By George Ferguson/Havre Daily News Sports/gferguson@havredailynews.com
As quickly as the 2004 portion of the Montana high school boys basketball season began, it will come to an end this week. Here's a look back at the full week of games across the Hi-Line.
On Thursday night, the Harlem Wildcats ran into a buzzsaw in the Poplar Indians. The Indians scored 44 first-half points and held the usually potent Harlem offense to just two points in the first quarter and 17 for the half en route to a 68-54 District 2B win.
Harlem did manage to claw its way back into the game in the second half by outscoring Poplar 37-24, but never got within single digits.
Harlem was paced by Eddie Moore with 11 points and Will Bigby and Lance Ironchild added nine apiece. The Indians got a game-high 14 points from Griffin Ricker as 10 players got into the scoring column.
In Turner, the host Tornadoes were blown out by the visiting Whitewater Penguins 80-45. The Penguins led 36-17 at halftime and never looked back on their way to an easy nonconference road win.
Turner was led by Dalton Cornell and Lance Hedegaard in the loss. Both players scored 10 points. Whitewater got 20 points apiece from Kalvin Reichelt and Roman Morris.
On Friday night the Chinook Sugarbeeters' early season woes continued as they were downed by visiting Cut Bank 73-38. The Wolves jumped out to a quick 23-8 lead in the first quarter and their defense held the Beeters to 17 first-half points. Cut Bank also reeled off 23 points in the fourth quarter to erase any hopes of a Chinook comeback.
Marty Birky was the only Beeter to reach double figures with 10 points. Chad Beck chipped in eight points in the losing effort.
The District 10C Chester Coyotes stepped up in class on Friday night but came up short in a 67-63 loss to the Class B Fort Benton Longhorns.
Trailing 20-12 at the end of the first quarter, the Coyotes rallied to grab a 31-30 lead at intermission. The game seesawed back in forth in the second half, but the Longhorns were able to take control in the final minutes of the contest.
Zach Ramberg scored a game-high 22 points to pace the Coyotes in the loss. Chester also got 14 points from Isaac VanDyke and 11 from Kevin May. Ben Witt led four Longhorns in double figures with 16 points.
In District 9C action on Friday, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds earned an important conference win at home, defeating KG 71-56.
The T-Birds used a 25-point outburst in the second quarter to grab a 39-30 halftime lead. From there the T-Birds' defense clamped down on the KouGars in the second half en route to the win.
Hays-Lodge Pole was paced by Robyn Doney's 20 points and another 18 from Michael Gray. All of Gray's points came form beyond the three-point line. The KouGars were led by Drew Kapperud's game-high 25 points, which included seven triples. Cody Donovan chipped in with 20 points in the losing effort.
In Rocky Boy, the host Stars picked up a big nonconference win over the talented Highwood Mountaineers, 73-57. The Stars trailed 31-25 at halftime, but then they outscored Highwood 48-26 in the second half on their way to the come-from-behind win.
The Stars' comeback was sparked by Charles Walking Child's game-high 26 points. Nate Rock also added 16 points in the win. Brent Bahnmiller paced the Mountaineers with 21 points.
The Blue Sky/J-I Eagles dropped a nonconference, 71-52 decision to Sunburst on Friday night. The Eagles trailed Sunburst 38-33 at halftime. The Refiners started the second half off by outscoring the Eagles 17-6 in the third period to put the contest out of reach.
The Eagles were paced by Craig Miller's game-high 24 points. But they had no answer for the Refiners' offense which saw four players reach double figures led by Stanton Schultz's 20 points.
On Saturday night, the Harlem Wildcats' difficult weekend got a little tougher as they suffered a District 2B blowout loss in Glasgow. The Scotties outscored Harlem 18-7 in the first quarter and also used a 20-7 run in the final stanza to close the door on Harlem in a 57-35 win.
The Scotties also benefited from a scintillating performance by Mike Southern. Southern poured in a game-high 23 points, including five three-pointers. Harlem got a team-high seven points apiece from Lance Ironchild and Craig Adams.
In Shelby,the host Shelby Coyotes grabbed a 32-16 halftime lead and then withstood a late Chinook charge to upend the Beeters, 66-53. The Beeters actually trailed 48-21 heading into the final stanza after being held to just five points in the second and third periods. They made the Coyotes sweat out the fourth quarter by scoring 26 points in the final eight minutes, but eventually they ran out of time and could not complete the comeback.
Marty Birky once again paced the Beeters with a game-high 22 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Adam Hayes, Jordan Lybeck and Luke Whitney each chipped in nine points in the losing effort.
In District 9C play Saturday night, the KG KouGars rebounded from their loss to Hays-Lodge Pole by riding Cody Donoven's career high 43 points in a 65-51 win over Box Elder.
Donoven's monsterous scoring night came without any three-point field goals and offset a fabulous night from Bears' guard Chad Taylor. Taylor scored a team-high 20 points, including five three-pointers and Aaron Henry added 15 points in the loss.
The Rocky Boy Stars managed to keep their undefeated start to this season intact on Saturday with a 51-43 win over 9C rival Hays-Lodge Pole. The game featured the two teams that are expected to vie for a 9C crown this season.
