By George Ferguson/Havre Daily News Sports/gferguson@havredailynews.com
With the holiday season behind us and bitter cold weather heading towards the Hi-Line, high school boys basketball returned to action this weekend with the first full slate of games in 2005.
On Friday night, the Chinook Sugarbeeters could not nail down their second win of the season as they fell to District 2B Glasgow, 61-53. Chinook got the contest off to a solid start, jumping out to a 15-11 lead after the first quarter. But the Scotties responded by going on a 15-6 run to close out the half, trailing by just one point, 27-26.
Glasgow then came out like gangbusters in the third quarter, scoring 20 points and holding the Beeter offense to just eight. The Scotties then held Chinook off in the fourth period for the eight point margin of victory.
Marty Birky led all scorers with 17 points, while Adam Hayes and Luke Whitney chipped in with 11 and 10 points respectively for Chinook. Seth Combs led the Scotties with a team-high 15 points.
In District 9C action, the Box Elder Bears cruised to a 70-48 win over the Blue Sky/J-I Eagles in Box Elder on Friday night. The Bears led by just two points at the end of the first quarter, but they were able to open up a 35-24 lead by halftime. Box Elder then used a 22-13 run in the final stanza to put the Eagles away for good.
Four players reached double figures for Box Elder led by Steve Arca's game-high 20 points. Aaron Henry added 13 points, while Tyler Henry and Chad Taylor chipped in with 12 points apiece. The Eagles got 17 points from Craig Miller and 16 points from Alex Frey in the loss.
In Hays, the host Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds got their 2005 off to a rousing start by blowing out Turner, 84-42. The T-Birds opened and closed the game with runs of 25-9 en route to doubling up the Tornadoes.
Hays-Lodge Pole had five players reach double figures in scoring led by Robyn Doney's 17 points. Dwight Flansburg also poured in 14 points for the T-Birds. Turner got a game-high 18 points from Emory Hedegaard and Chad Jones added 11 points.
The Rocky Boy Stars also opened up the 2005 portion of their schedule just the way they ended 2004 - with a big win. Rocky Boy scored 33 points in the first quarter Friday night en route to running away from host Big Sandy, 96-67. The Stars led 53-40 at halftime and then outscored the Pioneers 23-11 in the third quarter to pull away for good.
Charles Walking Child and Nate Rock paced the Stars with 27 and 20 points, respectively. Big Sandy got 17 points from Lawrence Jappe and 13 points from Justin Willis in the losing effort.
In Chester, the KG KouGars used a strong defensive effort to knock off visiting Chester 45-40 in a matchup of 9C and 10C schools.
The game was close throughout with KG clinging to a 27-22 halftime lead. The KouGars put the clamps down on Chester in the second half, holding the Coyotes to just seven points in the third quarter. Chester outscored KG 11-8 in the final stanza, but could not get any closer than the final margin.
Cody Donoven led all scorers with 18 points. Drew Kapperud also added 15 points, including three three-pointers. Chester was paced by Patrick Wicks' team-high 12 points.
In Class B action Saturday night, the Fairfield Eagles drubbed Chinook 85-50 in a District 1B matchup. The Eagles raced out to a 25-11 first quarter lead and widened the gap to 22 points at halftime, 45-23. Chinook's offense continued to struggle in the second half as it managed just nine points in the third quarter.
Chinook's leading scorer Marty Birky once again led the Beeters with 22 points. Aaron Barnett paced the Eagles offense with a team-high 21 points.
The Harlem Wildcats got their season back on track on Saturday night as they survived a scare in Wolf Point in District 2B play. The Wildcats outlasted the Wolves 49-47.
Harlem jumped ahead of the Wolves early, leading 16-8. But that lead shrunk to just three points at halftime, 25-22. The game was close throughout the second half, but the Wildcats were able to hold off the Wolves in the waning minutes of the contest.
Wally Crantz paced Harlem with 11 points and Rick Haluszka and Eddie Moore chipped in with 10 points each. The Wolves were led by Brock Copenhauer's game-high 14 points.
In District 9C action Saturday night, the KG KouGars made it back-to-back wins with a 64-33 route of the host Turner Tornadoes. The KouGars defense once again played a huge role as Turner struggled to score throughout the contest. KG outscored Turner 21-7 in the first quarter and was never really threatened after that.
District 9C's leading scorer, Cody Donoven, led all scorers with 27 points. Sophomore Branden Melby added 15 points for KG. The Tornadoes got 11 points from Colin Jones in the losing effort.
In interdistrict action Saturday night, the Box Elder Bears dropped a heartbreaking overtime game to the Sunburst Refiners, 79-77.
Trailing 35-30 at halftime and 47-43 heading into the fourth quarter, the Bears finally caught up to Sunburst, outscoring the Refiners 22-18 in the fourth quarter to force overtime. But Tyler Henry, Steve Arca and Chad Taylor all fouled out near the end of the contest and the Refiners drilled a shot late in the extra period to earn the two-point win.
