Hi-Line boys basketball roundup

A busy weekend of high school boys basketball on the Hi-Line started on Thursday and it isn't over yet.

Area teams will play through Thursday as teams finish up the 2010 portions of the schedule.

On Thursday night, defending Class C state champion Big Sandy dropped a home game to District 8C rival Fort Benton, 72-39. The Longhorns overpowered the young Pioneers early and never looked back. Big Sandy got eight points from C.J. Hanson in the loss.

Friday's action saw the Chinook Sugarbeeters get into the win column with a 61-50 conference win in Box Elder. The Beeters jumped out to an early 20-12 lead, then held on as Box Elder ripped off a 21-7 run in the fourth quarter.

Lane Schmitt led three Beeters in double figures with 22 points, while Taylor Erskine added 15. Jesse Ramos poured in a game-high 23 points for the Bears.

In another important 9C clash on Friday night, the Pioneers got back on track with a 50-40 home win over North Star. The game was close throughout with Big Sandy leading 22-17 at intermission. But a 15-2 spurt in the third quarter allowed the Pioneers to create some distance and hold on for their first win of the season.

Colter Darlington paced Big Sandy with 13 points, while the Knights 13 points apiece from Jordy Donoven and Conner Kline.

District 9C teams Turner and Hays-Lodge Pole weren't as fortunate on Friday night.

The Tornadoes fell to Dodson 53-43 in their home opener as Dusty Mohar scored 11 points for Turner in the loss. And HLP dropped a heartbreaker to Winnett-Grass Ranger, 57-53. The Thunderbirds 22-19 at the break but the Rams came storming back in the second half. In the loss, HLP got 23 points by Scott Bradley and 12 from Tyler Roberts.

Friday night was good for the Chester J-I Hawks, however. The Hawks got a weekend-sweep started with a hard-fought 44-39 win over District 10C rival Sunburst. The Hawks used a 13-3 run in the second quarter to build a lead, then they had to hold the Refiners off down the stretch.

In the win, C/J-I got 11 points and 11 rebounds from Jeff Wanken.

And the Hawks good fortune carried over to Saturday night as they crushed rival Simms, 54-28 in Chester. C/J-I played suffocating defense against the Tigers and grabbed a 16-6 lead in the first quarter, and the Tigers never really threatened.

In the second straight win, the Hawks were paced by Lane Harmon's 16 points and 14 rebounds.

North Star also pulled off a 9C win on Saturday. In Gildford, the Knights edged Box Elder 54-44.

Jordy Donoven went for 19 points for the Knights and Shelby Sizemore chipped in with 11. The Bears were led by Lance Young's 19 points.

Saturday also saw Chinook continue its winning ways. The Beeters won a second straight conference game be demolishing Turner 63-18 in Chinook. Erskine and Schmitt scored 13 points each for the Beeters, while Brandon Riphenburg added 10. The Tornadoes were led by Darin Welsh's eight points.

HLP also rebounded on Saturday night, beating Moore-Judith Gap 47-42 in Hays. The T-Birds were in a battle throughout, but overtook the Tigers in the fourth quarter. Tyler Roberts again paced the T-Birds with 12 points.

After a big win over North Star on Friday night, the Big Sandy Pioneers played their third game in a row on Saturday, falling to the Denton Trojans 60-44 in Denton. The Pioneers were in the contest until the Trojans reeled off a 20-9 run in the fourth quarter.

C.J. Hanson led the Pioneers in the loss with 12 points, Trevor Lackner and Zach Leader scored eight points each.

In Class B action on Saturday, the Rocky Boy Stars continued their winning ways by edging Cut Bank 67-66 in Rocky Boy. The game was nip-and-tuck all the way, and the Stars managed to beat the Wolves right at the end.

Kirby Lafromboise and Leisin Oats both scored 26 points for the Stars, who also beat rival Harlem on Friday night.

The Wildcats were also in a close game on Saturday night, and fell short, 72-69 at home against 2B rival Poplar.

In the loss to the Indians, Bud Buck scored 15 points for Harlem, while Skylar Speakthunder chipped in with 14 points.

On Monday night, the Rocky Boy Stars suffered their first loss in over a full calendar year. The Stars lost at home to Malta 70-61. Rocky Boy had gone undefeated all of last season.

