By George Ferguson/Havre Daily News Sports/gferguson@havredailynews.com
The final weekend of high school boys basketball in January is now in the books. Across the Hi-Line, area teams are making the final push towards the post season.
In District 9C, the Rocky Boy Stars picked up a pair of victories this weekend and are close to wrapping up the regular season title, while KG also picked up a pair of victories to keep its hold on second place.
On Thursday night, the Chinook Sugarbeeters stepped out of District 1B to renew an old rivalry with the Malta Mustangs. The Malta high school gymnasium has always been a difficult place for the Beeters and Thursday was no exception as the Mustangs routed the Beeters, 71-56.
The Mustangs trailed 12-10 at the end of the first quarter, but exploded for 24 points to close out the half and lead 34-30. Malta opened that lead up in the third quarter by holding the Beeters to nine points and then cruised home from there.
John Galt led all scorers with 23 points and the Mustangs also got 20 points from Tyler Sjostrom. The Beeters were paced by Adam Hayes with 14 points and Luke Whitney added 12 in the losing effort.
Thursday night also saw the KG KouGars get their weekend off to a solid start with a hardfought 38-35 win in Sunburst. The contest was close throughout with KG clinging to one and two-point leads. The two teams combined for 26 points in the final stanza, but it was the visiting KouGars who were able to hold off the Refiners in the final minute of the game.
Drew Kapperud poured in 19 points to pace the KouGars in the win. Cody Donoven chipped in with 13 points. The Refiners were led by Nate Aschim with 11 points.
On Friday night, the Rocky Boy Stars took their high scoring act on the road to archrival Box Elder and came away with a huge 93-81 9C win that firmly entrenched the Stars in first place in the conference standings.
The Stars jumped out to an early first-quarter lead, but Box Elder rallied behind the outside shooting of Aaron Henry, Tyler Henry and Chadd Taylor.
With Rocky Boy's Charles Walking Child in foul trouble, the trio of Bears banged home 3-pointer after 3-pointer to pull the Bears back into the contest.
The two teams battled back and forth until the fourth quarter, where Rocky Boy was able to pull away as Jesse Colliflower converted back-to-back 3-point plays and Walking Child scored twice inside as the Stars pushed the lead to 14. The Stars iced the game at the free-throw line down the stretch and shot an impressive 22-31 from the foul-line in the game.
Colliflower led Rocky Boy with 22 points. Also in double figures for the Stars were Nate Rock (14), James Burns (13), Joe Small (12), Walking Child (11) and Ivan Whitford (10).
Aaron Henry led Box Elder with 26 points. Tyler Henry finished with 24 points, including six 3-pointers. Taylor also sank six 3-pointers en route to 20 points.
Meanwhile in Gildford, the KG KouGars made it back-to-back wins with an easy 65-44 win over 9C rival Blue Sky/J-I. The Eagles surprised the KouGars early on, leading 13-6 at the end of the first quarter. But KG ripped off an 18-4 run to close out the half and the Eagles never threatened after that.
Branden Melby and Cody Donoven combined to score 54 of KG's 65 points to lead the KouGars. Melby poured in a career-high 30 points and Donoven added 24. The Eagles got 16 points from Darius Wendland and 13 from Alex Frey in the loss.
In interdistrict action, the Turner Tornadoes fell to the Harlem Wildcat junior varsity team, 76-63. The Wildcats raced out to a 37-27 halftime lead, but Turner climbed back into the contest by scoring 21 points in the third quarter. Harlem was able to then hold the Tornadoes off in the final stanza for the 13-point win.
Turner fell to the Wildcats despite outstanding performances from Dalton Cornell and Emory Hedegaard. Cornell scored 22 points and Hedegaard added 15. The Wildcats got a game-high 27 points from Jeremy Rodney. Charles Rider also chipped in with 10 points.
Friday was also good to the Chester Coyotes as they earned a 55-43 win over 10C rival Dutton-Brady. The Coyotes benefited from a sizzling first half, in which they scored 36 points, while holding the Diamondbacks to 12 points in each of the first two quarters. Chester's defense also played a big role in the second half as Dutton-Brady could never fully erase the halftime deficit.
Zach Ramberg led all scorers with 24 points for Chester while Orrie Gondierro paced the D-Backs with 10 points.
On Saturday night, the Harlem Wildcats were able to continue their recent momentum with a blowout win over former District 2B rival Chinook. The Wildcats broke open a close game in the second quarter en route to an easy 76-37 win.
The Beeters trailed by only four points after the first period, but Harlem outscored Chinook 17-6 in the second quarter to go into the locker room with a 34-19 halftime lead. The Wildcats then erased any hopes of a Chinook comeback by outscoring the Beeters 42-18 in the second half.
Neeko Bigby paced the Wildcats with a game-high 23 points, including four three pointers, and Harlem also got 15 from Monty Snow. Chinook was led by Jordan Lybeck's 10 points. Marty Birky and Luke Whitney added nine points a piece.
