Hi-Line Boys Roundup: T-Birds, Bears sweep ahead their showdown

After the snow and cold wreaked havoc on local basketball schedules late in 2016, teams from along the Hi-Line got back on the floor this past week, starting as early as Tuesday.

The game played Tuesday featured one of the true power teams in the District 9C, as the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds went head-to-head with Chester-Joplin-Inverness. And the T-Birds, who have been rolling through the 9C, simply looked unstoppable at home against the Hawks, demolishing them by the score of 87-28.

HLP scored 36 points in the first quarter and 60 in the first half as they cruised to victory. Frank Runs Above finished with 22 points, leading all scorers. Tyson Shambo added 15 and Jace Shambo pitched in with 11. Cory Richter scored 15 for the Hawks in defeat.

North Star was also in action Tuesday, as the Knights hosted the Havre Junior Varsity. The Havre JV team jumped ahead early, outscoring the Knights 16-5 in the first quarter. Havre led 25-13 at the half and used a 21-point third quarter to take a commanding lead. The Ponies would eventually win 56-36. Jacob Irvin led the Havre JV's with 13 points. Tanner Parsons also added 10 for Havre. Dylan Miller and Keevan Borlaug each had 13 points in the loss for North Star.

The action with the 9C continued Thursday, as Box Elder played host to Big Sandy. The Bears, who like HLP are unbeaten in the district, remained that way thanks a 91-63 blowout of the Pioneers. Trey Henderson was the top scorer for Box Elder with 25, while Pernell Morsette added 19. Petey Azure Jr. also pitched in with 12. Bryant Jones, who has had a stellar campaign for the Pioneers ended up with 25 points.

Friday, two local teams, Chinook and Harlem went at it, in a renewal of an old Class-B rivalry. The two teams met in Chinook and with the home-court advantage, it was the Sugarbeeters that walked away with the 48-36 victory. Brenden Edwards and Cord Schneider each had 12 points for Chinook, while Wade Schneider pitched in with 10. Corbin Brockie paced the Wildcats with nine.

In 9C play, Box Elder won its second consecutive game, dismantling Fort Benton by the score of 80-36 in Box Elder Friday. The Bears led 15-9 at the end of the first quarter and 35-16 at halftime. But, a 30-poiint third quarter was what blew the game wide open. Morsette led the way for the Bears with a game-high 22 points. Henderson also contributed with 19. Dusty Weiss also reached double figures, scoring 11. Ty Hasbrouck was the high scorer for the Longhorns with 11.

Elsewhere, CJI was on the road for the second straight game and paid a visit to North Star Friday night. However, the Knights proved to be unkind hosts, as they edged out the Hawks for a 53-51 win. Keevan Borlaug put together a 20-point effort to lead the Knights; Dylan Miller added 19. Richter, who played well in the loss, closed the game with 21.

HLP also got another win in district play Friday night, knocking off Turner 93-43. In Class B action that same night, Rocky Boy dropped a close game to Malta 54-49. Yet, despite losing Friday, Rocky Boy held off a late rally from Choteau, to knock off the Bulldogs 81-79. Chase Corcoran scored 23 points on five made 3-pointers for Rocky Boy. Ben Iron Eyes also had 20 and Kordell Small finished with 19.

Harlem also played Saturday night, this time in a District 2B contest with Glasgow. The Wildcats, who lost to Chinook Friday, lost their second game of the weekend, going down to the Scotties 69-44.

Speaking of the Beeters, they did their part to stay in the top-3 of the 9C standings and got a solid road win against Turner by the score of 64-41. Isaac Bell finished with a game-high 23 points in the win for the Beeters. Chinook also got 17 points from Wade Schneider. The Tornadoes were led by Eddie Harmon's 15 points; Tracer Helig added 13.

Chinook ended the week with two solid wins, but HLP added a third to its resume in five days Saturday, beating 9C foe Fort Benton 73-18. Chane Main put forth a stellar outing, getting 22 points in the win. Runs Above added 12.

Big Sandy, which lost to Box Elder Thursday, played host to CJI and the result was the Pioneers first district win of the season, as they knocked off the Hawks 65-55. Richter did all he could to will CJI to victory, scoring 38 points in the loss. Jones scored 26 points for Big Sandy, while Laurence Alderdice contributed with 23.

Tuesday

Hays-Lodge Pole 87, CJI 28

CJI 7 7 10 4 – 28

HLP 36 24 14 13 – 87

CJI – A. Woods 1, S. Richter 3, B. Henke 4, E. Dahinden 3, Cory. Richter 15, T. Wanken 2.

Hays-Lodge Pole – Tyson Shambo 15, Frank Runs Above 21, Chance Main 7, Jace Shambo 11, R. Foote 6, Tough Snow 8, E. Black Crow 3, D. Shamno 9, K. Young 7.

Havre JV 56, North Star 36

North Star 5 8 9 14 – 36

Havre 16 9 21 10 – 56

Havre – Lazarius Windy Boy 4, Tanner Parsons 10, Jacob Irvin 13, Bobby O'Leary 2, Austin Delarosa 6, Tyson Sangrey 4, Trey Murphy 5, Brown 5. Totals: 20, 10-14.

North Star – Dylan Miller 13, Dane Miller 4, Caden Rettig 3, Jimmy Snow 1, Keevan Borlaug 13, Bailey Spicher 2. Totals: 13, 11-15.

3-pointers: Havre 6 (Delarosa 2, Brown 2, Parsons, Irvin) North Star 2 (Miller, Rettig). Fouls: Havre 17, North Star 15. Fouled out -- none.

