Butte Central hangs on to beat Ronan
BILLINGS - After a heartbreaking defeat to open the Class A state tournament, the Chiefs could only wonder.
What if they hadn't committed a flurry of early fouls, putting the Maroons in the double bonus early in the second quarter? What if their team leader and most potent weapon was on the floor for more than half of the game? And what if their final 3-point heave had traveled just a few inches further?
The Ronan High School boys' basketball team lost a 46-43 first-round thriller to Butte Central on Thursday afternoon, nearly completing an unlikely late rally despite a cloud of adversity.
Senior guard Moss Tanner, the Chiefs' top scorer and rebounder and Northwestern A's assists leader, played just 16 minutes before fouling out with 1:14 left in the contest. He finished with nine points, five rebounds and four steals, but sat out the entire second quarter and much of the third after picking up his third foul late in the first frame.
Ronan initially struggled in Tanner's absence, scoring only four points in the second quarter after leading three times in an 11-11 opening stanza. The Maroons went 9-for-11 at the free-throw line in the first half to lead 22-15 at the break despite shooting 6-for-18 from the field.
The Chiefs, led by 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals by junior forward Nolan Harris, used a 15-10 third quarter to pull with two points, 32-30, after three quarters before the Maroons opened the fourth quarter with an 11-4 spurt, building their largest lead of the game at 43-34.
But Ronan (16-6), which stormed through last week's Northwestern A divisional tournament to earn the conference's top seed at state, didn't go quietly.
Senior Ryon Hesselgesser scored five points during a 9-2 Chiefs run that pulled Ronan within two points, 45-43, with 25.6 seconds remaining.
The Central A regular-season champion Maroons (19-3), who went 3-for-9 from the foul line in the second half, missed three free throws in the final 41 seconds, including one by senior guard Matt Ritter that would have given Butte Central a four-point cushion with 3.2 seconds to go. The Chiefs corralled that rebound, but Mike Fisher's buzzer-beating bomb bounced off the front of the rim from just inside half court.
Ronan heads to today's 12:30 p.m. loser-our contest against defending state champion Dillon (17-4), while Butte Central faces Billings Central (9-13) in today's 6:30 p.m. semifinals.
The Chiefs shot 41.7 percent in the second half, but it wasn't enough to overcome their first-half foul disparity. Butte Central was in the single bonus late in the first quarter, while Ronan went 2-for-4 from the charity stripe in the first half.
"We put ourselves in that predicament," Ronan coach John Hollow said. "We were fouling when we didn't need to foul.
"We weren't rotating the extra step to take a charge, instead we were trying to block the shots. That was frustrating because we haven't done that lately."
Ronan hit 46.7 percent of its 2-pointers, but went 2-for-16 from beyond the arc. Harris put the Chiefs up 3-0 with his first-quarter trey, and Tanner announced his return by opening the second half with a 3-pointer that pulled Ronan within four points at 22-18.
"We did not feel comfortable at halftime at all with that lead because we knew (Tanner) was going to come out and make plays," Maroons coach Brodie Kelly said, "and then in the first possession in the second half, he knocks down a 3. We were definitely worried about that."
The Chiefs were narrowly out-rebounded, 33-32, and shot 34.8 percent from the field compared to 41.0 percent for the Maroons. Six-foot-1 junior Tanner Neumann had a monster game for Butte Central with 11 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals. Senior guard Zack Bair and Ritter scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"You won't see a better defensive team out there than we played tonight," Hollow said. "I knew coming in that they could defend body-on-body - that they were going to get in our jocks and play good man-to-man.
"We just couldn't bounce off. When we'd get open looks, for the most part, we'd him 'em. It's hard to get open looks against their man-to-man."
That Ronan stayed in the game despite such trying circumstances was remarkable for a team that went 0-19 just two years ago. Fisher and senior point guard Jordan St. Clair scored six points apiece, while Hesselgesser finished with seven. Senior Makenzy Kelch grabbed a team-high six boards before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
"All year we've had different kids step up and do different things that they needed to do," Hollow said. "Hesselgesser came off the bench and had a good game. Jordan St. Clair really picked up his leadership role and did a nice job of handling the point.
"Just every time we'd make a little run at them, they'd answer back with a bucket. It's hard to say we didn't really play good defensively when you only give up 46 points, but we gave up a lot of easy looks that we usually don't give up."
A Butte Central graduate, Hollow and Kelly coached middle school basketball together about 10 years ago.
"John and I probably have a lot of similar philosophies, and he does a nice job with … his players' strengths," Kelly said. "You've got to give them a ton of credit - they wouldn't go away.
"When we were up nine in the fourth quarter, I thought we had it in hand, but they didn't ever go away."
Hollow said Ronan, which can still reach Saturday's consolation game, must avoid foul trouble today while trying to reestablish its offensive rhythm.
"This thing isn't over," Hollow said. "It's disappointing now, but we can still play for third and fourth.
"So that means our objective now isn't what we came down here to do, but we've worked too hard to come down here and not come out ready to play tomorrow. I hope that message is loud and clear with the kids."
The Chiefs appear to be on the same determined page.
"We're not done yet," Harris said. "We're not done at all.
"I think we can bounce back, win the rest of our games and take home a trophy."
Butte Central 11 11 10 14 - 46
Ronan 11 4 15 13 - 43
BUTTE CENTRAL (19-3) - Zack Bair 5-8 1-2 11, Matt Boyle 0-3 4-5 4, Matt Ritter 2-6 4-7 10, Tanner Neumann 5-11 1-3 11, Casey Norbeck 4-8 0-1 8, Jonathan Richards 0-0 2-2 2, Andy Ritter 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 16-39 12-20 46.
RONAN (16-6) - Moss Tanner 4-8 0-2 9, Mike Fisher 2-5 2-2 6, Ryon Hesselgesser 3-6 1-2 7, Makenzy Kelch 0-4 0-0 0, Jordan St. Clair 3-10 0-0 6, Micah Lee 0-1 0-0 0, Eddie Ness 0-1 2-4 2, Nolan Harris 4-11 4-5 13. Totals 16-46 9-15 43.
3-point goals - BC 2-13 (M. Ritter 2-4, Boyle 0-3, Neumann 0-2, Norbeck 0-3, A. Ritter 0-1), Ron. 2-16 (Tanner 1-2, Harris 1-6, Fisher 0-3, Kelch 0-1, St. Clair 0-2, Lee 0-1, Ness 0-1). Rebounds - BC 33 (Neumann 10, Bair 7, M. Ritter 7, Norbeck 4, Boyle 2, A. Ritter, team 2), Ron. 32 (Kelch 6, Tanner 5, Fisher 5, Harris 5, St. Clair 3, Hesselgesser 3, Kyle Hendrickx 2, team 3). Assists - BC 12 (Neumann 5, Norbeck 3, M. Ritter 2, Bair, A. Ritter), Ron 8 (Harris 3, Fisher, Kelch, St. Clair). Blocks - BC 4 (Neumann 4), Ron. 0. Steals - BC 5 (Neumann 2, Bair, Norbeck, A. Ritter), Ron. 8 (Tanner 4, Harris 3, St. Clair). Turnovers - BC 17, Ron. 15. Total fouls - BC 17, Ron. 21. Fouled out - Tanner, Kelch.