In District 9C play, the KG KouGars could not make it three wins in a row as they were knocked off by Hays-Lodge Pole 54-51 in Gildford. The win pulls the Thunderbirds into a tie with KG in the conference standings in second place.
The T-Birds opened the game with a 19-15 lead and the game was tight the rest of the way with neither team able to take a lead of larger than six points.
Robyn Doney paced a balanced Hays-Lodge Pole scoring attack with 13 points, while Delaine Ariwite and Lance Brockie added 12 and 11 points respectively. The KouGars got 21 points from Cody Donoven in the losing effort.
In Turner, the Rocky Boy Stars continued their offensive assault on the conference by blowing out the host Tornadoes 98-56. The Stars scored 52 points in the first half and never looked back en route to the easy victory.
James Burns led five Stars in double figures with 22 points. Charles walking Child also scored 17 points for Rocky Boy. Dalton Cornell again led the way for Turner with a game-high 23 points and Emory Hedegaard added 15,
In interdistrict action Saturday night, the Chester Coyotes picked up their second win of the weekend, this time defeating Blue Sky/-J-I 63-38. The Eagles kept the game close in the first half, trailing 29-23 at intermission. But the Coyotes defense proved to be the difference again in the second half as the Eagles were held to just four points, which ultimately sealed their fate.
Stetson Brown paced a very balanced Chester team offensively with 13 points and Derek Fraser added 10 points. The Eagles got a game-high 19 points from Craig Miller.
Tuesday
Big Sandy 90, Turner 53
No box score available
Thursday
Malta 71, Chinook 56
Chinook 12 18 9 17 - 56
Malta 10 24 17 20 - 71
Chinook - Chad Beck 6, Marty Birky 9, Adam Hayes 14, Tad Darrah 5, Dallas Miller 10, Luke Whitney 12. Totals: 21 13-25.
Malta - Jay Galt 4, Tyler Sjostrom 20, John Galt 23, Bo Stiles 5, Lyndon Matthews 7, Jeremy Azure 8, Scott Lindgren 4. Totals: 26 14-19.
Total fouls - Chinook 19, Malta 24. Fouled out - Sjostrom, Stiles. 3-point goals - Darah, Sjostrom 3, Jo. Galt, Stiles.
KG 38, Sunburst 35
KG 4 11 9 14 - 38
Sunburst 8 5 10 12 - 35
KG - Branden Melby 4, Drew Kapperud 19, Shane Rice 2, Cody Donoven 13. Totals: 13 6-12.
Sunburst - Mitch Diegel 2, Nate Aschim 11, Chris McFadden 3, Matt Tomsheck 4, Shane Somerville 9, Stanton Schulze 6. Totals: 13 5-12.
Total fouls - KG 13, Sunburst 12. Fouled out - Aschim. 3-point goals - Kapperud 5, Donoven, Aschim 2, Somerville 2.
Friday
Chester 55, Dutton-Brady 43
Dutton-Brady 12 12 6 13 - 43
Chester 19 17 10 9 - 55
Dutton-Brady - Orrie Gondeiro 10, Jeff Blanchet 3, Cody Kitchen 8, Donnie Chippewa 6, Nic Wells 10, Travis Hodgson 4, Andrew Bishop 2. Totals: 17 4-7.
Chester - Derek Fraser 3, Isaac VanDyke 6, C. Buffington 1, K. May 4, Zach Ramberg 24, Patrick Wicks 4, S. Brown 13. Totals: 21 9-15.
Total fouls - DB 16, Chester 9. Fouled out - Blanchet, Wells. 3-point goals - Gondeiro 2, Blanchet, Kitchen 2, Fraser, Brown 3.
Harlem JV 76, Turner 63
Turner 10 17 21 15 - 63
Harlem JV 21 16 16 23 - 76
Turner - Dalton Cornell 22, Colin Jones 7, Emory Hedegaard 15, Logan Fouts 4, Chad Jones 6, Garrett Maloney 5, Cale Baldiak 4. Totals: 24 14-20
Harlem JV - Steven Gray Boy 4, Charles Rider 10, Nate Mount 6, Lyle Snow 7, Jeremy Rodney 29, Jeremi Rutherford 6, Myron Ironchild 8, Felix Costello 6. Totals: 30 12-22.
Team fouls - Turner 17, Harlem JV 18. Fouled out - Co. Jones, Fouts. 3-point goals - Hedegaard, Rodney 2, Ironchild 2.
KG 65, Blue Sky/J-I 44
Blue Sky/J-I 13 4 8 19 - 44
KG 6 18 17 24 - 65
Blue Sky/J-I - Josh Beaudry 1, Darius Wendland 16, Craig Miller 9, Alex Frey 13, Brad Peterson 5. Totals: 13 9-16.
KG - Stephen Ramsbacher 4, Branden Melby 30, Drew Kapperud 5, Shane Rice 2, Cody Donoven 24. Totals: 22 19-24.