The teams combined to make 18 three-pointers in the game with Sunburst's Nate Aschim connecting on six of them. Aschim scored a game-high 25 points in the win. Taylor led Box Elder with 20 points, including four treys. Both Tyler Henry and Aaron Henry connected on three three-pointers apiece in the loss.
In Big Sandy the Chester Coyotes rebounded from their loss at KG on Friday night, by holding off the host Pioneers, 58-50. The Coyotes used an 18-11 run in the third period to grab a 40-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The two team's combined to score 38 points in the final eight minutes of the game, but Chester was able to hold on for the eight-point victory.
Zach Ramberg scored 19 points to lead Chester in the win. Isaac VanDyke also chipped in with 16 points. Kyle Danreuther led Big Sandy with 12 points, while Chris LaBuda and Karl Osterman added 10 points a piece.
In Frazer, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds destroyed the Frazer Bear Cubs 106-52. The T-Birds scored 34 points in the opening quarter and never looked back en route to the easy nonconference win.
The T-Birds were paced by Lance Brockie's game-high 30 points. Hays also got 24 points from Delaine Ariwite and 15 points from Dwight Flansburg.
The Blue Sky/J-I Eagles also continued to struggle on Saturday night as they fell at home 59-42 to the Valier Panthers. Valier broke open a 24-21 game in the third quarter by outscoring the Eagles 19-6.
The Eagles were paced by Darius Wendland's 16 points. Wendland also connected on three three-pointers. The Panthers got 19 points a piece from Ryan Nelson and Kyle Jannusch in the victory.
Friday
Glasgow 61, Chinook 53
Glasgow 11 15 20 15 - 61
Chinook 15 12 8 18 - 53
Glasgow - Seth Combs 15, Jesse McIntyre 9, Nasavi Vaina 2, Johnny Eastman 3, Michael Southern 8, Brady Smith 10, Nate Barstad 14.
Chinook - Chad Beck 8, Mart Birky 17, Adam Hayes 11, Taylor Tollefson 1, Luke Whitney 10, Jordan Lybeck 7.
Three-point goals - Combs, McIntyre, Eastman, Southern, Birky 2. Total fouls - Glasgow 21, Chinook 12. Fouled out - none.
Box Elder 70, Blue Sky/J-I 48
Blue Sky/J-I 19 6 10 13 - 48
Box Elder 21 14 13 22 - 70
Blue Sky/J-I - Alex Chivilicek 4, Darius Wendland 11, Craig Miller 17, Alex Frey 16.
Box Elder - Tyler Henry 12, Aaron Henry 13, Steve Arca 20, Dustin Bacon 7, Chad Taylor 12, Lane Lamere 2. Donnie Top Sky 2, Steven Morsette 2.
Three-point goals - Wendland 2, Miller, T. Henry 2, A. Henry, Taylor 2. Total fouls - Blue Sky/J-I 10, Box Elder 19. Fouled out - none.
Hays-Lodge Pole 84, Turner 42
Turner 9 14 10 9 - 42
Hays-Lodge Pole 25 11 23 25 - 84
Turner - Dalton Cornell 5, Emory Hedegaard 18, Logan Fouts 2, Chad Jones 11, Garrett Maloney 6.
Hays-Lodge Pole - Steven Shambo 5, Garrett Morin 2, Robyn Doney 17, Delaine Ariwite 12, Lance Brockie 12, Cody McCabe 2, William Granandos 12, Mike Werk 8, Dwight Flansburg 14.
Three-point goals - Cornell, Shambo, Doney Ariwite, Flansburg. Total fouls - Turner 8, Hays-Lodge Pole 12. Fouled out - none.
KG 45, Chester 40
Chester 13 9 7 11 - 40
KG 14 13 10 8 - 45
Chester - Casey Buffington 8, Kevin May 9, Zach Ramberg 6, Patrick Wicks 12, Brice Fenger 2, Isaac VanDyke 2.
KG - Branden Melby 4, Drew Kapperud 15, Shane Rice 8, Cody Donoven 18.
Three-point goals - Wicks, Kapperud 3. Total fouls Chester 10, KG 8. Fouled out - Rice.
Rocky Boy 96, Big Sandy 67
Rocky Boy 33 20 23 20 - 96
Big Sandy 22 18 11 16 - 67
Rocky Boy - A.J. The Boy 9, Upton Whitford 7, Charles Walking Child 27, Joe Small 8, Bill Watson 9, Ivan Whitford 20, Kyle Standing Rock 2.
Big Sandy - Devin Genereux 11, Justin Willis 13, Kyle Danreuther 5, Kyle Little 2, Chris LaBuda 5, Lawrence Jappe 17, Karl Osterman 10, Darrin Ray 2, John Sheehy 2.
Three-point goals - The Boy, U. Whitford, Small 2, Genereux, Willis, LaBuda, Jappe 2. Total fouls - Rocky Boy 12, Big Sandy 8. Technical fouls - Rocky Boy. Fouled out - none.
