Stars keep on rolling; Bears, Sugarbeeters get important wins

After limited action last weekend, this weekend was packed with boys basketball action across the Hi-Line. On Thursday the 9C Chinook Sugarbeeters fell to the Class 2B Malta Mustangs 62-56. Through the first three quarters of play the contest was close. At the end of one the Beeters led 14-13, but at the half they trailed 28-27. And a 23 point third quarter by the Beeters once again put the lead in their favor, but they werent able to hold on as the Mustangs outscored the Beeters 18-6 in the fourth to take the six-point victory. Taylor Erskine led the Beeters' offense with 19 points and Lane Schmitt followed with 14 in the non conference loss. On Friday the Class B Harlem Wildcats were in action, but suffered a 56-42 loss to the Class 1B Shelby Coyotes. The Wildcats played well through three quarters. They trailed only 46-42 heading into the final eight minutes, but after being shut out completely in the fourth, fell to the Coyotes in double digits. Skylar Speakthunder had another good outing with a game high 17 points. Grubbz Goes Ahead added 10 for the Mustangs and Jeremiah Horn finished with eight. The North Star Knights and Turner Tornadoes met in 9C play on Friday in a contest that was one sided. Jordy Donoven put up 16 points to lead the Knights to a 55-11 conference victory. Connor Kline came away with 12 and Kellan Warren finished with 10 for the Knights Levi Humphrey led the Tornadoes with four points, while Tom Mohar, Eric Billmayer and Dusty Mohar combined for the remaining seven. The Tornadoes dropped to 0-6 in league play and 0-10 overall. Tonight they will host Box Elder and on Friday the Tornadoes will host Big Sandy. Also on Friday, the Box Elder Bears and Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds met in a 9C clash. But in a much closer contest, the Bears were able to come away with the 65-50 conference win. The Bears led 10-9 after one, and 31-24 at the half. They were able to maintain a 43-38 lead after three, but it was the Bears 22 point fourth quarter that ensured the win over the Thunderbirds. Scott Bradley and Jesse Ramos led the Bears with 18 points apiece. Tyler Big Boe also finished in double digits with 10 points for the Bears. Grant Doney led all scorers with 24 points for the Thunderbirds. Vance Werk was the next leading scorer, finishing with seven points. The 10C Chester/J-I Hawks earned a 49-47 win over the Valier Panthers on Friday. After the first half the Hawks trailed 25-22. But after a big second half, they were able to chip away at the deficit. The Hawks put up 16 points in the third quarter and outscored the Panthers 11-9 in the fourth to come away with the conference win. Grant Lakey led the Hawks with 15 points. Brandon Graff followed with 14 and Ceddy Rogue added nine for the C/J-I top scorers. The 9C leading Big Sandy Pioneers got a convincing 65-44 win over the 8C Fort Benton Longhorns on Friday. With good offensive production, the Pioneers cruised with relative ease. Their smallest quarter came in the second when they put up 14 points, but maintained their lead with a 19 point third and 17 point fourth quarter. Corbin Pearson had one of his best nights of the year with a 31-point outing. And Blake Brumwell was amongst the leaders once again, this time finishing with 14 for the Pioneers. Also continuing their dominance, the No. 1 Rocky Boy Stars defeated the No. 2 Conrad Cowboys 61-45 in 1B play. A big first quarter got the Stars off and running. They outscored the Cowboys 21-9 and went on to lead 31-21 at the midway point. And though the Cowboys were able to add 24 points in the second half, the Stars were able to protect their lead with the addition of 30 of their own. Leisen Oats led the Stars with 13 points while JC Hawk and Lindsey Eagleman both followed with 11. Eric Schildt finished with 10 and Jarod Parker finished with nine for the Stars. On Saturday, the Stars added yet another conference win to the books. This time the Stars defeated the last place Cascade Badgers 75-38. And once again the Stars started and finished strong. They began the game with a 22 point first quarter, and finished up with a 25 point fourth. Schildt led with 14 while Hawk fallowed with 13 and Eagleman followed with 11. Parker and Kirby Lafromboise both finished eight apiece. With the two conference wins the Stars remain undefeated in both the conference and overall. They are No. 1 in the 1B and now hold an 8-0 conference record and a 13-0 record overall. Today the Stars will face Shelby on the road, and on Friday the Stars will host Fairfield The No. 1 9C Pioneers were in action again on Saturday, but suffered a rare loss, 48-44 to the No. 1 7C Winifred Red Raiders. After the first quarter the Pioneers fell behind 17-8, and at the half the gap sat at eight as the Red Raiders led 26- 18. The Pioneers outscored the Red Raiders 26-22 in the second half, but as time expired it wasn't enough for the comeback win. Pearson and Brumwell led the way once again. Pearson finished with 17 points and Brumwell finished with 13. Colter Darlington also finished with eight for the Pioneers. On the weekend the Pioneers remained 6-0 in the 9C but fell to 11-2 overall. Tuesday they will face Chinook on the road, and on Friday the Pioneers will remain on the road to face Turner. The 9C Box Elder Bears also suffered a loss in their second game of the weekend. Facing the Fort Benton Longhorns, the Bears fell 64-54. The Bears had a decent second half with 34 points, but couldn't over come the Longhorns consistent scoring from start to finish. Tyler Lawrence led the Bears with 18 points and Russette followed with 12. Bradley and Jacob Burns finished with seven apiece. With the weekend's split the Bears moved to 3-3 in conference and 4-9 overall. Today they will face Turner on the road, and on Friday the Bears will face Heart Butte on the road. After losing on Thursday, the 9C Beeters were able to bounce back on Saturday for the 63-45 win over the 10C C/J-I Hawks. A 17-8 outscoring of the Hawks in the first quarter gave the Beeters the early lead. And after outscoring the Hawks 28-25 in the second and third quarters, the Beeters lead increased. A 28 point fourth quarter added the finishing touches for the Beeters win. Dylan MacLean led the Beeters with 16 points and Erskine followed with 15. And for the Hawks, Ryne Tyler and Lane Harmon led the way with eight, while Jeff Wanken and Lakey combined for 14. On the weekend the Beeters went to 9-4 overall and remained 4-2 in conference play. And Tonight they will face Big Sandy at home before taking to the road on Friday to face Hays-Lodge Pole. The Hawks improved to 3-5 in the 10C and moved to 5-8 overall. Tonight they will face Power on the road and on Friday the Hawks will remain on the road where they will face North Star. Wrapping up the weekend's play, the Thunderbirds and Knights met in 9C play, where the Thunderbirds defeated the Knights 50-48 in overtime. After the Knights outscored the Thunderbirds 15-6 in the first quarter, the Knights looked to be in control. But in the second quarter the Thunderbirds answered back by outscoring the Knights 19-9. After the first two quarters were in the books the Thunderbirds held a 25-24 lead. Both squads put up eight points in the third, but the Knights outscored the Thunderbirds 11-10 in the fourth to push a period of overtime. Once in overtime, the Thunderbirds were able to take the game with a seven point outing. Grant Doney led the Thunderbirds with 18 points. Tyler Roberts added nine, and Vance Werk finished with eight. For the Knights it was Warren leading the way with 19 points and Kline following with 14. The Thunderbirds moved to 3-4 in the 9C and 6-8 overall. Friday the Thunderbirds will host Chinook. The Knights moved to 4-4 in the 9C and 8-5 overall. And on Friday they will host C/J-I. Monday night also saw Big Sandy suffer a second, this time to Denton, 55- 53. The Pioneers got a game-high 20 points from Taylor Ophus, but it wasn't enough as Denton outscored Big Sandy 24-19 in the final 16 minutes.