Hi-Line boys basketball roundup

Cold weather and a severe snowstorm may have hit the Hi-Line hard last weekend, but there was still plenty of basketball to go around.

At the Big Sandy tournament in Big Sandy, both the 9C Pioneers and 9C Chinook Sugarbeeters got their season started.

The Beeters have gained a lot of talk as one of the top Class C teams this year, but have gotten off to a slow start. And Thursday in Big Sandy, the Roy-Winifred Red Raiders defeated the Beeters 64-46.

Chinook held a 14-11 lead after the first quarter, but soon trailed 28-25 at the half. And with the Red Raiders posting 17 points in the third quarter and 20 in the fourth, the Beeters' 21 second half points weren't enough to get their season started with a win.

Lane Schmitt had a good game for the Beeters, leading the way with 22 points. And Grant Tilleman followed with 11, while Taylor Erskine accounted for six. Chris Haider also had three points, and Dylan Surber and Brandon Riphenburg both had two apiece.

The hosting Pioneers did however get their season started off with a win.

Thursday the Pioneers earned a win by a very close margin, defeating the Highwood Mountaineers 44-41.

But to get the win the Pioneers had to claw back from behind. In the first quarter the Mountaineers outscored the Pioneers 13-4. And while the Mountaineers maintained a 16-11 lead at intermission, the Pioneers had a stronger second half. Big Sandy added 14 points in the third quarter and 19 in the fourth, outscoring the Mountaineers 33-25 in the second half.

Trevor Lackner, who scored 20-points led the Pioneer offense on Thursday. Justin Steven followed with seven, and Kaden Beck and Zac Leader with six apiece. Jessey Bailey and CJ Hanson also combined for five Pioneer points.

Several teams also got their seasons started over the weekend at the Northern Native American Classic in Havre. The Native American Classic was held at the MSU-N Armory gymnasium Friday-Saturday.

On Friday the Northern C Box Elder Bears defeated the Browning Indians junior varsity 53-46.

But it took a come from behind effort for the Bears to record a victory. The Indians outscored the Bears 14-13 in the first quarter and 14-12 in the second to take a 28-25 lead at the half.

But in the second half the Bears took over, holding the Indians to just three third quarter points while scoring nine of their own. And while the Indians put up 15 in the fourth, the Bears 19 point fourth quarter was enough to push them over the top.

Jesse Ramos led the bears with a 26-point outing and Lance Young followed with 16 points of his own. Dakota Standing Rock also scored six points for the Bears.

Also on Friday, the 2B Rocky Boy Stars got their season started off right.

Facing the Valier Panthers, the Stars earned a very convincing 97-55 win at the NAC.

The first quarter was somewhat close, as the Stars led by just eight points, but the narrow margin didn't last long. Rocky Boy added 17 points in the second quarter, but exploded in the second half with 28 points in the third quarter and 28 more in the fourth. Valier scored just 24 second half points.

The Stars up temp style and ability to score in transition really pushed them past the Panthers. And leading the way was Skylar Laforge with 20 points. Kirby Lafromboise followed with 13 and Leison Oats added 11. Shane Bacon compiled nine points, while Dusty Standing Rock, Colby Abbott and Mitch Lamere all accounted for eight points each.

The NAC continued on Saturday and the Stars rolled to their second straight dominating victory. The Stars defeated the 10C Heart Butte Warriors 96-67.

The Warriors had consistent scoring throughout, but just couldn't keep up with the Stars' production. While the Warriors put up 22 points in the first quarter, 18 in the second and 18 in the third, they were held to just nine fourth quarter points. The Stars on the other hand put up 17 points in the first quarter, 34 in the second, 26 in the third and 19 in the fourth as they rolled through another competitor with relative ease.

This time around it was Oats who led the Rocky Boy offense with 32 points. Kirby Lafromboise added 24, and Laforge added 11. Bacon also had 10 points, while Dusty Standing rock had six.

The District 2B Harlem Wildcats missed Friday's action due to the snow, but made their season debut at the NAC on Saturday.

The Wildcats defeated the 9C Box Elder Bears 83-64.

The Wildcats were very strong in the first three quarters, totaling 71 points. And adding 17 more in the fourth quarter, it was enough to hold off the Bears who surged late in the game for a 27 point fourth quarter. The Bears six point third quarter set them back too far for the comeback.

