Coyotes wrap up season on home court

The Shelby boys basketball season came to an end last weekend at the divisional tournament after the Coyotes lost to Wolf Point, 63-59, and to Poplar, 63-43.

On Thursday the Coyotes took on the Wolf Point Wolves and had an early first-quarter lead, only to relinquish it by the end of the quarter, when they trailed 17-13. Shelby erased part of the deficit in the second quarter but still trailed 32-29 at the half.

Wolf Point extended their lead by six in the third quarter, but the Coyotes roared back in the fourth, but it was not enough, and the Coyotes fell 63-39.

Kyle McDermott had the hot hand for the Coyotes, scoring 20 points. Trenton Emerson was right behind him with 16; Randon Richman added 12, Hayden Schilling had six, Bryce Lee had three and Kody Standiford added two.

On Friday the Coyotes played the Poplar Indians and came out flat, only scoring six in the first period and giving up 20. The Coyotes battled hard but couldn’t make up for the deficit from the first period and fell to the Indians 63-43.

Emerson dropped another 16 for the Coyotes, McDermott added 14, Richman had 11, Kobe Hooker and Bryce Lee each had one.

“I loved the way we competed against Wolf Point,” Coach Mike White said. “I felt that the kids gave it their all and represented Shelby in the best of ways. A few shots and stops here and there and we would have played Friday night. I was proud of all the kids, from the bench to the floor. I felt the season was successful in many ways, although the wins and losses were balanced, the kids grew a ton. We only had three kids with vast varsity experience, let alone a ton of JV experience. They continued to listen and got better each and every weekend. I look forward to the future. I want to say thank you to our Seniors, Trenton, Bryce, Enrico and Anton, as well as our manager, Caiden. They will be missed and represented Shelby in a manner everyone could be proud of. I also want to thank my coaches, Doug, Tyler and Ryan. We grew as a staff, and I look forward to more growth. I want to thank them for their passion, commitment and most of all their loyalty. Finally, I want to thank my family, we do this together; tackling multiple sports throughout the year is a passion of mine that they let me live, get involved with and let me live it with me.”

Northern B Boys Divisional

March 2-4 at Shelby High School

Thursday, March 2

1 Fairfield 77, 4 Glasgow 34

2 Malta 72, 3 Rocky Boy 48

2 Cut Bank 47, 3 Poplar 43

1 Wolf Point 63, 4 Shelby 59

Friday, March 3

Loser out

3 Rocky Boy 57, 4 Glasgow 55

3 Poplar 63, 4 Shelby 43

Semifinals

2 Malta 66, 1 Fairfield 61

1 Wolf Point 63, 2 Cut Bank 48

Saturday, March 3

Loser out

1 Fairfield 73, 3 Poplar 62

3 Rocky Boy 76, 2 Cut Bank 65

Third place

1 Fairfield 80, 3 Rocky Boy 48

Championship

2 Malta 61, 1 Wolf Point 57

Monday, March 6

Challenge game

1 Wolf Point 67, 1 Fairfield 64

Class B Boys State

March 9-11 at Great Falls

Thursday, March 9

Missoula Loyola vs. Lodge Grass, 9 a.m.

Columbus vs. Wolf Point, 10:30 a.m.

Malta vs. Lame Deer, 3:30 p.m.

Red Lodge vs. Bigfork, 5 p.m.