Hi-Line Boys Basketball Roundup

The last regular season week is in the books, and there were a lot of key wins and losses over the weekend.

On Thursday the 1B Rocky Boy stars kept their hopes of a top finish alive with a 65-64 overtime win over Conrad in conference play.

The Stars made it through the tight matchup on the shoulders of Leisen Oats and Kirby Lafromboise. Lafromboise led the Stars with 22 and Oats added 20 as the Stars grabbed 10 points in overtime to edge out the Cowboys after Conrad used a 21 point fourth quarter to force the overtime.

The 9C North Star Knights also got a league win on Thursday when they defeated the 9C Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds 42-36.

The Thunderbirds held a 9-7 lead after the first quarter, but the Knights overcame the small deficit on route to a big win. The knights put up 12 in the second, seven in the third and 16 in the fourth, while the Thunderbirs scored just five in the second, 16 in the third and just six in the fourth.

Paul McClendon led the Knights with 15 points while Jordy Donoven added eight and Connor Kline added nine. And for the Thunderbirds, Tyler Roberts led with 17 while Scott Bradley added six. On Friday the Knights were back in action when they took on the nonconference 8C Highwood Mountaineers. But facing the tough Mountaineers squad, the Knights were defeated 56-47.

North Star got off to a slow start and never overcame the deficit. The Mountaineers led 14-5 after the first eight minutes and kept rolling. The Knights fought back with a 21 point fourth quarter, but it was too little too late.

Donoven led the way with 21 points and Kline added 11. Dylan Crittenden pitched in five.

The 9C Thunderbirds suffered their second loss of the weekend on Friday. And handing the loss to HLP was the 9C Big Sandy Pioneers. The Pioneers defeated the Thunderbirds 73-67 in overtime. HLP led 24-18 early and 39-30 at the break, but couldn't fend off the Pioneers for long. Big Sandy outscored the Thunderbirds 34-25 in the second half to push an overtime and outscored the Thunderbirds 9-3 in extra time to grab the important win.

The Pioneers were led by Justin Stevens with 26 points and Kaden Beck with 10. And the Thunderbirds were led by Ty Racine with 13 and Roberts with 12.

The 9C Box Elder Bears grabbed a nonconference win on Friday as they prepare for a tough post season. The Bears defeated the Sunburst Refiners 66-44.

After the first quarter was locked up at 18-18 the Bears took a one point lead into the half. But after the Bears held the Refiners to just 10 second half points while putting up 37 of their own, the Bears grabbed the dominating win.

Warren Parisian led with a game-high 19 points while Jacob Parker continued his solid season with 15. And Jessie Ramos added 10 while Lance Young added 14 for the Bears.

The 9C Chinook Sugarbeeters also earned a win on Friday, defeating Geraldine 72-43 in another dominating performance.

A 45-26 run in the first half set the tone for the Beeters steam rolling of the Tigers. Taylor Erskine led the No. 1 9C squad with 29 points and Lane Schmitt followed with 17 of his own. Tyler Molyneaux also added seven while Chris Haider added seven of his own and Grant Tilleman added six.

The 10C Chester/J-I Hawks fell to Heart Butte in conference play to wrap up play on Friday. The Hawks struggled and were defeated 52-37.

Heart Butte took an early 18-14 lead and never let up. They added seven in the second quarter and 27 in the second half, while the Hawks scored just 23 more in the rest of the contest.

Brandon Graff totaled 10 points to lead the Hawks while Ryne Tyler added nine and Grant Lakey added eight.

The Hawks continued play on Saturday, but this time took on the No. 1 9C Beeters. Chinook defeated C/J-I 61-60 in overtime.

The Hawks had the lead early with a 19-14 streak in the first, but the Beeters bounced back with a 16-8 run in the second. In the second half however, the Hawks outscored the Beeters 21-18 to force overtime. But with the extra time on the clock, it was the Beeters who edged out the Hawks with a 13-12 run.

