Hi-Line Boys Basketball Roundup

Chinook's Grant Tilleman (left) shoots during a 9C boys game last Thursday night in Gildford.

After the majority of local teams got their seasons started a week ago, basketball was once again in full swing over the weekend.

On Thursday, two local games tipped off, including the Class B Rocky Boy Stars taking on the Class B Harlem Wildcats. B

North Star's Karston Donoven (left) shoots over Chinook's Zack Molyneaux during a District 9C boys basketball game last Thursday in Gildford.

oth teams have high hopes for this season, but it was the Stars who earned the 94-65 win.

And it took a dominating second half for the Stars to pull away. After the first quarter the Stars held a 21-15 lead. The Wildcats kept the game close through the second frame, but the Stars still held a 44-36 lead at the halfway point. Rocky Boy pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 50-29.

Skyler Speak Thunder led Harlem with 15 points, and Brandon Hammond added 14. Stanley Ervine and Clay Doney both scored 10 points each, but their efforts came up short, as Rocky Boy had four individuals score double digits. Junior Daychild finished with a game high 22, while Dusty Standing Rock added 18, Scott Bradley added 17 and Garrett Anderson finished with 12.

Thursday also brought a 9C rivalry game to the Hi-Line, as the North Star Knights and Chinook Sugarbeeters met in Gildford.

The Beeters were in control for a good part of the contest. They led 20-15 after the first quarter and 34-26 at the half. But partway through the third, the Knights made a run on the shooting of Jordy Donoven, who finished with a game high 24 points.

North Star outscored the Beeters 18-12 in the third, but still trailed 46-44 to start the fourth. But the momentum carried over, and outscoring the Beeters 11-7, the Knights got a buzzer beater three-pointer from an unlikely here. After Donoven shot the lights out in the second half, it was Cooper Spicher who knocked down the trey to beat the buzzer and the Beeters in a slip two-point victory. Spicher finished with seven points. Karston Donoven also had 11, while Quinn Spinler had seven.

For the Beeters, it was Scot Schmitt who led the offense with 13-points. Zach Molyneaux added 12, and Brandon Riphenburg added 10.

Action continued on Friday with three local teams grabbing wins.

The Class C Chester/J-I Hawks took down the Sunburst Refiners 45-21, holding the Refiners to single digit scoring in all four quarters. The hawks put up 15 in the first, six in the second, 10 in the third and 14 in the fourth as they cruised to a win.

Lane harmon led the efforts with 18-points, while Jeff Wanken followed with 13 of his own. Mike Henke pitched in six-points as well.

The 9C Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds also earned a win on Friday, in much closer fashion, defeating Winnett/Grass Range 52-50.

But the Thunderbirds had to come from behind to earn the win. They trailed by four-points at the end of the first quarters, but outscored the opposition 16-11 in the second to take a one-point lead at the break. In the second half, a 16-point third quarter was key, as the Thunderbirds were outscored 9-8 in the fourth.

Nolan Werk led Hays-LP with 19-points, but Trent Kirkaldie, Cyrus Cole, Colt Walker and Marvin Cole also pitched in nicely. Kirkaldie finished with six, Cyrus Cole finished with six, Walker finished with 10, and Marvin Cole finished with nine.

The Big Sandy Pioneers also earned an 84-68 win over the Box Elder Bears in Class C action, but no individual results were reported.

On Saturday, the Pioneers were back in action, this time earning a much closer win, defeating the Denton Trojans 53-50.

The Pioneers jumped out to an 18-14 first quarter lead, but narrowly held on as the Trojans outscored the Pioneers 16-13 in the second quarter. Big Sandy held just a one-point lead and benefited from an 8-5 third quarter. The Trojans made a run late, outscoring the Pioneers 15-14 in the fourth quarter, but the Pioneers did just enough to hold on to the three-point victory.

Justin Stevens stepped up huge for the Pioneers, dropping 13 points to lead the team. Kaden Beck did the same, adding 13-points to the mix. Trevor Lackner finished with 12 and Zach Leader managed nine-points.

The Thunderbirds also earned a win on Saturday in another very scary matchup. The Thunderbirds defeated the Moore-Judith Gap Bulldogs 47-45.

After jumping out to an 18-7 first quarter lead, the Thunderbirds held on for dear life to earn the win. Both teams scored 12-points in the second, but the Bulldogs posed 17 in the third quarter to cut the Thunderbirds' lead to 38-36 with one frame let play. Both teams scored nine fourth quarter points, as the Thunderbirds held on for the tight win.