Leading the way for Harlem was Devone LaSarte who went off for 31 points. James Buck added a 13-point effort and Branden Hammond added eight. Jimmy Werk also had six for the Wildcats.

For the Bears, it was Jesse Ramos who led the offense. Ramos had another standout performance with 33 points and two three-pointers. Lance Young followed with 13 points and Irvin Big Knife followed with six to cap off the leading scorers.

The 10C Chester/J-I Hawks also saw action on Saturday.

Playing in Fort Benton, the Hawks slipped past the 8C Fort Benton Longhorns 50-48.

With a dominating first half, the Hawks were able to build a 23-14 lead at the break. But the Longhorns made things interesting with a 15 point third quarter and a 19 point fourth. The Hawks nine points in the third quarter let the Longhorns stick around, but fortunately their 18 point fourth quarter was enough to capture the win.

The Hawks had very even scoring. Ryne Tyler led with 13 points, but Branden Graff followed with 11, while Ceddy Pogue followed with 10 and Lane Harmon and Grant Lakey both had seven each.

And unfortunately, the Beeters troubles continued on Saturday.

Playing on the road, the Beeters suffered a 54-36 loss to the 10C Dutton-Brady Diamondbacks.

It was the second loss of the weekend for the Beeters and the offense still struggled to put up points.

Erskine led with 14 and Schmitt added 12, but besides that the offense was pretty quiet. The Beeters totaled just 18 first half points and 18 second half points, while the Diamondbacks put up 35 in the second half, putting the game further and further out of reach.

Big Sandy also played a second time this weekend, this time hosting the Augusta Elk.

But this time around the Pioneers suffered a loss, as the Elks went onto outscore the Pioneers 49-46 in a very close matchup.

The Pioneers jumped out to an early lead, but in the second half the Elks surges passed for the win. Big Sandy outscored the Elks 22-11 in the first half for a reasonable lead at the break. But even with an eleven-point third and 13 point fourth quarter, the Pioneers weren't able to hold of the Elks who had a 38 point second half.

Lackner was the leading scorer once again, this time with 15 points. Beck followed with nine of his own, while Stevens added seven.

Rounding off the weekend's action, the North Star Knights also played on Saturday.

But adding to the Hi-Line's struggles, the 9C Knights suffered a 59-19 loss to the 10C Power Pirates.

The Knights put up just seven points in the first quarter, two in the second, five in the third and five in the fourth. The Knights scoring was led by Dylan Crittenden with five and Shelby Sizemore with four.

THURSDAY

Roy-Winifred 64, Chinook 46

Roy-Winifred 11 17 17 20 — 64

Chinook 14 11 9 12 — 46

Roy-Winifred — Tucker Matovich 3, Chad Kananen 18, Justin Harrell 4, Chaz Kananen 5, Jory Chrest 4, Porter Sturm 22, Luke Stulc 8. Totals: 26 7-10.

Chinook — Lane Schmitt 22, Taylor Erskine 6, Chris Haider 3, Dylan Surber 2, Grant Tilleman 11, Brandon Riphenburg 2. Totals: 18 8-14.

Big Sandy 44, Highwood 41

Highwood 13 3 10 15 — 41

Big Sandy 4 7 14 19 — 44

Highwood — Jonathon Baum 8, Clayton O'Leary 3, Damon Alm 12, Nick Willis 9, Sam Davison 2, Dustin Malek 5, Derek Alm 2. Totals: 15 8-22.

Big Sandy — CJ Hanson 2. Justin Stevens 7, Trevor Lackner 20, Kaden Beck 6, Jessey Bailey 3, Zac Leader 6. Totals: 16 10-21.

FRIDAY

Box Elder 53, Browning JV 46

Box Elder 13 12 9 19 — 53

Browning JV 14 14 3 15 — 46

Box Elder — Lance Young 16, Jacob Burns 1, Dakota Standing Rock 6, Jesse Ramos 26 Totals: 14 19-33.

Browning JV — Isaac McKay 12, Sean Bremner 1, Vince Omeasoo 5, Zach Wagner 4, Daniel Hall 9, Waylon Bennett 5, Donald Merceau 2, Isaiah Crowford 5, Kevin Heavy Runner 4. Totals: 15 14-31.

