs advance to face Whitefish tonight at 8 with a divisional championship and a No. 1 seed in next week's Class A state tournament on the line. The Wildcats head to today's 10:45 a.m. loser-out game against Libby at Flathead High School.

A seldom-used reserve forward on a team full of stars, Hendrickx drained his trey from the right wing with 1:04 left in the extra period. It was the junior's only field goal of the night, and it gave Ronan a lead, 53-51, it would never surrender.

"I see him every day at practice," Ronan coach John Hollow said. "The kid has swagger like you wouldn't believe. He's played probably 10 varsity minutes the whole year, and that's what he does.

"So kudos to him. When you talk about roles, that's what a role kid does. He doesn't cry about it all year, he comes in and makes shots when he needs to. I'm proud of him."

The Chiefs' and Wildcats' standout senior guards provided many of the highlights in a thrilling contest that was too good to settle in regulation.

Columbia Falls' Chase Grilley put back a missed Wildcats free throw with 12.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter, giving the Wildcats a 50-48 lead. It was Columbia Falls' first advantage since the middle of the second quarter.

But Ronan's Moss Tanner promptly answered, forcing overtime by driving down the baseline and knifing his way through a sea of Columbia Falls defenders for a buzzer-beating layup.

Grilley finished with a game-high 20 points, while Tanner scored 19, including 15 in the second half.

Ryon Hesselgesser added 13 points for Ronan, followed by Mike Fisher with seven.

Grant Getts scored 13 points for the Wildcats, and Chase Fairbank tallied nine.

The seesaw affair featured five lead changes. Columbia Falls trailed 13-8 after the first quarter, but went on a 10-3 run to pull ahead 18-16 with 4:10 left in the first half.

Ronan led 23-22 at halftime, but Columbia Falls scored the first point of overtime on a Grilley free throw. Hendrickx followed his 3-pointer with a free throw, giving Ronan a three-point cushion, but a Getts bucket pulled Columbia Falls within one, 54-53, before the Chiefs iced the game with three free throws in the final 20 seconds.

The teams combined for 46 free-throw attempts and 43 fouls, but there was no hint of dirty play in what is quickly becoming a spirited, riveting rivalry. The Chiefs and Wildcats split their regular-season meetings, with each team winning on its home floor.

Columbia Falls (12-7) entered divisionals with a first-round bye, thanks to its No. 2 seed. No. 3 Ronan (14-5), however, survived an opening-round tilt with Bigfork on Thursday, less than a week after the Vikings beat the Chiefs for their first conference victory in two years.

"We have not played good the last three weeks," Hollow said. "This win means a helluva lot more for what we've gone through the last couple weeks than I can ever describe. I'm so proud of our kids."

Defending divisional champion and No. 4 seed Whitefish reached tonight's title game with a 44-37 victory over No. 1 Polson in Friday's other semifinal. The Chiefs swept two regular-season meetings with the Bulldogs by a combined five points.

Ronan 13 10 16 11 7 - 57

Columbia Falls 8 14 13 15 3 - 53

RONAN (14-5) - Moss Tanner 7 4-5 19, Mike Fisher 2 2-3 7, Ryon Hesselgesser 4 5-7 13, Makenzy Kelch 2 0-1 4, Jordan St. Clair 0 2-4 2, Eddie Ness 1 0-0 3, Nolan Harris 1 2-3 5, Kyle Hendrickx 1 1-2 4. Totals 18 16-25 57.

COLUMBIA FALLS (12-7) - Chase Fairbank 3 3-5 9, Cody Bowman 0 2-2 2, Zane Ridings 0 1-2 1, Mackey Nolan 2 0-1 4, Chase Grilley 6 7-9 20, Mitchell Wassam 2 0-0 4, Grant Getts 5 2-2 13. Totals 18 15-21 53.

3-point goals - Ron. 5 (Tanner, Fisher, Ness, Harris, Hendrickx), CF 2 (Grilley, Getts). Total fouls - Ron. 20, CF 23. Fouled out - Fisher, Kelch.

Whitefish 44, Polson 37

Whitefish battled back from an 11-2 early deficit to knock off Polson, the tournament's top seed.

The semifinal contest was tied at 20-all at the half and the Bulldogs took a 35-26 advantage into the final eight minutes.

"I figured it might be that way," Whitefish coach Eric Stang said of the low score.

"Just because of the style they play, and it's tournament time."

Stang said David FauntLeRoy did a great job defensively for the Bulldogs.

Colt Idol and Shawn Watterud led Whitefish offensively with 18 and 12 points, respectively.

John Rausch paced Polson with nine.

"We got good production out of a lot of people," Stang said.

"We had a great team win. The kids are playing really well right now, playing with a lot of confidence."

Polson falls into loser-out action today.

Whitefish 10 10 15 9 - 44

Polson 11 9 6 11 - 37

Whitefish (12-8) - Matt Whitehead 3 2-3 9, Aaron Tkachyk 1 1-2 3, Shawn Watterud 3 4-7 12, Colt Idol 6 4-4 18, David FauntLeRoy 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 11-16 44.

Polson (10-9) - Craig Bagnell 3 0-0 7, John Rausch 3 2-3 9, Waylon Michel 3 0-0 6, Tim Rausch 2 0-0 4, Ryan Kelley 3 1-2 7, Zach Langston 1 2-4 4. Totals: 15 5-9 37.

3-point goals: Whitehead, Watterud (2), Idol (2); Bagnell, J. Rausch; Team fouls: Whitefish 14, Polson 14; Fouled out: J. Rausch.