The Class C boys and Class A boys had already met once during the 26th Annual Hi-Line Tournament, making the hype of the championship game well worth the wait.
Thursday through Saturday, the HIT was held at the Montana State University-Northern Armory Gymnasium in Havre. And with some of the top prep boys talent from the Class A, Class AA, Class B and Class C in attendance, the tourname
nt proved once again, to display some of the most exciting games the Hi-Line sees all season long.
This year, it was the Class C squad taking down the Class A squad 104-103 in the championship game on Saturday night.
Other scores included Class A defeating Class AA 97-95 and the Class C defeating the Class B 125-114 on Thursday. And on Friday, the Class AA defeated the Class B 121-110, while the Class A defeated the Class B 104-101. On Saturday the Class C defeated the Class AA 121-120, and in the consolation game, the Class AA defeated the Class B 111-99.
On the road to the chipper, the Class A boys were previously undefeated on the weekend, including a solid, 102-92 win over the Class C on Friday. But the one loss didn’t detour the Class C boys, as they used the final seconds of the championship game to take down the favored Class A team.
North Stars’ Jordy Donoven sparked the Class C boys late, but they were still battling from behind. Havre’s Logan Connor knocked down a three-pointer with 20 second on the clock to narrow the Class C lead to just one point. And clutch free throws on the ensuing Class A possession by Justin Davis (Browning) gave the Class A the 103-102 lead. But with six second left to play, the
Class C’s Chance Muretta (Stanford-Geyser) drove the length of the floor to be fouled with one-tenth of a second left to play. Muretta knocked down both free throws and gave the Class C the narrow, one point victory.
Chad Kananen led the Class C with 25 points, while Muretta added 23 and Paulo Giacomelli added 18. Donoven also pitched in 18 points.
For the Class A, it was Chevy Reed leading the way with 22 points, while Connor dropped 17 and Josh Schultz added 15. Wes Knox also pitched in 15.
And being named to the All Tournament Team was Keegan McCarthy of Butte Central, Quin McQueary of Manhattan, Tanner Hupka of Manhattan, Joey Marzion of C.M. Russell, Knox of Dillon, Dylan Tatarka of Great Falls High, Murietta of Stanford-Geyser, Giacomelli of Power, Chad Kananen of Roy-Winifred and Russ Morin of C.M. Russell.
The MVP was awarded to Morin. And winning the 3-point contest was Trace Brady of Fairfield, while Knox was named the slam dunk champion. Mr. Hustle was given to Matt Fuhrman of Billings Skyview, and the rebound leader was Morrin, and the assist leader was Jace Anderson of Saco-Whitewater.
THURSDAY
Class A boys 97, Class AA boys 95
A Boys – Wes Knox 21, Josh Schultz 17, Ryan Sullivan 14, Jesse Sims 13, Marcus Payne 12, Keegan McCarthy 10
AA Boys – Joey Marzion 28, Dylan Tatarka 24, Russ Morin 22, Matt Furman 10
C Boys 125, B Boys 114
C Boys - Dylan Woodhall 23, Chad Kananen 23, Jace Anderson 22.
B Boys - Tanner Hupka 32, Quinn McQueary 30, Kendall Denham 15.
FRIDAY
A Boys 102, C Boys 92
A Boys - Ryan Sullivan 21, Keegan McCarthy 18, Chevy Reed 16, Wes Knox 16.
C Boys - Jordy Donovan 19, Jace Anderson 18, Paulo Giacomelli 12.
AA Boys 121, B Boys 110
AA Boys - Joey Marzion 33, Russ Morin 32, Dylan Tatarka 28.
B Boys - Quinn McQueary 30, Tanner Hupka 21, Gavin DeJong 14, Trace Brady 14.
A Boys 104, B Boys 101
A Boys - Keegan McCarthy 26, Wes Knox 15, Ryan Sullivan 13.
B Boys - Quinn McQueary 29, Kendall Denham 17, Trace Brady 12.
SATURDAY
C Boys 121, AA Boys 120
C Boys - Chad Kananen 31, Paulo Giacomelli 26, Chance Muretta 22.
AA Boys - Dylan Tatarka 31, Russ Morin 30, Joey Marzion 30
Consolation
AA Boys 111, B Boys 99
AA Boys - Joey Marzion 30, Russ Morin 22, Kooper Kidgell 15.
B Boys - Tanner Hupka 32, Trace Brady 28, Gavin DeJong 11.
Championship game
C Boys 104, A Boys 103
C Boys - Chad Kananen 25, Chance Muretta 23, Paulo Giacomelli 18, Jordan Donoven 18.
A Boys - Chevy Reed 22, Logan Connor 17, Josh Schultz 15, Wes Knox 15.