Rocky Boy trailed 13-9 at the end of the first quarter, but they wrestled the lead away from the T-Birds midway through the second period and never trailed again. The win over Hays-Lodge Pole puts the Stars in the early season drivers seat in the district race.
Upton Whitford scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Stars in the win, and A.J. The Boy chipped in 10 points as well. The Thunderbirds were led by Lance Brockie's 14 points.
In Big Sandy, the host Pioneers also rebounded from a loss on Friday night by drubbing the Blue Sky/J-I Eagles 84-53. The Pioneers scored 24 points in each of the first two periods and tacked on another 20 points in the third quarter to easily run away from the Eagles.
Karl Osterman led four Big Sandy players in double-digits with 20 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Lawrence Jappe added 15 points for Big Sandy, while Craig Miller scored a game-high 27 points for the Eagles.
Thursday
Poplar 68, Harlem 54
Poplar 18 26 12 12 - 68
Harlem 2 15 16 21 - 54
Poplar - Arthur Chapman 9, Wyatt Atkinson 4, Jake Riediger 1, Steve Barr 6, Kyle Four Bear 9, Brandon Lezard 6, Griffin Ricker 14, Scott Smoker 7, Jessie Daniels 5, Mitchell Lovan 7.
Harlem - Craig Adams 4, Neeko Bigby 5, Vance Bigby 3, Will Bigby 9, Bruce Byrd 5, Walter Crantz 6, Lance Ironchild 9, Eddie Moore 11, Monty Snow 2.
Total fouls - Poplar 21, Harlem 25. Fouled out - Chapman. Three point goals - Ricker 2, Daniels, W. Bigby, Byrd, Ironchild, Moore.
Whitewater 80, Turner 45
Whitewater 19 17 26 18 - 80
Turner 6 11 15 13 - 45
Whitewater - Roman Morris 19, Mark Lageson 4, Jake Geer 2, Shade Stiles 9, Kalvin Reichelt 20, Trevor Chistman 5, Jaren Stiles 9, Dakota Taylor 10, Kolby Messerly 2.
Turner - Dalton Cornell 10, Colin Jones 7, Emory Hedegaard 10, Logan Fouts 2, Chad Jones 9, Garrett Maloney 7.
Friday
Cut Bank 73, Chinook 38
Cut Bank 23 13 14 23 - 73
Chinook 8 9 11 10 - 38
Cut Bank - Cash Coleman 2, Jeff Larson 12, Matt Stuart 8, Kyle Lewis 12, Craig Smith 14, Matt Welchel 10, Jake Armstrong 7, Andrew Brown 6.
Chinook - Chad Beck 8, Marty Birky 10, Adam Hayes 6, Taylor Tollefson 2, Luke Whitney 7, Jordan Lybeck 3.
Total fouls - Cut Bank 18, Chinook 16. Fouled out - Brown. Three point goals - Larson 2, Stuart, Tollefson.
Fort Benton 67, Chester 63
Fort Benton 20 10 16 19 - 67
Chester 12 19 15 17 - 63
Fort Benton - Ben Witt 16, Steve Wilson 10, Bryant Shaw 12, Logan Ledgerwood 4, Brandon Utterback 9, Brett Rittland 10, Eddie Fultz 4.
Chester - Isaac VanDyke 14, Casey Buffington 4, Kevin May 11, Zach Ramberg 22, Patrick Wicks 4, Brice Fenger 8.
Total fouls - Fort Benton 16, Chester 13. Fouled out - Rittland. Three point goals - Wasson 2, Shaw, Ramberg 4.
Dodson 77, Turner 62
Dodson 13 23 19 22 - 77
Turner 12 16 19 15 - 62
Dodson - Blake Boschee 6, Phillip De Celles 6, Matthew Dolphay 11, Frank Webb 2, William De Celles 27, Mitchell Dolphay 2, Clayton Kill Eagle 21, Derek Gunn 2.
Turner - Dalton Cornell 17, Colin Jones 9, Emory Hedegaard 14, Logan Fouts 4, Chad Jones 11, Garrett Maloney 3, Kale Baldik 4.
Hays-Lodge Pole 71, KG 56
KG 17 13 13 13 - 56
Hays-Lodge Pole 14 25 12 18 - 71
KG - Branden Melby 7, Drew Kapperud 25, Shane Rice 4, Cody Donovan 20.
Hays-Lodge Pole - Steven Shambo 6, Delaine Ariwite 14, Lance Brockie 6, Dwight Flansburg 3, Robyn Doney 20, Michael Gray 18, Mike Werk 4.
Total fouls - KG 12, Hays-Lodge Pole 12. Fouled out - Melby. Three point goals - Kapperud 7, Flansburg, Doney, Gray 6.
Rocky Boy 73, Highwood 57
Highwood 15 16 16 10 - 57
Rocky Boy 12 13 20 28 - 73
Highwood - Reed Edwards 7, Tanner Ripley 7, David Schips 10, Joey Semanski 6, Brian Davison 6, Brent Bahnmiller 21.