In Class C action on Monday night, Big Sandy fell at home to Winifred Roy, 68-49. The Pioneers got 14 points from Colter Darlington and 13 from Trevor Lackner in the loss.

Thursday

Fort Benton 72, Big Sandy 39

Fort Benton 26 17 14 15 — 72

Big Sandy 6 8 15 10 — 39

Fort Benton — Ernie Fultz 6, Derek Kittredge 26, Brandon Gibson 9, Jackson Bramlette 6, Reece Waldo 13, Riley Shaw 7. Totals 28 6-14.

Big Sandy — C. Hanson 8, C. Darlington 7, T. Lackner 6, K. Beck 7, J. Bailey 7, Z. Leader 4. Totals 17 4-13.

Fouls — Fort Benton 17 Big Sandy 10. Fouled out — None. 3-pointers — Kittredge 1, Gibson 3, Bramlette 2, Waldo 3, Shaw 1, Bailey 1.

Friday

Dodson 53, Turner 43

Dodson 12 18 9 14 — 53

Turner 6 9 6 22 — 43

Dodson — Brett Janes 7, Levi Jones 4, Rocky Lewis 18, Jimmy Martin 13. Totals 17 15-23.

Turner — Alton Matthews 2, Levi Humphreys 8, Dylan Welsh 3, Aaron VanVagenburg 5, Dusty Momar 11, Gayln Maroney 14. Totals 19 5-14.

Fouls — Dodson 20, Turner 17. Fouled out — Martin (D), Humphreys (T),Momar (T). 3-pointers — Jones 1, Lewis 1, Martin 2.

Big Sandy 50, North Star 40

North Star 8 9 7 16 — 40

Big Sandy 10 12 15 13 — 50

North Star — Cooper Spicher 3, Jordy Donoven 13, Conner Kline 13, Zach Anderson 5, Dylan Crittenden 3, Karston Donoven 3. Totals 16 4-9.

Big Sandy — C. Hanson 7, D. Briese 1, C. Darlington 13, T. Lackner 9, K. Beck 8, J. Bailey 6, Z. Leader 6. Totals 17 13-29.

Fouls — North Star 20, Big Sandy 10. Fouled out — K. Donoven (NS). 3-pointers — Spicher 1, J. Donoven 1, Kline 1, K. Donoven 1, Bailey 1, Leader 1, Darlington 1.

Chester/J-I 44, Sunburst 39

C/J-I 8 13 8 15 —44

Sunburst 8 3 20 8 —39

C/J-I — P. Tyler 9, C. Rogue 8, B. Cejnor 8, Lane Harmon 8, Jeff Wanken 11. Totals 20 2-10.

Sunburst — Z. Johannsen 11, S. Bye 15, R. Ratzberg 2, J. Friesen 3, C. Ratzburg 6, J. Hauschulz 2. Totals 11 11-19.

Total fouls — CJI 15, Sunburst 11. Fouled out — Hauschulz. Three-point goals — Tyler, Wanken, Johannsen 3, Bye 2, Friesen.

Chinook 61, Box Elder 50

Chinook 20 14 20 7 — 61

Box Elder 12 6 11 21 — 50

Chinook — Lane Schmitt 22, Tyler Molyneaux 1, Taylor Erskine 15, Zach Molyneaux 1, Chris Haider 13, Brandon Riphenburg 2, Grant Tilleman 7. Totals 21 13-24.

Box Elder — Irvin Big Knife 4, Lance Young 11, Jessie Ramos 23, Dakota Standing Rock 2, Jacob Burns 8, Brandon Belgarde 2, Thomas Parisian 1. Totals 19 10-12.

Winnett/Grass Range 57, Hays-Lodge Pole 53

HLP 11 11 9 22 — 53

Winnett/Grass Range 7 12 19 19 — 57

HLP — Cyrus Cole 3, Scott Bradely 23, Derek Doney 10, Tyler Roberts 12, Trent Kjrkaldre 5. Totals 18 14-21.

Winnett/Grass Range — Barnett 2, Gardner 15, Hoge 6, Gee 4, Weingart 11, Kiehl 8, Iverson 11. Totals 20 13-25.

Saturday

Poplar 72, Harlem 69

Poplar 11 15 14 20 12 — 72

Harlem 4 11 26 19 9 — 69

Poplar — Avery Young 10, Jace Daniels 23, Loren Allen 15, CT Smith 17, Taylor Buckles 7. Totals 21 24-40.