Team fouls - BS/J-I 19, KG 16. Fouled out - Miller, Kapperud. 3-point goals - Wendland 2, Miller, Kapperud, Donoven.
Rocky Boy 93, Box Elder 81
Rocky Boy 22 14 19 38 - 93
Box Elder 15 18 18 30 - 81
Rocky Boy - Charles Walking Child 11, Jess Colliflower 22, Joe Small 12, Ivan Whitford 10, Nate Rock 14, James Burns 13, A.J. The Boy 9, Bill Watson 2. Totals: 33 22-31.
Box Elder - Tyler Henry 24, Steve Arca 5, Aaron Henry 26, Chad Taylor 20, Dustin Bacon 6. Totals: 30 6-9.
Team fouls - RB 14, BE 18. Fouled out - Arca, Lane LaMere (BE). 3-point goals - Small 2, Whitford 2, Rock, T. Henry 6, A. Henry 3, Taylor 6.
Saturday
Harlem 76, Chinook 37
Chinook 13 6 12 6 - 37
Harlem 17 17 21 21 - 76
Harlem - Craig Adams 6, Neeko Bigby 23, Wilber Bigby 5, Bruce Bird 2, Walter Crantz 8, Lance Iron Child 10, Eddie Moore 7, Monty Snow 15. Totals - 32 5-13
Chinook - Marty Birky 9, Adam Hayes 5, Todd Darrah 1, Dallas Miller 3, Luke Whitney 9, Jordan Lybeck 10. Totals - 13 9-18.
Team Fouls - Harlem 17, Chinook 13. 3-point goals - Neeko Bigby 4, Iron Child, Moore , Snow, Hayes, Whitney.
Rocky Boy 98, Turner 56
Rocky Boy 23 29 22 24 - 98
Turner 6 20 17 13 - 56
Rocky Boy - Charles Walking Child 16, Jess Cauliflower 6, Joe Small 10, A.J. The Boy 5, Nate Rock 16, Ivan Whitford 12, James Burns 22, Marty Watson 7, Bill Watson 2, Ronny Stump 2. Totals 35 4-6.
Turner - Dalton Cornell 23, Colin Jones 8, Emory Hedegaard 15, Logan Fouts 4, Chad Jones 3, Garrett Maloney 2, Cale Baldik 1. Totals 17 20-29.
Team Fouls - Rocky Boy 22, Turner 11. Fouled out - B. Watson. Technicals - Walking Child. 3-point goals - Walking Child 2, The Boy, Rock, Burns 3, M. Watson.
Hays-Lodge Pole 54, KG 51
Hays-Lodge Pole 19 9 8 18 - 54
KG 15 8 9 19 - 51
Hays-Lodge Pole - Garrett Morin 2, Delaine Ariwite 12, William Granados 6, Robyn Doney 13, Cody McCabe 2, Steven Shambo 6, Dwight Flansburg 2, Lance Brockie 11. Totals - 14-4 14-19
KG - Branden Melby 12, Drew Kapperud 11, Shane Rice 7, Cody Donoven 21. Totals - 14-6 5-6
Team fouls - Hays-Lodge Pole 11, KG 16. Fouled out - Rice. 3-point goals - Doney, Shambo 2, Brockie, Melby 2, Kapperud 3, Donoven.
Valier 79, Box Elder 57
Box Elder 8 22 7 20 - 57
Valier 16 19 16 28 - 79
Box Elder - Aaron Henry 27, Chad Taylor 6, Tyler Henry 4, Dustin Bacon 3, Steve Arca 6, Lane LaMere 7, Jayson Hawk 3. Totals - 14-6 11-18
Valier - Tanner Johnson 6, Kyle Jannusch 22, Robby Stokes 29, Jess Trafelet 6, Chris Wright 6, Evan DeBoo 2, DJ Salois 2, Ryne Nelson 6 Totals - 21-5 20-30
Team fouls - Box Elder 26, Valier 17. Fouled out - Taylor, Arca. Technical fouls - Arca. 3-point goals - A Henry 4, Taylor, T Henry, Stokes 3, Trafelet, Wright.
Chester 63, Blue Sky/J-I 38
Chester 17 12 13 21 - 63
Blue Sky/J-I 16 7 4 11 - 38
Chester - Derek Fraser 10, Chase Diemert 2, Isaac VanDyke 4, Casey Buffington 6, Kevin May 7, Callan McKinney 3, Zach Ramberg 9, Shay Richter 1, Patrick Wicks 6, Brice Fenger 2, Stetson Brown 13. Totals - 21-3 12-22.
Blue Sky/J-I - Alex Chvilicek 3, Cody Jurenka 2, Josh Beaudry 2, Darius Wendland 4, Alex Frey 2, Dane Kantorowitz 2, Craig Miller 19, Conrad Wendland 2, Brad Peterson 2. Totals - 14-3 1-9
Team fouls - Chester 14, Blue Sky/J-I 18. Fouled out - none. 3-point goals - McKinney, Brown 2, Chvilicek, Miller 2.