The Hawks were led by Lane Harmon with 17 and Brandon Graff with 12. But the Beeters got big production from Schmitt with 25 and Haider with 12. Molyneaux and Erskine also combined for 22.

With the two losses on the weekend, the Hawks dropped to 5-7 in the conference and 8-10 overall as they prepare for the postseason tournament. And the Beeters, they maintained their No. 1 seed with a 10-0 conference record and improved to 14-4 overall.

The 9C Knights were back on the court on Saturday, but finished their season with 61-51 win over the conference rival Turner Tornadoes.

Travis Daniels had another big game with 35 points for the Tornadoes, but his offense just couldn't keep up. Alton Mathews added 10 points. But the Knights strung together four solid quarters led by Donoven with 19. Paul Mclennon added nine in the win.

The Knights finished in the 9C at 5-5 and will also prepare for the 9C tournament this weekend.

The Bears and Pioneers also finished their 9C regular season on Saturday.

In a tight win the Bears defeated the Pioneers 65-63. And with the win the Bears finished the season with a league record of 4-6, and with the loss the Pioneers enter the post season with a conference record of 6-4.

A 20-point first quarter put the Bears out in front early, but the Pioneers answered back with a 20 point stretch in the second. The Pioneers held the 34-32 lead at the break and were able to hold off the Bears for the conference win.

Box Elder was led by Parker with 23 and Ramos with 14. And the Pioneers were led by Trevor Lackner with 21 and Stevens with 16.

The Stars finished their season off with a win in the Class B as well, defeating Choteau 50-32. The Stars finished the season 10-2.

The double digit victory for the Stars was led by Lafromboise with 12 points and Oats who finished with 10 points.

The Wildcats weren't as fortunate in the ending of their season as they fell to Plentywood 71-51 and finished the season 2-8.

The Wildcats fell behind early, finding themselves down 18-7. Harlem battled back with 15 in the second, but were outscored 19-15 in the second and 19-12 in the third. The Wildcats posted 17 more in the fourth, but were too big of a whole.

Speaks Thunder led the Wildcats with 17 and Buck added 11. Hammond also had 13 for the Wildcats.

Thursday

Rocky Boy 65, Conrad 64 (ot)

Conrad 10 6 18 21 9 — 64

Rocky Boy 12 9 17 17 10 — 65

Conrad — B. Vanderboss 2, G. Grubb 23, G. Grubb 12, C. Winters 5, F. Larson 4, B. Muekerke 18. Totals 21 14-21.

Rocky Boy — Leisen Oats 20, Jakoya Oats 3, Skylar LaForge 10, Shane Bacon 2, Nick Henry 4, Kirby Lafromboise 22, Darian Lafromboise 4. Totals: 28 8-12.

North Star 42, Hays-Lodge Pole 36

North Star 7 12 7 16 — 42

Hays-Lodge Pole 9 5 16 6 — 36

North Star — Jordy Donoven 8, Connor Kline 9, Paul McClendon 15, Dylan Crittenden 4, Karston Donoven 6. Totals: 15 16-12.

Hays-Lodgepole — Scott Bradley 6, Derek Doney 5, Floyd McConnell 2, Tyler Roberts 17, Trent Kirkaldie 5. Totals: 15 4-14.

Friday

Highwood 56, North Star 47

Highwood 14 7 14 21 — 56

North Star 5 13 8 21 — 47

Highwood — Jon Brown 2, Damon Alm 2, Nick Willis 17, Chad Bullchild 17, Sam Davison 2, Aushn Malek 12, Derek Alm 4. Totals: 21 11-19.

North Star — Cooper Spicher 2, Jordy Donoven 21, Connor Kline 11, Paul McClendon 5, Dylan Crittenden 5, Karston Donoven 3. Totals: 18 7-9.

Big Sandy 73, Hays-Lodge Pole 67 (ot)

Big Sandy 18 12 15 19 9 — 73

Hays-Lodge Pole 24 15 13 12 3 — 67

Big Sandy — Dallas Briese 6, Justin Stevens 26, Kaden Beck 10, Zach Leader 17, Jessey Bailey 7. Totals: 23 21-33.

