Hi-Line Boys Basketball Roundup

It's full speed ahead for the high school basketball this season and once again this past week, there was some exciting boys basketball along the Hi-Line.

The action got started last Thursday when both Chester/J-I and Box Elder, the two teams to beat in the District 9C, took on Fort Benton and Turner respectively.

While some might still see the Bears, the three-time district champs, as the favorite to win for a fourth year, the Hawks are the last unbeaten team in the 9C and they made sure they stayed that way Thursday with a 66-28 domination of Fort Benton in Chester.

Troy Harmon had a breakout game with 22 points to lead C/J-I. Justin May added 14 points and Cory Richter finished with 11. Taylor Arganbright had eight points for the Longhorns.

Just as the Hawks took care of business Thursday, so did the Bears. Box Elder made the trip to Turner and left the Tornadoes in a whirlwind after a 102-28 thrashing.

Pernell Morsette continued his recent string of strong play and led all scorers with 18 points. Jake Jones had another strong showing since his return from injury and contributed with 17. Petey Azure pitched in with 15 and Brandon The Boy finished with 13. Brett VanValkenburg led Turner with 12, Tyler Humphreys scored eight.

After knocking off Fort Benton, the Hawks hit the road Friday for some non-conference action against Cut Bank. C/J-I, which had just one loss coming into the game, proved to be overmatched by the Class B opponent, as the Wolves got the better of the Hawks 75-68.

Harmon had another good night for the Hawks with eight points. Both Brandon and Cory Ricther added 14 points a piece and May finished with 14 as well in defeat.

In other Class B competition, the Harlem Wildcats were home to the Shelby Coyotes Friday night in a battle of Northern B teams. Despite being overmatched, Harlem stayed competitive throughout the game, trailing 38-28 at halftime and just 50-45 going into the fourth quarter. Yet, when as was said and done, Shelby hung on for the 70-55 win.

Corbin Brockie poured in 22 points in a losing effort for Harlem, while Michael Butterfly contributed with 19 and Keahna Little had 10.

Meanwhile, back in Class C basketball Friday, the Chinook Sugarbeeters hosted the North Star Knights in a critical battle of 9C clubs. A win by North Star would have tied them with the Beeters in the district standings, but thanks to an impressive second half, Chinook snuck out a 42-38 win.

The Knights played well early and led 10-8 at the end of the first quarter and 23-17 at the half. But, the Beeters stormed out in the second half and outscored the Knights 25-15 in the second half to notch the victory.

Cord Schneider led the way for the Beeters with a game-high 17 points. Ian McIntosh also contributed with 12 points and Isaac Bell had 11. Matthew Helmbrecht paced the Knights with 15 points. Devon Miller had 11.

After falling to Chinook Friday, North Star returned home to take on Big Sandy Saturday, and the Knights were able to rebound in a big way with a 67-22 victory.

Helmbrecht once again led the Knights with 12 points. Devon Miller finished with 11 and Gavin Spinler also reached double figures in the game with 10. Laurence Alderdice had a solid showing in defeat for the Pioneers as he scored a game-high 14 points.

Chinook also was back in action Saturday night and they continued their 9C schedule with a road game against Fort Benton. And with another solid performance, the Beeters moved into third in the 9C with a 56-23 rout of the Longhorns.

The Beeters, who are now 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the district, got a 16-point outing from Schneider, as well as 12 from Bell and eight from McIntosh. Arganbright and Aaron Giles each scored six points to lead the Longhorns.

Also Saturday night, Box Elder paid a visit to Hays-Lodge Pole to take on the Thunderbirds in 9C play. Yet, it wasn't much of a game as the Bears cruised to an 88-58 victory over HLP.

Back in Class B, Harlem paid a visit to Poplar Saturday and lost its second game of the weekend by way of an 88-58 defeat. Henry had another good night with 19 points. Butterfly and Keahnan both had nine.

Elsewhere in Class B, the Rocky Boy Stars traveled to Havre and took on their Class A rival. The Stars hung tough for three quarters against the Blue Ponies, but in the end, they just couldn't keep up and fell 75-50.

Kendall Windy Boy had an impressive showing in the loss with a team-high 19 points. Ben Iron Eyes also added 14.

Thursday

Chester/J-I 66, Fort Benton 28

Fort Benton 3 8 12 5 – 28

C/J-I 19 18 27 2 – 66

Fort Benton – Taylor Arganbright 8, EliToon 2, Jaavan Christensen 1, A. Giles 4, T. Holbrook 9, D. Bird 4. Totals: 13 2-7.

Chester/J-I – Cory Richter 11, Brandon Richter 7, Clark Deimert 2, Javin Miles 8, Troy Harmon 22, Justin May 14, Bruce Tempel 2. Totals: 28 7-19.