Walker was the leading scorer with 10 points, but both Werk and Kirkaldie added eight-points apiece. Bruce Denny also finished with seven, while Marvin Cole finished with six.

The Knights and Turner Tornadoes also met in 9C action on Saturday, with the Knights defeating the Tornadoes 58-46.

Though it was still a loss, the Tornadoes remaining competitive through the entire game was a huge step forward for the program. They have struggled to find wins the last several season and have suffered their share of blowouts. But having Levi Humphreys drop 13-points and Dusty Mohar drop 12, the program could be on their way to a much better season. Dylan Wesch added nine-points and Lucas Reed added eight.

The Knights led the whole game and made sure to put things away with a 20-point fourth quarter. Jordy Donoven went off for 31-points, while Shelby Sizemore added 14.

In another conference matchup, the Sugarbeeters defeated the Bears 66-59 on Saturday.

The Beeters got the early lead and stayed in control for the most part, outscoring the Bears three out of the four quarters. Chinook held a 28-27 lead at the half, but outscored the Bears 38-32 in the second half to keep out in front and grab the win.

Riphenburg led all scorers with 26-points for the Beeters. Lane Seymour added nine and Schmitt and Tilleman added eight each, while Molyneaux finished with seven.

For the Bears, Jesse Ramos led the way with 19-points and Randall Gardipee added 16 of his own. Skylar Parisian finished with seven and Lonnie Plain Bull and Jacob Burns combined for 12.

The Class C Hawks got their second win of the weekend on Saturday, when they defeated the Simms Tigers 48-42 in overtime.

The Hawks led 10-7 after the first quarter, but found themselves in a 21-21 tie at the half. The tigers then outscored the Hawks 8-5 in the third, but the Hawks rebounded with a 10-7 fourth, forcing an overtime period with the score knotted at 36-36. Once in overtime, the Hawks offense outscored the Tigers 12-6.

Harmon's 18-points led the Hawks. Oraw and Harmon both pitched in 10poiunts each, and Wanken totaled nine in the win for the Hawks.

With a lot of other Hi-Line teams ending their weekend with a win, the Stars weren't as fortunate in Class B action on Saturday. Instead, the Cut Bank Wolves defeated the Stars 67-33.

It was a rare loss for the Stars, a team normally with a much more potent offense. But the Stars didn't score in double digits in one quarter, instead putting up seven in the first quarter, nine in the second, nine in the third and eight in the fourth. Cut Bank scored in double digits in all four quarters, including 23 in the third.

Bobby Gopher did score 16 for the Stars, but his efforts came up short. Day Child added eight, while four other Stars totaled just nine points.

Thursday

Rocky Boy 94, Harlem 65

Harlem 15 21 15 14 — 65

Rocky Boy 21 23 23 27 — 94

Harlem — Skyler Speak Thunder 15, Stanley Ervine 10, Bud Buck 5, Isiah Lawrence 3, Isiah Doney 2, Bradon Hammond 14, Wallace Birdtail 2, Clay Doney 10, Kendall Matt 2, Riley Green 2.

Rocky Boy — Bobby Gopher 9, Scotty Bradley 17, Garrett Anderson 12, Junior Daychild 22, Dusty Standing Rock 18, Mitch LaMere 4, Chontay Standing Rock 4, Desmond Parker 8.

North Star 55, Chinook 53

Chinook 20 14 12 7 — 53

North Star 15 11 18 11 — 55

Chinook — Scott Schmitt 13, Zach Molyneaux 12, Chris Weber 7, Brandon Riphenburg 10, Dylan Surber 2, Great Tilleman 7, Barry Murnion 2. Totals: 17 14-22.

North Star — Cooper Spicher 7, Jordy Donoven 24, Quinn Spinler 7, Karston Donoven 11, Shelby Sizemore 1, Donovan Ulmen 5. Totals: 17 15-21.

Friday

Chester/J-I 45, Sunburst 21

Sunburst 6 4 4 7 — 21

C/J-I 15 6 10 14 — 45

Sunburst — S. Bye 8, K. Katzburg 2, T. Tharp 3, B. Morgan 2, A. Luckenbill 6. Totals: 10 0-0.

C/J-I — Jordan Oraw 2, Dell Harmon 2, Dustin Romain 4, Mike Henke 6, Lane Harmon 18, Jeff Wanken 13. Totals: 20 5-6.

