Chinook, Big Sandy roll to victories

With another week of boys basketball in the books, a lot of teams from across the Hi-Line saw action this weekend. On Thursday the 9C North Star Knights got things started with a 54-41 win over the 8C Highwood Mountaineers. The Knights were in control from very beginning, and used 28 points form Jordy Donoven to find the nonconference win. Dillon Lipp fallowed with nine points for the Knights, while Connor Kline finished with seven. The 10C Chester/J-I Hawks also saw Thursday action this week when they defeated the conference rival Heart Butte Warriors on the road. The Hawks got the win after a big first quarter, outscoring the Warriors 20-7. And after holding a 27-21 lead at the half, the Hawks were outscored 26- 21 in the second half but held on for the win. Brandon Graff led the Hawks offense with 21 points, while Lane Harmon also finished in double digits with 11. On Friday, the 2B Harlem Wildcats were defeated by the conference leading Wolf Point Wolves 77-60. Through the first half the Wildcats stayed close, trailing 39-31 at the half. But with a 23 point fourth quarter the Wolves were able to find the separation they needed to close out the Wildcats. Skyler Speak Thunder finished the contest with 21 points for the Wildcats, as did Brubbz Goes Ahead. But the Wolves offense was too much to handle, finishing with four individuals with double digit scoring. Rocky Boy continued their undefeated streak in 1B play on Friday as they went on to defeat the 9C Turner Tornadoes 75-21 at home. The Stars dominated from the opening tip, opening with a 31 point first quarter. JC Hawk led all scorers with 23, but Dusty Standing Rock added 10 and Jarred Parker added 13. For the Tornadoes, Eric Billmayer led the offense with seven points. The 9C Box Elder Bears also suffered a loss on Friday, coming by the way of the 10C Sunburst Refiners 51-42 at home. At the end of the first quarter the game was even at 11-11. But after adding only four more points in the second, the Bears trailed 23-15 at the half. The Bears responded after the break with a 16 point third quarter, but the Refiners 15 and 13 in the fourth was enough to keep the Bears at bay. Garrett Russette scored eight points to lead the Bears, and was fallowed closely by Jesse Ramos with seven and Scott Bradley, Jesse Valdez and Colton Coupe with six. Friday also saw play by the 9C Chinook Sugarbeeters. On the road, the Beeters defeated the 8C Geraldine Tigers 70-46. The Beeters were able to go up big in the first quarter and dominate throughout. They opened with a 20-11 lead, and increased it to 38-24 at the half. And after outscoring the Tigers 32-22 in the second half, the Beeters rolled through with relative ease. Lane Schmitt led the Beeters with 15 points, while Taylor Erskine finished with 12. Tyler Molyneaux also finished with 10 while Dylan MacLean finished with 11, nine coming from his three triples. Wrapping up Friday's play, the 9C leading Big Sandy Pioneers got the 72-47 win over the hosting Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds. The Pioneers from the very beginning dominated the game. They opened play by outscoring the Thunderbirds 21-9 in the first quarter and 18-10 in the second. And though the Thunderbirds put up 28 in the second half, it wasn't enough over overcome the powerhouse Pioneers. Tyler Roberts led the Thunderbirds with 11 points, while Vance Werk fallowed with nine. And for the Pioneers, it was Corbin Pearson leading all scorers with 30, while Blake Brumwell fallowed closely with 28 of his own. Trevor Lackner also scored 17 for the Pioneers. The Pioneers opened up Saturday's play with another dominating win, this time coming over the Bears 73-45 in Box Elder. And the win started with another big first quarter by the Pioneers, outscoring the Bears 24-6 and putting away the competition early. Pearson lead all scorers once again, this time with 20. And Brumwell had another good night with 10, as did Lackner who finished with 14. Colter Darlington also finished with 11. For the Bears, Ramos led the way with 14 and Coupe finished with eight. With the two wins the Pioneers moved to 4-0 in the conference and 6-1 overall. And the Pioneers play again Friday when they take on Denton. The Bears fell to 1-3 in the conference and 2-6 overall with their two losses, and also play Friday when they host Chinook. The Wildcats also suffered their second loss of the weekend on Saturday, falling to the 2B Plentywood Wildcats 75-61. The Wildcats fell behind 20-12 in the first quarter, and couldn't climb back into contention. Elias Goes Ahead led the offense with a 36 point outing, and Cole McCann finished with 10 as the only other double digit scorer for the Wildcats. With the two game slide, the Wildcats fell to 1-4 in the 2B and 3-8 overall as they prepare to face Glasgow on Tuesday. After a narrow win on Thursday, the Hawks fell 54-52 to the 10C leading Dutton-Brady Diamond Backs on Saturday. The Hawks trailed for the first three quarter, putting up only seven in the first, two in the second and 11 in the third. But in a last attempt surge, the Hawks were able to put 32 fourth quarter points, coming just short of their second win of the weekend. Grant Lakey led the Hawks with 13 points and Lane Harmon and Ryne Tyler both finished with nine each. On the weekend the Hawks fell to 1-5 in 10C play and 3-7 overall. Now they prepare to face Sunburst on Tuesday. Saturday brought another dominating win to the Stars, as they went on to defeat Choteau 79-52 in 1B play. After the first quarter the Stars trailed 22-16, after a 31 point second quarter, the Stars were able to clean things up and lock down another conference win. Parker led the Stars with 20 points, while Lieson Oats and Loren Standing Rock both finished with 15. Kirby Lafromboise also finished with 10 for the Stars. With the two wins the Stars moved to 6-0 in conference and 10-0 overall, and now prepare to play Harlem on Tuesday. The Thunderbirds and Tornadoes met in 9C play on Saturday, where the Thunderbirds came away with the dominating 70-24 win. The contest was close through the first quarter, but in a 28 and 19 point second and third quarter, the Thunderbirds pulled away for the conference win. Billmeyer led the Tornadoes with nine points and Humphreys finished with seven. And for the Thunderbirds, Vance Werk led with 13, while Clifford Black Elk and Tyler Roberts finished with 12 and Jesse Werk finished with 11. The Thunderbirds improved to 1-3 in conference and 3-5 overall, while the Tornadoes dropped to 0-3 in conference and 0-6 overall. And on Tuesday the Tornadoes will face Dodson while the Thunderbirds will face Roy. The Beeters and Knights also faced off on Saturday night, wrapping up this weeks action on the Hi-Line and 9C. But this time it was the Beeters coming away with the 58-45 win to improve to 4-1 in conference and 8-2 overall. The Knights fell to 3-2 in conference, and 7-3 overall. On Friday the Knights will gear up to face the Pioneers, while the Beeters will face the Bears in two conference matchups.