Saturday
Fairfield 85, Chinook 50
Chinook 11 12 9 18 - 50
Fairfield 25 20 19 21 - 85
Chinook - Chad Beck 4, Marty Birky 22, Adam Hayes 9, Tad Darrah 5, Luke Whitney 4, Jordan Lybeck 6.
Fairfield - Brad Anderson 4, Kellen Palmer 7, McKay Pearson 20, Cotton Hardin 9, Colby Kinna 8, Jesse Jenkins 4, Matt Schmitt 10, Jordan Ratliff 8, Nat McWilliams 6, Andrew Zier 2, Aaron Bennett 21.
Three-point goals - Birky 3, Darrah, Pearson, Kinna 2, Ratliff 2, McWilliams. Total fouls - Chinook 10, Fairfield 16. Fouled out - none. Technical fouls - Palmer.
Harlem 49, Wolf Point 47
Harlem 16 9 8 16 - 49
Wolf Point 8 14 12 13 - 47
Harlem - Neeko Bigby 5, Monty Snow 4, Craig Adams 4, Eddie Moore 10, Lance Ironchild 3, Will Bigby 2, Rick Haluszka 10, Wally Crantz 11.
Wolf Point - Jed Loucks 11, Brad Bates 2, Brandon Solheim 6, Jordan Stafne 9, Rick Copenhauer 14, Joey Olsen 5.
Three-point goals - N. Bigby, Snow, Ironchild, Locks, Loendorf, Copenhauer 2. Total fouls - Harlem 20, Wolf point 19. Fouled out - Olsen.
KG 64, Turner 33
KG 21 12 19 12 - 64
Turner 7 8 4 14 - 33
KG - Stephen Ramsbacher 4, Branden Melby 16, Drew Kapperud 10, Shane Rice 10, Cody Donoven 27.
Turner - Dalton Cornell 8, Colin Jones 11, Logan Fouts 5, Chad Jones 6, Garrett Maloney 2.
Three-point goals - Kapperud. Total fouls - KG 18, Turner 17. Fouled out - Hedegaard.
Sunburst 79, Box Elder 77 (OT)
Box Elder 14 16 13 22 12 - 77
Sunburst 16 19 12 18 14 - 79
Box Elder - Tyler Henry 17, Aaron Henry 16, Dustin bacon 7, Steve Arca 6, Chad Taylor 20, Lane Lamere 4, Jaron Raining Bird 4.
Sunburst - Nate Aschim 25, Chris McFadden 7, Mitch Diegel 6, Matt Tomscheck 11, Shane Somerville 7, Jake Roark 7, Stanton Schulze 16.
Three-point goals - T. Henry 3, A. Henry 3, Taylor 4, Aschim 6, Somerville 2. Total fouls - Box Elder 31, Sunburst 19. Fouled out - T. Henry, Arca, Taylor, McFadden, Diegal. Technical fouls - A. Henry.
Chester 58, Big Sandy 50
Chester 10 12 18 18 - 58
Big Sandy 11 8 11 20 - 50
Chester - Isaac VanDyke 16, Casey Buffington 9, Kevin May 6, Zach Ramberg 19, Patrick Wicks 4, Stetson Brown 4.
Big Sandy - Devin Genereux 9, Justin Willis 7, Kyle Danreuther 12, Chris LaBuda 10, Lawrence Jappe 2, Karl Osterman 10.
Total fouls - Chester 17, Big Sandy 17. Fouled out - Wicks, Genereux. Three-point goals - Genereux, Willis LaBuda 2.
Hays-Lodge Pole 106, Frazer 52
Hays-Lodge Pole 34 20 31 21 - 106
Frazer 14 10 14 14 - 52
Hays-Lodge Pole - Steven Shambo 5, Robyn Doney 6, Delaine Ariwite 24, Lance Brockie 30, Cody McCabe 6, William Granados 13, Mike Werk 2, Dwight Flansburg 15.
Frazer - Brandon Standing 5, Jeffrey Follet 18, Floyd Ackerman Jr. 5, Brice Jackson 4, Peter Stump 20.
Three-point goals - Morin, McCabe, Granados, Werk, Standing, Follet 4, Ackerman. Total fouls - Hays-Lodge Pole 12, Frazer 12. Fouled out - none.
Valier 59, Blue Sky/J-I 42
Valier 8 16 19 16 - 59
Blue Sky/J-I 6 15 6 15 - 42
Valier - Kyle Jannusch 19, Robby Stokes 15, Chris Wright 2, D.J. Salois 4, Ryan Nelson 19.
Blue Sky/J-I - Cody Jurenka 2, Conrad Wendland 4, Alex Chivilicek 7, Dane Kantorowitz 3, Craig Miller 8, Brad Peterson 2, Darius Wendland 16.
Three-point goals - Jannusch, Stokes 2, Kantorowitz, D. Wendland 3. Total fouls - Blue Sky/J-I 18, Valier 17. Fouled out - Jannusch.
