Ronan (16-5) scored a 60-53 victory Saturday over Whitefish in the Northwestern A divisional championship game to punch its card to state.
Whitefish (12-9) must defeat Columbia Falls in a challenge game Monday at 6 p.m. to earn its way to the state tourney.
Ronan 60, Whitefish 53
Moss Tanner led the Chiefs to victory in the championship.
Tanner used a 10-for-13 effort from the foul line and ended with a team-leading 23 points. Nolan Harris sank four buckets from 3-point range and had 16 points for Ronan.
The Chiefs sprinted to a 13-point halftime lead before Whitefish chipped away in the second half.
The Bulldogs were paced by Colt Idol, who led all scorers with 26 points.
Championship
Whitefish 10 10 16 17 - 53
Ronan 19 14 12 15 - 60
WHITEFISH - Matt Whitehead 4 0-0 8, Aaron Tkachyk 2 0-2 4, Shawn Watterud 3 0-1 6, Josh Backer 1 2-2 4, Colt Idol 9 6-7 26, Jake Smith 1 0-0 2, David FauntLeRoy 1 1-2 3. Totals 21 9-14 53.
RONAN - Moss Tanner 6 10-13 23, Mike Fisher 3 2-2 9, Ryon Hesselgesser 2 2-3 6, Jordan St. Clair 0 3-4 3, Eddie Ness 1 0-0 3, Nolan Harris 6 0-1 16. Totals 18 17-23 60.
3-point goals - Whitefish 2 (Idol 2), Ronan 7 (Harris 4, Tanner, Fisher, Ness). Total fouls - Whitefish 18, Ronan 17. Fouled out - St. Clair.
Columbia Falls 48, Polson 42
Chase Fairbank had a big night to lead Columbia Falls to the consolation game win.
Fairbank netted a game-high 20 points and Grant Getts added nine for the Wildcats, who entered intermission down by five.
Aaron Clairmont hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points for Polson, which finished the season at 11-10.
Consolation
Col. Falls 11 10 14 13 - 48
Polson 17 9 6 10 - 42
COLUMBIA FALLS - Chase Fairbank 0 0-2 0, Cody Bowman 1 0-0 2, Zane Ridings 2 1-2 7, Mackey Nolan 3 0-0 6, Chase Grilley 9 2-3 20, Mitchell Wassam 2 0-0 4, Grant Getts 4 0-0 9. Totals 21 3-7 48.
POLSON - Craig Bagnell 2 0-0 5, John Rausch 2 0-0 5, Waylon Michel 0 0-1 0, Tim Rausch 1 4-7 6, Aaron Clairmont 5 0-0 14, Ryan Kelley 1 2-2 4, Zach Langston 3 2-2 8. Totals 14 8-12 42.
3-point goals - Columbia Falls 3 (Ridings 2, Getts), Polson 6 (Clairmont 4, Bagnell, J. Rausch). Total fouls - Columbia Falls 11, Polson 15. Fouled out - none.
Polson 48, Bigfork 40
The tournament's top seed advanced to the consolation championship with the help of Clairmont's hot hand.
Clairmont collected all three of the Pirates' 3-pointers and scored a team-high 13 points.
Polson, which made 19-of-35 free throws, committed just 10 fouls and allowed Bigfork to get to the line just four times.
Roland Benedict scored 11 to lead the Vikings. They finished 6-14.
Loser out
Bigfork 11 9 5 15 - 40
Polson 16 11 7 14 - 48
BIGFORK - Ben Sandry 2 0-0 4, Scott Taylor 0 2-2 2, Roland Benedict 5 0-0 11, Garrett Pewe 2 1-2 5, Brock Boll 4 0-0 8, Levi Dockstader 3 0-0 8, Keenan Evans 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 3-4 40.
POLSON - Craig Bagnell 0 2-2 2, John Rausch 0 5-6 5, Waylon Michel 1 0-3 2, Cody Doyle 2 0-0 4, Tim Rausch 2 4-6 8, Aaron Clairmont 4 2-2 13, Ryan Kelley 1 5-10 7, Zach Langston 3 1-6 7. Totals: 13 19-35 48.
3-point goals - Bigfork 3 (Dockstader 2, Benedict), Polson 3 (Clairmont 3). Total fouls - Bigfork 26, Polson 10. Fouled out - Taylor, Dockstader.
Columbia Falls 65, Libby 44
Chase Grilley and Getts helped lift the Wildcats to the loser-out victory.
Grilley sank seven buckets from the field and was perfect in four attempts from the foul line to pace Columbia Falls with 19 points. Getts was 9 of 10 from the charity stripe and scored 18.
A 15-8 run in the third quarter helped the Wildcats extend their two-point lead at halftime before they scored 24 in the fourth to seal the win.
Libby, which closed at 9-11, received a team-leading 13 points from Jim Mee.
Loser out
Col. Falls 12 14 15 24 - 65
Libby 10 14 8 12 - 44
COLUMBIA FALLS - Chase Fairbank 3 0-1 6, Cody Bowman 1 0-0 2, Zane Ridings 1 0-0 2, Mackey Nolan 4 0-0 8, Chase Meyer 1 0-0 2, Austin Robbins 0 1-2 1, Chase Grilley 7 4-4 19, Mitchell Wassam 2 2-4 6, Grant Getts 4 9-10 18, Michael Williams 0 1-2 1. Totals 23 17-23 65.
LIBBY - Zack Rowan 2 1-2 5, Jim Mee 5 1-2 13, Joel Fuller 4 1-3 9, Colton Cannon 1 0-0 2, Bryan Cooper 3 2-2 9, Kelly May 1 0-0 2, Jordan Gragert 2 0-1 4. Totals 18 5-10 44.
3-point goals - Columbia Falls 2 (Grilley, Getts), Libby 3 (Mee 2, Cooper). Total fouls - Columbia Falls 12, Libby 29. Fouled out - Rowan, Cooper.
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