Harlem — Skyler Speakthunder 14, Devone LaSarte 8, Bud Buck 15, Travis First Raised 11, Cole McCann 8, Branden Hammond 8, Jimmy Werk 3, Riley Green 2. Totals 24 20-33.

Fouls — Poplar 25, Harlem 34. Fouled out — Smith (P), Buckles (P), Speakthunder (H), LaSarte (H), Buck (H), First Raised (H), McCann (H), Hammond(H). 3-pointers — Young 1, Daniels 4, Smith 1, LaSarte 1.

Rocky Boy 67, Cut Bank 66

Cut Bank 25 7 13 21 —66

Rocky Boy 12 19 14 22 —67

Cut Bank — Zach Altenburg 17, Kyle Berkram 6, Dylan Smith 6, Scott Broere 6, J.J. Lighthizer 8, Nate Kavanagh 15, Anthony Selby 8. Totals 26 12-15

Rocky Boy — Leisien Oats 26, Skylar Laforde 5, Shane Bacon 6, Dusty Standing Rock 4, Kirby Lafromboise 26. Totals 26 14-22.

Total fouls — Cut Bank 16, Rocky Boy 15. Fouled out — Berkram. Three-point goals — Altenburg 5, Lighthizer, Oats.

Chinook 63, Turner 18

Turner 2 2 9 5 — 18

Chinook 30 16 9 8 — 63

Turner — A. Matthews 1, D. Welsh 8, A. VanValkenberg 3, D. Mohar 4, G. Maloney 2. Totals: 8 1-2.

Chinook — Lane Schmitt 13, Tyler Molyneaux 6, Taylor Erskine 13, Chris Webber 3, Chris Haider 7, Brandon Riphenburg 10, Dylan Sarber 5, Grant Tilleman 6. Totals: 25 7-14.

Fouls: Turner 10, Chinook 4. Fouled out: none. Three-point goals: VanValkenberg, Schmitt, Haider, Sarber, Erskine 3.

Denton 60, Big Sandy 44

Big Sandy 14 12 9 9 — 44

Denton 16 16 8 20 — 60

Big Sandy — Dallas Briese 4, C.J. Hanson 12, Colter Darlington 5, Trevor Lackner 8, Zach Leader 8, Jesse Bailey 7. Totals: 18 2-12.

Denton — Mitch Ward 13, Cole Jelinek 9, Julius Frehse 10, Garrett Bronec 17, Jarryd Lahr 11. Totals: 18 22-32.

Fouls: Big Sandy 23, Denton 16. Fouled out: Kaden Beck. Three-point goals: Briese, Darlington, Lackner, Bailey, Ward, Jelinek, Leader 2.

Hays-Lodge Pole 47, Moore/Judith Gap 42

Moore/Judith Gap 14 9 7 12 — 42

HLP 13 10 10 14 — 47

Moore/Judith Gap — Thomas Baxfelt 2, Jens Larsen 7, Tanner Carroll 4, Haden Wichman 3, Derek Melichar 20, Tylor Brook 4, Jordan Walter 2. Totals 18 4-14.

HLP — Derek Doney 8, Tyler Roberts 12 Scott Bradley 8, Nolan Werk 7, Trent Kirkaldie8, Cyrus Cole 4. Totals 21 7-11.

Fouls — MJG 12, HLP 15. Fouled out — None. 3-pointers — Larsen 1, Melichar 1, Bradley 1.

Chester/J-I 54, Simms 28

Simms 6 8 10 4 — 28

C/J-I 16 13 12 13 — 54

Simms — Kyle Tschetter 6, Weston Teppo 1, Tyler Martinez 6, Joey Crumley 4, Justin Thompson 1, Cody Thompson 8. Totals 11 4-13.

C/J-I — Grant Lakey 4, Kyne Tyler 7, Ceddy Pogle8, Dustin Romain 1, Colten Young 2, Bryant Ceynar 4, Mike Nenke 2, Brandon Graff 7, Klayton Lohr 1, Lane Namion 16, Jeff Wanken 2. Totals 21 10-22.

Fouls — Simms 19, CJI 12. Fouled out — Hall (S). 3-pointers — Martinez 2, Lakey 1, Tyler 1.