Chester continues winning ways

All of the area Hi-Line teams returned to action this weekend in boys basketball. And in District 2B, 9C and 10C, the conference races are beginning to heat up.

On Friday night, a tough season got a little tougher as the Chinook Sugarbeeters were routed by the Glasgow Scotties, 77-52, in Chinook. The Scotties used a 19-11 first-quarter run to put some distance between them and the Beeters. Glasgow pulled away for good in the fourth, outscoring Chinook 28-18.

The Beeters got 16 points from Casey Schmitt as well as 11 points from Kelan Broadhead. Chinook is now 2-5 on the season.

Also on Friday night in District 2B action, the Harlem Wildcats continued to roll as they knocked off the Plentywood Wildcats, 68-55. Harlem trailed 18-12 after the first quarter but used a 20-3 second-quarter run to pull away from Plentywood for good.

Harlem got a game-high 21 points from Chris Cole. Hank Brockie added 14 points and Jim Kennedy chipped in with 10.

In District 9C play on Friday night, the Big Sandy Pioneers thrashed the Rocky Boy Stars 115-26 in Big Sandy. The Pioneers came out firing on all cylinders as they outscored the Stars 30-4 in the first quarter. By halftime the lead had ballooned to 45 points at 58-13.

The Pioneers had six players in double figures, led by Jay Jamieson's 30 points. Gage Brumwell also had a big night, scoring 24 points. Mason Ophus added 16 points and Calen Heppner had 14. Chris Yirsa chipped in with 12. The Stars got 10 points from Jesse Colliflower in the loss.

In Gildford, the Chester Coyotes picked up another key win, defeating KG 69-43. The Coyotes led by just five points at halftime before using an 18-10 third-quarter run to pull away. Chester got a game-high 29 points from Travis VanDyke while Nick Lasorte added 13. Adam Stubbs chipped in with 10 points in the win. The KouGars were led by Richie Melby's 18 points. Thomas Marshall added 13 points and Tyler Kapperud had 11.

Elsewhere on Friday night, the Blue Sky Eagles picked up a crucial 9C win over the Box Elder Bears 64-52 in Rudyard.

The Eagles got 17 points from center Mitch McKinley, 11 from Jon Lipp and 10 from Keenan Toner in the win. Box Elder was led by Neal Rossette and Marcus Standing Rock, who scored 17 and 14 points, respectively.

The key game Saturday night saw the Chester Coyotes grab a thrilling one-point overtime win over the Blue Sky Eagles, 66-65, in Chester. The Coyotes held a one-point lead at the half 30-29, but the Eagles came back to lead by one at 45-44 heading into the final period. After the two teams ended up deadlocked at the end of regulation, Chester outscored Blue Sky, 10-9, in the extra period.

Chester got 16 points from Adam Stubbs while Doug Anderson added 13. Patrick Walstad chipped in with 11 points. The Eagles were paced by Mitch McKinley's game-high 24 points. Ryan Wells added 13 points and Keenan Toner had 11 in the loss.

The victory ups Chester's record to 7-1 on the season. The Coyotes will have a pair of road games this weekend, in J-I on Friday night and Sunburst on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Eagles are 6-2 overall. They will host the Turner Tornadoes on Tuesday and then travel to Rocky Boy on Saturday.

In Rocky Boy, the Harlem Wildcats trounced the host Stars 97-40. The Wildcats got a game-high 20 points from Chris Cole while Hank Brockie added 14. The Stars were paced by A.J. The Boy with 10 points.

Harlem, 7-1 on the season, will visit Malta on Thursday night and Wolf Point on Friday.

In Turner, the KG KouGars downed the Tornadoes, 69-47. The KouGars were sparked by a 21-11 run in the second period that enabled them to pull away from Turner. KG got 15 points from Thomas Marshall. Cody Donovan and Richie Melby had 14 points apiece while Casey Crites added 13 in the win. Turner was paced by David Jones with 14 points and Robert Van Voast with 10.

KG, 3-5 on the season, will host Big Sandy on Friday night and then visit Rocky Boy on Saturday.

Elsewhere on Saturday, the Big Sandy Pioneers continued to roll as they knocked off the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds 68-50. The Pioneers got a game-high 27 points from Gage Brumwell. Calen Heppner added 22 points in the win. The T-Birds got 19 points from Nathan Martin in the loss.

The Pioneers, 5-3 overall on the season, will travel to KG on Friday night and host the Geraldine Tigers on Saturday.

In District 10C action Saturday night, the J-I Rams captured a 55-47 overtime win over the Valier Panthers in Joplin. The game was tied at 42-42 at the end of regulation, but the Rams routed Valier in the extra period 13-5 to preserve the win. J-I was led by Craig Miller with 13 points while Zach Ramberg and Josh Lincoln each had 12.

The Rams, 5-3 on the season, will host a pair of tough conference foes with the Chester Coyotes coming to Joplin on Friday night and Heart Butte on Saturday.

Things didn't get any easier for the Box Elder Bears on Monday night as they fell to the Belt Huskies, 76-70, in Box Elder. The Bears jumped out to a 23-8 first quarter lead and held a 61-50 lead at the end of the third quarter. However, the Huskies exploded for 26 points in the fourth quarter while holding Box Elder to just nine to pick up the win.

Box Elder got 25 points from Marcus Standing Rock and 12 from Tim Rossette in the loss. The loss drops the Bears' record to 6-2 on the season. Box Elder will host Hays-Lodge Pole on Friday and travel to Turner on Saturday.