Hi-Line Boys Roundup: Winter disrupts high school hoops

It was a wild weekend of high school basketball and the craziness had nothing to do with what happened on the court and everything to do with freezing temperatures and inclement weather.

Due to the snow and the sub-zero temperatures, many games along the Hi-Line that were supposed to be played, were postponed. It started with Rocky Boy and Conrad calling things off Thursday night and continued Friday, when Box Elder and Chester-Joplin-Inverness postponed their games, along with Turner and North Star. There were also numerous postponements Saturday, too.

Yet Friday night in Chinook, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and the Sugarbeeters did battle in a critical early-season matchup of District 9C teams. HLP, which started the season with a win over Harlem and a loss to last year’s Class C runner-up, showed why they are considered a favorite in the 9C, as they steamrolled the Beeters at home 84-50.

Thanks to a pair of 3-pointers to open the game by Frank Runs Above, the T-Birds jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and held a 19-9 advantage at the end of the first quarter. By halftime, the lead was 43-25. Chinook never really challenged in the second half, as HLP cruised to the big win to open conference play.

“This was a big win for us,” HLP head coach Derek Shambo said. “It’s always hard to win on the road in our conference, so for us to come out and play the way that we did, was great. I was really proud of our team. I think they are just starting to understand the kinds of things we are capable of achieving this season.”

In the only other 9C game of the night Friday, the Fort Benton Longhorns also put together an impressive 64-32 road win in Big Sandy. The Longhorns got their second win of the season thanks to an outstanding 31-point performance from Garrett Diekhans. Fort Benton also got 15 points in the win from Andy Giles. The Pioneers got a team-high 15 from Laurence Alderdice in defeat.

Saturday, the Box Elder Bears and North Star Knights both returned to action after seeing games canceled Friday, as the two teams met in Rudyard. Early on, the Knights hung with the Bears, the four-time district champs, and at the end of the first quarter, North Star led 20-18. The Knights even led at the half 33-32. But in the second half. Box Elder outscored North Star 35-14 and went on to win 67-47.

Pernell Morsette went off for the Bears, finishing with a game-high 32 points. Pete Azure Jr. added 14 for Box Elder, while Trey Henderson had eight. Devon Miller poured in 28 for North Star. Keevan Borlaug also had 15 for the Knights.

Following its loss Friday night at home, Chinook paid a visit to Big Sandy Saturday and bounced back in a big way, defeating the Pioneers 74-38. The Beeters opened the game on a 19-5 run and never looked back. Isaac Bell paced the Beeters with 22 points, while Wade Schneider and Brendan Edwards both contributed with 10. Alderdice had 10 for the Pioneers.

Turner, another team that didn’t play Friday, resumed action Saturday, playing host to Fort Benton and in a game that went down to the wire, it was the Longhorns, who pulled away late, winning 70-64.

The Tornadoes, who got 25 points from Eddie Harmon and 18 points from Cody Welsh put up a fight and trailed by just one entering the final stanza. Yet, another big game from Diekhans, who scored 22 for the Longhorns, helped Fort Benton prevail. Ty Hasbrouck added 15 for the Longhorns, while Andy Giles had 13.

There will be a number of 9C and local teams in action in the coming days, as teams play their final games before the Holiday break this week.

Friday

Fort Benton 64, Big Sandy 62

FB 9 9 14 32 – 64

BS 11 8 16 27 – 62

FB – Damon Bird 7, Ty Hasbrock 7, Andy Giles 15, Garrett Diekhans 31, J. Dimsla 2, S. Gannon 4. Totals 25 14-25 64.

BS – Geyer 1, Strutz 2, Allderdice 15, Roth 6, Jones 38. Totals 23 10-24 62.

3-point goals – Allderdice 2, Roth, Jones 3; Giles 2. Total fouls – BS 19, FB 20. Fouled out – Proulx.

Saturday

Box Elder 67, North Star 47

Box Elder 18 14 17 18 – 67

North Star 20 13 5 9 – 47

Box Elder – Lux Benson Jr. 2, Pernell Morsette 32, Pete Azure Jr. 14, Trey Henderson 8, Lane Capette 5, Dusty Weiss 6. Totals: 27 10-15.

North Star – Dylan Miller 4, Devon Miller 28, Keevan Borlaug 15. Totals: 19 8-16.

3-pointers –Morsette, Azure Jr., Caplette, Borlaug.

Chinook 74, Big Sandy 38

Chinook 19 17 24 14 – 74

Big Sandy 5 14 10 9 – 38

Chinook: T. Hansen 7, Hunter Neibauer 7, Isaac Bell 22, James Christensen 5, Kyle McMaster 4, Brendan Edwards 10, Cord Schneider 9, Wade Schneider 10. Totals: 28 4-11.

Big Sandy: Allderdice 10, Proulx 2, Roth 9, Jones 17. Totals: 10 17-24.

3-pointers: Hansen, Neibauer, Edwards, Allderdice

Fort Benton 60, Turner 54

Turner 11 11 18 14 – 54

Ft. Benton 8 22 9 21 – 60

Turner – Jack Harmon 2, Cody Welsh 18, Eddie Harmon 25, Shane Kimmel 5, Tacer Heilig 4. Totals: 19 12-18,

Fort Benton – Damon Bird 4, Ty Hasbrouck 15, Logan Giles 8, Andy Giles 13, Garrett Diekhans 20. Totals: 24 11-20.

3-pointers – Welsh, E. Harmon, Kimmel, A. Giles.