9C Boys Tournament gets rolling

The District 9C Boys Basketball Tournament finally began at Havre High Gymnasium Wednesday.

On the first day of action, Fort Benton came back for a 62-55 win over North Star, Turner held off Big Sandy for a 58-43 victory and Chester-Joplin-Inverness dominated in an 83-29 win over Hays-Lodge Pole.

The tournament started with the No. 4 seed Fort Benton Longhorns winning, 62-55, against the No. 5 North Star Knights. The Longhorns had to work for the win after they fell behind, 24-9, in the opening frame. But they responded in the second quarter to cut their deficit to 36-26 heading into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Longhorns continued to claw their way back as they cut the deficit to 48-42 heading to the fourth quarter. They then dominated the fourth quarter to complete the comeback and walk away with the win to open the tournament.

Eli Arganbright finished the game with 20 points while both Truman Giese and Brett Evans scored 11 points for Fort Benton. Kaden King led North Star with 18 points while his teammate Parker Hansen scored 14 points in the losing effort.

The tournament continued with the No. 3 seed Turner Tornadoes defeating the No. 6 seed Big Sandy Pioneers, 58-43. The Tornadoes got hot early taking a 14-4 lead in the opening frame. They then began to pull away as they took a 34-10 lead into halftime.

The Pioneers began to claw their way back as they cut their deficit to 45-28. However, Turner held on in the fourth to advance to the semifinals. Ty Beck led Turner with 21 points while Carson Maloney contributed 18 points in the winning effort. Lane Demontiney led the Pioneers with 24 points in the loss.

Opening day ended with the No. 2 seed CJI Hawks dominating the No. 7 seed HLP Thunderbirds in an 83-29 win. The Hawks got rolling early as they took a 27-6 lead in the opening frame. By halftime, the Hawks had stretched the lead to 60-15.

With the big lead, the Hawks cruised to victory in the second half. Karson Pulst finished the game with 19 points while his teammate Elijah Sanders scored 12 points. Jacoby Ball led HLP with 14 points.

The District 9C Boys Basketball Tournament will continue today at HHS Gymnasium. The Big Sandy Pioneers and the HLP Thunderbirds played in a loser-out game earlier today. The Fort Benton Longhorns will play the No. 1 seed Box Elder Bears in a semifinal game tonight at 7 p.m. The Turner Tornadoes and the CJI Hawks will then play in the next semifinal game tonight at 8:30 p.m. 

Fort Benton 62, North Star 55

NS - 24 12 12 7 - 55

FB - 9 17 16 20 - 62

NS - Kaden King 18, Parker Hansen 14, Gavin Clawson 10, Carter Campbell 4, Riese Sattoriva 4, Chris Burkhartsmeyer 4, Dirk Wolery 1. 

FB - Eli Arganbright 20, Truman Giese 11, Brett Evans 11, Kelton Vielleux 10, David Olson 8, Kellan Diekhans 2. 

Turner 58, Big Sandy 43

BS - 4 6 18 15 - 43

TUR - 14 20 11 13 - 58

BS - Lane Demontiney 24, Eyon Sherburn 10, Ryder Galbavy 6, Aidan Morsette 2, Eli Dixon 1.

TUR - Ty Beck 21, Carson Maloney 18, Trent Billmayer 14, Tate Beck 5. 

CJI 83, HLP 29

HLP - 6 9 8 6 - 29

CJI - 27 33 11 12 - 83

HLP - Jacoby Ball 14, H. Grant 4, Axel Swan 3, Byron Werk 2, Kendall Brockie 2, Avery Boe 2, William Hughes 2.

CJI - Karson Pulst 19, Elijah Sanders 12, Ty Backen 10, Ryland St. John 9, Nate Nelson 9, Dane Grammar 8, Adam Grammar 6, Ben Syrbe 6, Cooper Streit 4.