Hays-Lodge Pole 52, Winnett/Grass Range 50

W/GR 16 11 14 9 — 50

H-LP 12 16 16 8 — 52

Winnett/Grass Range — Clay Barnett 6, Jade gardner 13, Logan Sluggett 6, Jake Iverson 4, Ryan Sedgwick 16, Austin Kiehl 5. Totals 20 7-18 50.

Hays-Lodge Pole — Cyrus Cole 6, Colt Walker 10, Marvin Cole 9, Nolan Werk 19, Floyd Meconnell 2, Trent Kirkaldie 6. Totals 18 13-27 52.

Big Sandy 84, Box Elder 68

Saturday

Big Sandy 53, Denton 50

Denton 14 16 5 15 — 50

Big Sandy 18 13 8 14 — 53

Denton — Mitch Ward 6, Cole Jelinek 19, Julius Frehse 13, Cody Miller 2, Jarryd Lahr 10. Totals: 20 4-12.

Big Sandy — Justin Stevens 14, Zach Leader 9, Jessey Bailey 5, Kaden Beck 13, Trevor Lackner 12. Totals: 23 4-14.

Total fouls: Denton 14, Big Sandy 8. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None. Three point goals: Ward 2, Jelinek 2, Frehse 1, Lahr 1, Leader 1, Beck 1 Lachner 1.

Hays-Lodge Pole 47, Moore-Judith Gap 46

Hays-Lodge Pole 18 12 8 9 — 47

Moore-Judith Gap 7 12 17 9 — 45

Hays-Lodge Pole — Cyrus Cole 4, Colt Walker 10, Marvin Cole 6, Bruce Denny 7, Nolan Werk 8, Flody McConnell 4, Trent Kirkaldie 8. Totals: 21 4-16.

Moore- Judith Gap — Haden Wichman 5, Max Hertel 3, Jens Larsen 11, Gavin Melichar 11, Anthony Hofer 7, Carver Hofer 2, Jordan Walter 6. Totals: 18 7-15.

North Star 58, Turner 46

North Star 10 17 11 20 — 58

Turner 10 11 10 15 — 46

North Star — Cooper Spicher 2, Jardy Donoven 31, Quinn Spinler 3, Karston Donoven 8, Shelby Sizemore 14. Totals: 25 5-12.

Turner — Dylan Wesch 9, Bret VanValkenburg 2, Levi Humphreys 13, Aaron VanValkenburg 2, Lucas Reed 8, Dusty Mohar 12. Totals: 19 5-15.

Chinook 66, Box Elder 59

Box Elder 11 16 16 16 — 59

Chinook 17 11 18 20 — 66

Box Elder — Jesse Ramos 19, Brandon Belgarde 2, Randall Gardipee 16, Skylar Parisian 7, Dakota Standing Rock 3, Lonnie Plain Bull 6, Jacob Burns 6. Totals 21 8-18 59.

Chinook — Lane Seymour 9, Scott Schmitt 8, Zach Molyneaux 7, Chris Weber 2, Brandon Riphenburg 26, Dylan Surber 4, Grant Tilleman 8, Barry Murnion 2. Totals 24 17-21 66.

Chester/J-I 48, Simms 42 (OT)

C/J-I 10 11 5 10 12 — 48

Simms 7 14 8 7 6 — 42

C/J-I — Jordan Oraw 10, Dell Harmon 10, Dustin Romain 1, Lane Harmon 18, Jeff Wanken 9. Totals: 16 14-26.

Simms — Dallas Rushton 4, Dakota Fryberger 14, Mike Gannon 2, Jace Beaver 2, Kevin Catron 3, Zeb Bloom 8, Joey Crumley 3, Josh Kersch 6. Totals: 15 6-8.

Cut Bank 67, Rocky Boy 33

Rocky Boy 7 9 9 8 — 33

Cut Bank 11 17 23 16 — 67

Rocky Boy — Bobby Gopher 16, Scotty Bradly 2, Garrett Anderson 2, JR Day Child 8, Dusty Standing Rock 3, Chantey Standing Rock 2. Totals 13 4-9 33.

Cut Bank — Nick Stuart 2, Kaz Harwood 2, Evan Anderson 10, Tyler Ollinger 15, Shawn Bird 6, AJ Sheble 19, Dakota Thompson 11, Clint Evans 2. Totals 24 18-30 67.