Fouls – FB 15, CJI 11. 3-pointers – C. Richter, May 2.

Box Elder 102, Turner 28

Box Elder 36 29 14 23 – 102

Turner 13 8 5 2 – 28

Box Elder - Jerrod Four Colors 9, Pernell Morsette 18, Brandon The Boy 13, Bodis Duran 7, Tristan Bernard 6, Jake Jones 17, Petey Azure 15, Elias Robertson 2, Lane Gillette 2, Shane Ketchum 8, Seth Duran 5. Totals: 41 6-11.

Turner – Johnathan Wu 2, Tyler Humphreys 8, Bret VanValkenberg 12, Eddie Harmon 2, Tracer Heilig 4. Totals: 11 6-8.

Fouls – BE 10, Turner 8. 3-pointers – Four Colors, Morsette 2, The Boy 2, B. Duran, Jones 5, Azure 3.

Friday

Cut Bank 75, Chester/J-I 68

C/J-I 15 12 21 20 – 68

Cut Bank 16 24 17 18 – 75

C/J-I – Cory Richter 14, Brandon Richter 14, Javin Miles 6, Troy Harmon 18, Justin May 14, Bruce Tempel 2. Totals 26 14-22 68.

Cut Bank – Reid Berkram 9, Evan Harrell 11, Seth Omsberg 26, Jemiah Tebler 5, Kyle Brauhn 11, Wyatt Harwood 11, James Growingthunder 2. Totals 29 8-12 75.

3-point goals – C. Richter 2, Berkram 3, Harrell 3, Omsberg 2, Tebler 1. Total fouls – C/J-I 14, Cut Bank 16.

Shelby 70, Harlem 55

Shelby 16 22 12 20 — 70

Harlem 15 13 17 10 — 55

Shelby – T.J. Reynolds 23, Logan Watson 8, Brock Whitted 5, Zach Torgerson 4, Aaron White 10, Andrew Johnson 12, Macager McAllister 8.

Harlem – Corbin Brockie 22, Marcus Henry 4, Michael Butterfly 19, Keahna Little 10.

3-Point goals – Reynolds 1, Watson 1, White 1, Brockie 3, Butterfly 1, Little 3. Fouls – Shelby 12, Harlem 17. Fouled out – Butterfly, Little, Damon Adams.

Chinook 42, North Star 38

North Star 10 13 5 10 – 38

Chinook 8 9 12 13 – 42

North Star – S. Sizemore 6, G. Spinler 2, P. Peterson 4, Devon Miller 11, M. Helmbrecht 15. Totals: 17 4-6.

Chinook – Robert Smith 2, Ian McIntosh 12, Cord Schneider 17, Isaac Bell 11. Totals: 15 10-19.

Fouls – NS 14, Chinook 12. Fouled out – Peterson. 3-pointers – Bell 2.

Saturday

North Star 67, Big Sandy 22

Big Sandy 2 12 6 2 – 22

North Star 21 18 24 4 – 67

Big Sandy – R. Roth 4, E. Schwarzbach 1, J. Belcurt 1, L. Allderice 14, C. Darlington 2.

North Star – Cade Chvilicek 4, Willy Gilead 14, Gavin Spinler 10, Jimmy Snow 9, Payton Peterson 7, Devon Miller 11, Matthew Helmbrecht 12.

Chinook 56, Fort Benton 23

Chinook 7 15 11 23 – 56

Fort Benton 3 3 8 9 – 23

Chinook – Robert Smith 4, Kyler Johnson 2, Ian McIntosh 8, Riley Kellam 7, Brendon Edwards 7, Cord Schneider 16, Isaac Bell 12.

Fort Benton – Eli Toon 2, Taylor Arganbright 6, Javan Christensen 2, Aaron Giles 6, T. Hasbrook 3, D. Bird 2, J. Pimperton 2.

Fouls – Chinook 18, FB 20. Fouled out – Christensen, Hasbrook. 3-pointers – McIntosh, Schneider, Arganbright, Giles 2.

Poplar 88, Harlem 55

Harlem 18 18 12 7 - 55

Poplar 22 19 25 22 - 88

Harlem: Eron Snozo 2, Sam Main 2, Marcus Henry 19, Michael Butterfly 9, Keahnan 9, Damon Adams 3, Kevin Messerly 1, Cole Azure 2, Hollen Fox 3.

Poplar: Waylon Youpee 20, Boy Youngman 8, Orlando Young 2, Coy Atkinson 19, Damon Sadler 6, Kenny Smoker 12, Dion Hopkins 2, Josh Miller 2, Connor Olge 17.