STANDING TALL

In the end, the Horsemen left no doubt; they were the best boys basketball team in District 14C this season, going out and proving it at the District 14C tournament in Ronan last week.

Completing an unbeaten campaign against conference foes, coach Tyrel Allen's Plains Horsemen took down Sanders County rival Hot Springs 70-46 in the semifinals Friday and then stared down St. Regis 55-45 in the 14C chipper Saturday night to claim the 2019-2020 14C championship.

Accustomed to playing night games after winning the 14C tourney, Allen and the Horsemen look to be late night warriors again this week at the Western C divisional tournament in Frenchtown, opening the tourney against Gardiner at 8 p.m. Thursday.

If the Horsemen win that game, they will advance into a Friday night semifinal against the winner of the Darby-Harrison/Willow Creek game at 8 p.m.

The Horsemen made Allen a happy man in the end in Ronan.

"The kids took advantage of the opportunity, of the position we put ourselves in by winning the regular season title," he said. "Now we look forward to seeing what we can do on a little larger stage."

Although individual scoring from the game was not available, the Horsemen managed to defeat Hot Springs a third time this season in the semifinals, and then took control of Saturday's championship game with St. Regis by winning the third quarter 18-6, turning what had been a 20-20 game at halftime and making that a 38-26 Plains lead heading into the fourth.

The Tigers reportedly lined up at half-court at halftime and stared down the Horsemen as they retook the floor for the second half. The Horsemen took the intimidation tactic in stride and moved to the big win anyway.

"I think the biggest thing was that we started executing better, especially on the offensive end," Allen said. "We calmed down and got into our sets and made a few defensive tweaks, and things started going our way."

Senior Treydon Brouillette led the Horsemen to the 14C championship win with 18 points and nine rebounds, Kade Pardee was good for 12 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, Esvin Reyes added nine points, Nathan Feliksa six, Parker Flock and Jake Weyers four each and Tristan Subatch two.

St. Regis, which will play Manhattan Christian in the first round of the Western C, received 11 points form Nick Day, eight from Tanner Day, seven each from Caleb Ball and Andrew Sanford, five from Adam Ball and one from John Pruitt.

Allen likes the slot the Horsemen are in for the Western C tournament.

"We have a good road to success if we take care of business," he said. "Gardiner is an athletic team but we feel like we can match up pretty well with any team in the tournament."

The Horsemen improved to 17-3 for the season with their 14C title run, including a 12-0 mark against conference opponents.

As always, if you cannot attend the tournament, the Horsemen games can be followed on andersonbroadcasting.com and/or through the Plains School website.