Hi-Line Boys BB: Rocky Boy, Box Elder boys win big conference games

High school boys basketball continued across the Hi-Line this past week. Over the course of several games, some teams set themselves up for success with the postseason nearing while others stumbled.

The week started this past Tuesday when the Chinook Sugarbeeters played a District 9C game against the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds. It was a close game, but the Sugarbeeters pulled out the 55-48 victory on the road to start the week.

The HLP Thunderbirds continued their week with a 74-51 loss on the road to Rocky Boy Thursday night. Rocky Boy started the game by taking a 19-11 lead in the first quarter but exploded in the second quarter to take a 42-19 lead into halftime. In the second half, the Morning Stars cruised to victory to start their week.

Over in Harlem Thursday, the Harlem Wildcats suffered an 82-49 loss to the visiting Malta Mustangs. The Mustangs jumped on them early as they took a 30-12 lead in the first quarter. By halftime, Malta had a 46-27. The Wildcats were unable to come back as Malta pulled away in the second half to win.

After winning to start the week, the Chinook Sugarbeeters hosted Big Sandy Thursday night. Despite the strong start to the week, the Sugarbeeters could not keep pace as the Pioneers won, 72-42, on the road.

In a 9C matchup Friday night in Chester, the visiting Box Elder Bears defeated the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks 71-53. After taking a 16-10 lead in the first quarter, the Bears continued to play well to take a 32-21 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Bears exploded on offense to push their lead to 59-30. The Hawks tried to come back in the fourth, but the deficit was too much to overcome. Tracen Jilot led Box Elder with 16 points while Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette also scored 15 for the Bears. Blake Harmon led CJI with 22 points in the loss.

Rocky Boy went on the road Friday and won, 58-48, against Shelby. After trailing, 13-9, in the first quarter, the Stars dominated the second quarter to take a 30-19 into halftime. In the second half, the Stars held off the Coyotes to win the game. Teague Stump led the Stars with 17 points while Domitri Standing Rock contributed 13 points in the win.

In a 9C meeting over in Hays, the North Star Knights won, 72-38, against the HLP Thunderbirds. After trailing, 11-10, in the first quarter, the Knights went on a run in the second to take a 33-23 lead into halftime. Over the course of the second half, the Knights pulled away to easily win the game.

Down in Fort Benton, the Fort Benton Longhorns opened their week with a 51-35 win over the Turner Tornadoes. While it was a tough start to the week for Turner, the Tornadoes rebounded Saturday with a 54-48 win over the CJI Hawks at home. The Tornadoes started the game strong taking a 15-7 lead in the first quarter. But the Hawks stayed in the game as Turner only had a 25-18 lead heading into halftime.

The Hawks continued to climb their way back as they cut their deficit to 38-33 in the third quarter. But the Tornadoes held on in the fourth to win the game. Ryan Doyle led Turner with 17 points while Trent Billmayer scored 14 points for the Tornadoes. Harmon led CJI with 18 points in the loss.

In North Star Saturday, the Fort Benton Longhorns pulled out a 46-35 win over the Knights. The Longhorns started strong as they took a 13-9 lead in the first quarter. But the Knights responded to cut their deficit to 22-19.

The Longhorns got back on track in the third as they stretched their lead to 33-24. In the fourth, the Longhorns continued to make plays to close out the victory. Cody Evans led Fort Benton with 10 points while Garrett Spicher led North Star with 15 points in the loss.

In another 9C game Saturday, the Big Sandy Pioneers defended home court with a 73-49 win over the HLP Thunderbirds. The Pioneers started strong taking a 16-8 lead in the first quarter. By halftime, the Pioneers had a 36-17 lead. In the second half, the Pioneers continued to pull away to win the game. Kody Strutz led Big Sandy with 24 points while Braydon Cline scored 20. William Hughes Jr. led the Thunderbirds with 15 points.