Rocky Boy - A.J. The Boy 2, Upton Whitford 6, Marty Watson 5, Charles Walking Child 26, Joe Small 9, Ivan Whitford 9, Nate Rock 16.
Total fouls - Highwood 12, Rocky Boy 15. Fouled out - I. Whitford. Three point goals - Ripley, Schips, Davison, Bahnmiller, Watson, Small 2, I. Whitford, Rock.
Sunburst 71, Blue Sky/J-I 52
Sunburst - Nate Aschim 14, Mitch Diegel 2, Todd Fleisher 4, Matt Tomschek 19, Shane Somerville, Stanton Schultz 20.
Blue Sky/J-I - Conrad Wendland 7, Darius Wendland 14, Alex Frey 6, Craig Miller 24, Adam Chivilicek 1.
Total fouls - Sunburst 18, Blue Sky/J-I 17. Fouled out - none. Three point goals - D. Wendland, Miller, Aschim, Tomschek 2, Somerville.
Box Elder 73, Big Sandy 68
Big Sandy 17 9 19 23 - 68
Box Elder 19 20 9 25 - 73
Big Sandy - Devin Genereux 17, Justin Willis 16, Kyle Danreuther 13, Chris LaBuda 10, John Sheehy 2, Lawrence Jappe 6, Carl Osterman 2.
Box Elder - Steve Arca 8, Dustin Bacon 27, Tyler Henry 20, Chad Taylor 6, Aaron Henry 6, Donnie Top Sky 5.
Total fouls - Big Sandy 21, Box Elder 21. Fouled out - Jappe, Arca, Taylor. Three point goals - Genereux 2, Willis, LaBuda 2, Jappe, T. Henry, Taylor.
Saturday
Shelby 66, Chinook 53
Chinook 11 5 5 26 - 53
Shelby 14 18 16 18 - 66
Chinook - Marty Birky 22, Adam Hayes 9, Taylor Tollefson 1, Tad Darrah 3, Luke Whitney 9, Jordan Lybeck 9.
Shelby - Nate Mayernik 12, Zach Mayernik 11, Bryan Moore 3, Jordan Weishar 15, Shane Clark 6, Trey Wanty 6, Mick Irvin 6, Derek Sisk 7.
Total fouls - Chinook 20, Shelby 16, Fouled out - Whitney. Three point goals - Z. Mayernik 2, Clark, Birky 2, Darrah, Whitney.
Glasgow 57, Harlem 35
Harlem 7 15 6 7 - 35
Glasgow 18 12 7 20 - 57
Harlem - Craig Adams 7, Neeko Bigby 5, Will Bigby 2, Wilson Black Elk 4, Wally Crantz 3, Lance Ironchild 7, Eddie Moore 3, Monty Snow 4.
Glasgow - Seth Combo 3, Jesse McIntyre 9, Johnny Eintmen 6, Levi Clampett 4, Dan Brandt 4, Mike Southern 23, Nate Barstad 8.
Total fouls - Harlem 13, Glasgow 8. Fouled out - none. Three point goals - Adams, N. Bigby, Crantz, Ironchild, Moore, Combo, McIntyre, Southern 5.
KG 65, Box Elder 51
Box Elder 10 14 6 21 - 51
KG 18 11 17 19 - 65
Box Elder - Steve Arca 10, Dustin Bacon 4, Aaron Henry 15, Chad Taylor 20, Tyler Henry 2.
KG - Shawn Hanson 2, Branden Melby 8, Drew Kapperud 6, Shane Rice 6, Cody Donoven 43.
Total fouls - Box Elder 20, KG 20. Fouled out - Arca, Melby. Three point goals - Bacon, A. Henry, Taylor 5.
Big Sandy 84, Blue Sky/J-I 53
Blue Sky/J-I 10 12 17 14 - 53
Big Sandy 24 24 20 16 - 84
Blue Sky/J-I - Dane Kantorowitz 5, Darius Wendland 10, Conrad Wendland 3, Alex Frey 4, Craig Miller 27, Alex Chivilicek 4.
Big Sandy - Devin Genereux 12, Justin Willis 5, Kyle Danreuther 6, Kyle Little 1, Chris LaBuda 17, Lawrence Jappe 17, Carl Osterman 20, Darin Ray 4, Jon Sheehy 4.
Total fouls - Blue Sky/J-I 19, Big Sandy 25. Fouled out - Genereux, Sheehy. Three point goals - Miller, Osterman 2, Jappe 2, Willis, Genereux.
Rocky Boy 51, Hays-Lodge Pole 43
Hays-Lodge Pole 13 5 14 11 - 43
Rocky Boy 9 11 19 12 - 51
Hays-Lodge Pole - Delaine Ariwite 9, Lance Brockie 14, Dwight Flansburg 9, Robyn Doney 7, Michael Gray 4.
Rocky Boy - A.J. The Boy 10, Upton Whitford 19, Charles Walking Child 7, Joe Small 6, Ivan Whitford 4, Nate Rock 5.
Total fouls - Hays-Lodge Pole 20, Rocky Boy 11. Fouled out - Doney. Three point goals - Ariwite, Flansburg, Doney, Small 2, U. Whitford.
