AA playoffs: Bozeman ends C.M. Russell’s season

BOZEMAN – The C.M. Russell High Rustlers dropped a 67-37 decision to the Bozeman Hawks in a playoff game here Tuesday night.

“I thought early on we had some good looks, they just didn’t go down for us,” CMR head coach John Cislo said. “ … Bozeman kind of weathered the storm … They are a good basketball team.”

The play-in game for a berth in the state tournament pitted the No. 3 seed Hawks against the No. 6 seed Rustlers, both out of the Eastern Conference.

Bozeman, which moved to 15-6 overall, now advances to Butte and the Class AA state tournament next week at the Butte Civic Center, which starts March 12. With the win, the Hawks defeated the Rustlers three times in as many tries this season, all in convincing fashion.

As for Russell, its season came to an end, finishing with a 5-16 record overall.

Like he has all season long, junior Karl Tucker II led the offensive attack for Russell. The point guard tied for a game-high 16 points, Andrew Grinde added seven and Trevor Pepin pitched in six.

After a Tucker II jumper in the third quarter, the Rustlers had the ball and a chance to cut a 37-25 deficit to single digits, but a turnover and an Aaron Weidenaar 3-pointer stopped momentum.

The Hawks had four scorers in double figures: Trace Bradshaw (16), Adam Huse (13), Weidenaar (11) and Bennett Hostetler (10).

Trailing 32-17 at halftime, Russell played evenly with the Hawks in the third stanza, but Bozeman, behind a 22-8 fourth quarter, broke the game wide open and led by as many as 31 in the closing stretch.

Wes Holmquist’s team shot 50 percent from the floor, while C.M. Russell High was 29 percent from the field.

Russell loses four seniors to graduation — Yancy Gagne, Jordan Wanner, Zach Johnson and Zach Harper. Cislo, even when his team was struggling throughout the season, always liked the attitude of this group.

“Record wise, it wasn’t a good year,” he said. “But in terms of the people and the character we have, they practiced and worked hard … They were a good group of kids. They are fun to be around, and I will definitely miss these kids here.”