The Northwest Play-in is finally here, with the Ronan and Polson basketball teams fully ready to fight for their spots in the divisional next week. With the season reaching its end for teams all across the state, both Ronan teams picked up wins, while Polson boys and girls dropped two.

Ronan Boys 84, Libby Boys 55

A miraculous season doesn’t end without fanfare. The Ronan boys locked up the first seed in Northwest A in a win on Feb. 21 over Libby.

It was a game the Chiefs had to win, and in a rematch against the league-worst Loggers, it felt like Ronan was bound to triumph.

The Chiefs dominated in this one. Much like their previous matchup against Libby, the offense was flowing and the defense never relented. Ronan put up one of their best scoring totals of the season en route to an 84-55 win.

Many players shown in this game, with Matiya Nenemay scoring 21 points to lead all Chief scorers. Nenemay also crossed the 300-point threshold for the season. Kolby Finley followed that up with 18 points of his own. Jhett McDonald earned 400 points in varsity career scoring in this one as well.

Ronan ends this year with a 10-2 division record and a 15-3 overall record. They have locked up the first seed in Northwest A.

Ronan Girls 55, Libby Girls 28

The Ronan girls had a much-needed win on Feb. 21 to close out the regular season against Libby.

The Maidens were coming off a much-needed win over the rival Polson Lady Pirates, so this game felt like added pressure. Ronan didn’t waver and took an early lead.

The Maidens locked down the Lady Loggers on defense and found a way to win in a game that capped off a strong end to the season.

Ronan ends their regular season at 5-7 in the region and 6-12 overall. That will put the Maidens at sixth in the Northwest A.

Browning Boys 68, Polson Boys 52

The Polson boys are pretty much locked in at the fifth spot in the Northwest A but wins equal momentum heading into the Northwest A play-in. They were unable to manage that on Feb. 21 against Browning.

Browning has been strong all year but Polson played them close in their last matchup. However, Browning was not going to make this one close as they scored well throughout the game.

Polson couldn’t find a rhythm and lost out 68-52. They will fall to 4-7 in the Northwest A and 7-11 overall.

Browning Girls 58, Polson Girls 46

The Lady Pirates lost a tough one on Feb. 21 against Browning that might sink them in the standings if they can’t win this week.

The Lady Pirates played a close one early in the season against Browning but the defensive pressure of many of these opposing teams late in the season has proven too much for Polson.

The offense couldn’t top 50 points in this one as the Lady Indians rolled to a much-needed 58-46 win.

This win puts Polson at 5-7 in the region, falling behind Browning and Ronan to sixth place in the Northwest A standings.

Both Polson boys and girls varsity games against Whitefish were rescheduled to Feb. 24 and scores were not available for the publishing of this issue.

    Polson junior Rylee Taylor-Jefferson goes up for a layup against Libby on Feb. 7 at Linderman Gym in Polson. (Bob Gunderson Photo)