There were some more Hi-Line games Saturday to wrap up the week. In Poplar, the Harlem Wildcats suffered a 107-50 loss to Poplar. Marley Stewart led Harlem with 16 points in the loss. In Box Elder, the Bears defended home court with an 82-58 win over the Chinook Sugarbeeters.

At the end of the week, Box Elder remained atop the 9C with a record of 8-2. Big Sandy is second with a 10-2 record and CJI is third with a record of 9-3. Fort Benton stands at fourth with a record of 8-3 and North Star takes fifth with a 5-5 record. Turner comes in sixth, Chinook in seventh and HLP in eighth.

Thursday

Malta 82, Harlem 49

MAL - 30 16 21 15 - 82

HAR - 12 15 12 10 - 49

Rocky Boy 74, Hays-Lodge Pole 51

HLP - 11 8 19 13 - 51

RB - 19 23 11 21 - 74

Friday

Box Elder 71, CJI 53

BE - 16 16 27 12 - 71

CJI - 11 10 9 23 - 53

BE - Tracen Jilot 16, Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette 15, Matthias Blackbird 13, Theron Oats Jr. 8, King Ragged Robe 6, Dreydon Anderson 5, Skylar Walker 4, Julian Henry 3

CJI - Blake Harmon 22, Braden Mattson 17, Karson Pulst 12, Adam Grammar 2.

Rocky Boy 58, Shelby 48

RB - 9 21 15 13 - 58

SHE - 13 6 16 13 - 48

RB - Teague Stump 17, Domitri Standing Rock 13, Brayden Lamere 8, Joe Standing Rock 6, Phoenix Henry 5, Aeron Gopher 5, Kellen Colliflower 4.

SHE - Randon Richman 15, Trenton Emerson 12, William Patterson 9, Bryce Lee 6, Hayden Schilling 3, Kyle McDermott 2, Kody Standiford 1.

North Star 72, HLP 38

NS - 10 23 16 23 - 72

HLP - 11 12 9 6 - 38

Saturday

Turner 54, CJI 48

CJI - 7 11 15 15 - 48

TUR - 15 10 13 16 - 54

CJI - Blake Harmon 18, Karson Pulst 13, Ryland St. John 8, Braden Mattson 6, Adam Grammar 3.

TUR - Ryan Doyle 17, Trent Billmayer 14, Caleb Zellmer 13, Charlie Calvert 9, Tate Beck 1.

Fort Benton 46, North Star 35

FB - 13 9 11 13 - 46

NS - 9 10 5 11 - 35

FB - Cody Evans 10, Landis Arganbright 8, Brett Evans 7, Eli Arganbright 5, Brock Grossman 4, Truman Giese 3, Kellan Diekhans 2, Sterling Herzog 2,

NS - Garrett Spicher 15, Gavin Clawson 8, Gavin Spicher 6, Michael Berg 3, Carter Campbell 2, Chris Burkartsmeyer 1

Big Sandy 73, HLP 49

HLP - 8 9 15 17 - 49

BS - 16 20 20 17 - 73

HLP - William Hughes Jr. 15, Cash Messerly 10, Jacoby Ball 4, Davontae Sullivan 4, William Has Eagle 4, Axel Swann 3, Russell Plainfeather 2.

BS - Kody Strutz 24, Braydon Cline 20, Isaac Pedraza 17, Wylee Snapp 4, Ryder Galbavy 3, Dolan Sunchild 3, Karter Jurenka 2.

Poplar 107, Harlem 50

HAR - Marley Stewart 16, Terrance Messerly 6, Diondre First Raised 5, Tommy Champagne 3, Christian Beaumont 1, Matt Billmayer 1.

POP - Delray Lilley 47, Allen Russell 14, W. Youngman 11, Blake Lambert 11, Geordy Medicine Cloud 10, Kaniel Ricker 6, Kameron Reum 4, Wilder Bearcub 2, Preston Ogle 2.