Rocky Boy 97, Valier 55

Valier 16 15 9 15 — 55

Rocky Boy 24 17 28 28 — 97

Valier — Adam Hirst 2, Brad Holden 13, Kobe Hawke 2, Justin Sullivan 7, Jason Calf Robe 9, Jaron Calf Robe 12, Matt Christinson 10. Totals 21 9-13.

Rocky Boy — Leison Oats 11, Skylar Laforge 20, Garrett Anderson 2, Justin Raining Bird 6, Shane Bacon 9, Dusty Standing Rock 8, Colby Abbott 8, Mitch Lamere 8, Chontouy Standing Rock 4, Kirby Lafromboise 13, Darrin Lafromboise 2. Totals 38 6-19.

SATURDAY

Rocky Boy 96, Heart Butte 67

Rocky Boy 17 34 26 19 — 96

Heart Butte 22 18 18 9 — 67

Rocky Boy — Leisen Oats 32, Skylar LaForge 11, Justin Raining Bird 4, Shane Bacon 10, Dusty Standing Rock 6, Colby Abbott 3, Mitch LaMere 2, Chontery Standing Rock 3, Kirby LaFromboise 24, Garrett Anderson 1. Totals38 15-29.

Heart Butte — Talor Vaile 3, Kyler Eagle Specker 14, Wyatt Skunkcap 14, Tony Boss Ribs 6, Jaycee Aimsback 10, Elton Anderson 1, Lee Dusty Bull 3. Totals 21 12-20.

Harlem 83, Box Elder 64

Harlem 20 23 28 17 — 83

Box Elder 17 14 6 27 — 64

Harlem — Travis First Raised 3, Devone LaSarte 31, Jimmy Welk 6, James Buck 13, Riley Green 2, Branden Hammond 8, Cole McCann 4, Skylar Speak Thunder 8, Wallace Bird Tail 5. Totals 30 19-26.

Box Elder — Lance Young 13, Dakota Standing Rock 4, Thomas Parisian 3, Jesse Ramos 33, Jacob Burns 5, Irvin Big Knife 6. Totals 15 31-44.

Chester/J-I 50, Fort Benton 49

C/J-I 14 9 9 18 — 50

Fort Benton 5 9 15 19 — 48

C/J-I — Grant Lakey 7, Ryne Tyler 13, Ceddy Pogue 10, Branden Graff 11, Lane Harmon 7, Jeff Warken 2. Totals 19 10-15.

Fort Benton — Derek Kittredge 2, Jackson Bramlette 9, Reece Waldo 4, Riley Shaw 23, Brady Farwick 10. Totals 19 3-12.

Dutton-Brady 54, Chinook 36

Dutton-Brady 9 10 12 23 — 54

Chinook 12 6 9 9 — 36

Dutton-Brady — Wyatt Shumway 2, Logan Rossmiler 2, Tiegan Johnson 10, Clinton Habel 6, Kyler Johnson 6, Bridger Timmerman 14, Clint Williams 14. Totals: 23 4-10.

Chinook — Lane Schmitt 12, Taylor Erksine 14, Jacob MacLean 3, Zack Molyneaux 2, Chris Haider 4, Grant Tilleman 1. Totals: 13 4-6.

Power 59, North Star 19

Power 10 9 23 17 — 59

North Star 7 2 5 5 — 19

Power — Nic Carlsson 7, Nolan Vick 11, Gus Somerfeld 22, Kyle Schmidt 1, Seth Baker 2, Levi Willekes 2, Chase Laubach 7, Kyle Pederson 5, Nathaniel CVhitwood 2. Totals: 23 7-17.

North Star — Connor Kline 1, Zach Anderson 2, Dylan Crittenden 5, Shelby Sizemore 4, Cooper Spicher 1. Totals: 7 5-12.

Augusta 49, Big Sandy 46

Augusta 2 9 19 19 — 49

Big Sandy 14 8 11 13 — 46

Augusta — Shawn Henry 14, Tyler Hantz 19, Justin Patch 6, Joe Nelson 4, Garrett Krone 6. Totals: 18 10-25.

Big Sandy — C.J. Hanson 2, Colter Darlington 3, Justin Stevens 7, Trevor Lackner 15, Kaden Beck 9, Jessey Bailey 6, Zach Leader 4. Totals: 19 3-18.