Thursday

Box Elder 91, Big Sandy 63

Big Sandy 9 21 15 18 – 63

Box Elder 22 31 32 6 -- 91

Big Sandy – Jones 25, Roth 13, B. Prouix 10, Alldedice 12, Louvar 3. Totals: 22 14-26.

Box Elder – Lux Benson Jr. 9, Pernell Morsette 19; Petey Azure Jr. 12, Wyatt Caplette 4, Trey Henderson 25, Dusty Weiss 16, Seth Duran 6. Totals: 38 4-8.

Three point goals – Jones 2, Roth 3, Alldedice 1, Benson Jr. 3, Morsette 2, Azure Jr. 2, Henderson 3, Duran 1. Total fouls – Big Sandy 11, Box Elder 16.

Friday

Chinook 48, Harlem 36

Harlem 14 12 4 6 – 36

Chinook 7 12 13 16 – 48

Harlem: Corbin Brockie 9, Fox 8, Damon Adams 2, Main 2, 3, Cichosz 12. Totals: 15 2-6.

Chinook: Hunter Neibauer 5, Johnson 3, Isaac Bell 6, Edwards 12, Cord Schneider 12, Wade Schneider 10. Totals: 20 3-10.

3-pointers: Brockie 2, Cichosz 2, Edwards 4, Johnson.

North Star 53, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 51

CJI 8 13 18 12 -- 51

North Star 14 14 11 14 -- 53

CJI – Andrew Woods 2, Spencer Richter 9, Evan Dahinden 2, Cory Richter 21, Tyler Wanken 17. Totals: 21 4-7.

North Star – Dylan Miller 19, Cade Chvilicek 2, Devon Miller 6, Jimmy Snow 6, Keevan Borlaug 20. Totals: 18 12-21.

Three point goals – S. Richter 1, C. Richter 3, Wanken 1, Dylan Miller 3, Dane Miller 1, Snow 1. Total fouls – CJI 21, North Star 14.

Box Elder 80, Fort Benton 35

Fort Benton 9 7 10 10 – 36

Box Elder 15 20 30 15 – 80

Fort Benton – Damon Bird 6, Ty Hasbrouck 11, Logan Giles 2, Andy Giles 6, Garret Diekhans 5, Hayden Diekhans 2, Nick Scott 2, Stephen Gannon 2. Totals: 15 4-15.

Box Elder – Pernell Morsette 22, Petey Azure Jr. 8, Chris Burns 3, Leo Johnson 2, Wyatt Caplette 9, Trey Henderson 19, Lane Caplette 2, Dusty Weiss 11, Marlin Dickenson 2, Seth Duran 2. Totals: 35 5-5.

3-pointers – A. Giles, G. Diekhans, Burns, W. Caplette, Henderson 3.

Saturday

Chinook 64, Turner 41

Chinook 17 12 16 19 - 64

Turner 12 11 11 7 - 41

Chinook: T. Hannum 2, Hunter Neibauer 6, Isaac Bell 23, R. Kellam 9, Kyke McMaster 2, Brenden Edwards 5, Wade Schneider 17. Totals: 28 6-12.

Turner: J. Harmon 2, C. Walsh 9, Eddie Harmon 15, S. Kimmel 2, Tracer Heilig 13. Totals: 14 7-13.

3-pointers: Walsh 2, E. Harmon, Heilig 3, Bell, Edwards.

Hays-Lodge Pole 73, Fort Benton 18

FB 2 6 8 2 – 18

HLP 24 17 20 12 – 73

FB – Hasbrouck 5, L. Giles 2, A. Giles 3, G. Diekhans 4, G. Diekhans 4. Totals 5 7-16 18.

HLP – J. Shambo 4, T. Shambo 6, F. Runs Above 12, R. Foote 2, C. Main 22, E. Black Crow 3, K. Young 5, D. Main 6, C. Werk 3, T. Snow 4, M. Ball 6. Totals 34 0-2 73.

3-point goals – A. Giles; Black Crow, Young, Werk, Ball 2. Total fouls – FB 8, HLP 17. Fouled out – none.

Rocky Boy 81, Choteau 79

Rocky Boy 20 26 16 19 -- 81

Choteau 16 12 25 26 -- 79

Rocky Boy – Kordell Small 19, Ben Iron Eyes 20, Jarrell Gopher 4, Chase Corcoran 23, Frankie Bacon 2, Kendal Windy Boy 13. Totals: 33 8-15.

Choteau – Jonathan Moore 9, Trenton Durocher 2, Wyatt Allen 12, Darrien Garcia 41, Sayer Patton 12, Kyler Crabtree 3. Totals: 25 18-24.

Three point goals – Small 1, Iron Eyes 1, Corcoran 5, Moore 1, Allen 2, Garcia 4, Patton 3, Crabtree 1. Total fouls – Rocky Boy 19, Choteau 13. Fouled out – Gopher. Technical fouls – Garrett Yeager.

Big Sandy 65, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 55

CJI 19 12 7 17 – 55

Big Sandy 27 6 14 18 – 65

CJI – A. Woods 2, S. Richter 5, B. Henke 2, E. Dahinden 2, C. Richter 38. Totals 16 20-59 55.

Big Sandy – Jones 26, Roth 11, B. Proulx 5, L. Allderdice 23. Totals 19 20-43 65.

3-point goals – Richter; Jones, Allderdice 3. Total fouls – CJI 22, Big Sandy 21. Fouled out – Henke, T. Wanken; B. Proulx, J. Schwarzbach.