CORVALLIS - With three players already among the top ten scorers

in the Northwestern A conference, it's easy to say that Ronan had a

prolific offense this weekend at the Tip-off Tournament in Hamilton

and Corvallis.

CORVALLIS - With three players already among the top ten scorers in the Northwestern A conference, it's easy to say that Ronan had a prolific offense this weekend at the Tip-off Tournament in Hamilton and Corvallis.

However, don't forget about the defense.

"Our best offense is our defense," head coach Steve Woll said. "Our kids kind of feed off of it."

In their Friday game against Anaconda, the Chiefs stumped the Copperheads in the first quarter, holding them to just five points while Ronan scored 21 en route to a 78-40 victory.

"I think we were pretty much like everyone else," Woll said. "You could tell it was the first weekend."

Ronan finished their game against Anaconda with a 25-point fourth and again put the stops on defensively, surrendering just six to the Copperheads. The offensive stars in the game

for the Chiefs were seniors Lucas Black, who scored 18, and J.J. Tanner, who added 10.

Woll said he thought that Black was the most consistent this weekend, along with senior Jackson Jore, who may not have gotten the points in the box score but played great on the other end.

"I think he did a great job defensively," Woll said. "He played pretty well. Everybody kind of had their own times but Jackson and Lucas were the most consistent this weekend."

Ronan had a tighter game on Tuesday, as the Chiefs found themselves down 30-21 at halftime against Corvallis.

"We have been talking about having the poise of a veteran team," Woll said. "We went through our growing pains last year."

Behind a 23-point performance by senior Kevin Wroblewski, the Chiefs climbed back into things and pulled to

within 38-45 and then used a 24-point fourth quarter to outscore the Blue Devils by 13 and secure the victory.

Tanner added 15 points in the game while senior Justin Dusty Bull and Black added 9 apiece.

Woll said he also liked the rebound effort of his team against the Southwestern A conference teams.

"I think they had energy," Woll said. "They played hard."

With their offensive output this season, Wroblewski is ranked fifth in the conference in scoring with 16 points per

game, Black is sixth with 13.5 ppg, and Tanner is seventh

with 12.5.

Meanwhile, the Northwestern A Conference went 8-2 against the Southwestern A Conference in the tip-off tournament.

"They're is going to be a lot of teams to look out for about

midseason," Woll said of the Southwestern A conference. "Our conference did well."

Ronan will have two homes games this weekend, and a

roadtrip to Bigfork on Monday.

"They're definitely going to be a challenge for us," Woll said.

On Friday, Ronan will host Hamilton, a team that is coming off two loses to Bigfork, 41-32, and Columbia Falls,

66-47 in the tip-off tournament. The team went 10-12 last

season with a 5-5 conference record.

"Hamilton is much improved and we'll have our hands

full," Woll said.

On Saturday, the Chiefs will play their Mission Valley rival, Mission, who went 2-0 over the weekend.

"They're going to zone us up and pressure us," Woll said.

Then it's on the road to Bigfork on Saturday. The Vikings

are definitely no slouches in Class B as they went 15-4 last

season and was undefeated at 7-0 in the conference. They

already walloped Anaconda 81-46 this season.

"We just got to find out what kind of challenges that

brings us before the Christmas break," Woll said. "‘Tis the

season."

Friday's game

Ronan - 21 - 14 - 18 - 25 - 78

Anaconda - 5 - 22 - 7 - 6 - 40

Chiefs scoring - Lucas Black 18, Jarod Tanner 10, Kevin Wroblewski 9, Robert Gauthier 8, Justin Dusty Bull 8, Gordan North Piegan III 6, Marcus Hungerford 5, Brady Oakland 5,

Robert Fana 4, Marley Tanner 3, Edmond Dupie 2

Saturday's game

Corvallis - 17 - 13 - 15 - 11 - 56

Ronan - 8 - 13 - 17 - 24 - 62

Chiefs scoring - Kevin Wroblewski 23, Jarod Tanner 15, Justin Dusty Bull 9, Lucas Black 9, Brady Oakland 4, Marcus Hungerford