Hays-Lodge Pole — Ty Racine 13, Andrew Cole 4, Scott Bradley 20, Derek Doney 6, Clifford Black Elk 4, Kyle Stanley 2, Tyler Roberts 12, Trent Kirkaldie 4. Totals: 27 9-15.

Box Elder 66, Sunburst 44

Box Elder 18 11 15 22 — 66

Sunburst 18 10 9 1 — 44

Box Elder — Randall Gardipee 2, Lance Young 14, Thomas Parisian 2, Jessie Ramos 10, Chris Lamere 2, Jacob Parker 15, Warren Parisian 19. Totals: 27 11-18.

Sunburst — Zach Johannsen 14, Scotty Bye 11, Kamron Ratzburg 5, Travis Robbins 3, Cole Ratzburg 6, Justin Hauschulz 5. Totals: 16 5-13.

Chinook 72, Geraldine 43

Geraldine 14 12 13 4 — 43

Chinook 21 24 16 11 — 72

Geraldine — M. Burtchett 2, C. DanBrook 3, S. Bronec 2, S. Ikard 10, R. Joyce 6, M. Bronec 4, W. McKinlay 16. Totals: 17 8-12.

Chinook — Lane Schmitt 17, Tyler Molyneaux 7, Taylor Erskine 29, Zach Molyneaux 4, Chris Haider 7, Brandon Riphenburg 2, Grant Tilleman 6. Totals: 29 9-14.

Heart Butte 52, Chester/J-I 37

Chester/J/I 14 7 11 5 — 37

Heart Butte 18 7 15 12 — 52

Chester-Joplin-Inverness — Grant Lakey 8, Ryne Tyler 9, Ceddy Pogue 2, Brandon Graff 10, Lane Harmon 6, Jeff Wanken 2. Totals: 15 2-6.

Heart Butte — Kyler EagleSpeaker 11, Tony Calf Boss Ribs 2, Wyatt Skunkcap 19, Tylor Vaile 16, Jaycee Aimsback 4. Totals: 18 8-11.

Saturday

Chinook 61, Chester/J-I 60

Chinook 14 16 9 9 13 — 61

Chester/J-I 19 8 11 10 12 — 60

Chinook — Lane Schmitt 25, Tyler Molyneaux 11, Taylor Erskine 11, Chris Haider 12, Grant Tilleman 2. Totals: 22 11-18.

Chester/J-I— Grant Lakey 9, Ryne Tyler 9, Ceddy Pogue 4, Bryant Ceynar 8, Brandon Graff 12, Lane Harmon 17, Jeff Wanken 1. Totals: 19 20-29.

North Star 61, Turner 51

North Star 13 19 14 15 — 61

Turner 12 16 6 17 — 51

North Star — Cooper Spicher 4, Jordy Donoven 19, Conor Kline 9, Johnny Meister 1, Paul McClennon 9, Dylan Crittenden 11, Karston Donoven 6, Donovan Ullmen 2. Totals: 22 11-17.

Turner — Travis Daniels 35, Acton Mathews 10, Dylan Welsh 2, Dusty Mohar 4. Totals: 20 9-16.

Box Elder 65, Big Sandy 63

Box Elder 20 12 21 12 —65

Big Sandy 14 20 16 13 —63

Box Elder — Jacob Parker 23, Jessie Ramos 14, Warren Parisian 0, Lance Young 14, Jacob Burns 6, Chris Lamere 6, Randall Gardipee 2. Totals 27 8-23.

Big Sandy — Dallas Briese 10, Jessey Bailey 6, Zach Leader 8, Justin Stevens 16, Trevor Lackner 21. Totals 24 11-29.

Rocky Boy 50, Choteau 32

Rocky Boy 10 18 12 10 — 50

Choteau 13 7 5 7 — 32

Rocky Boy — Lesen Oats 10, Garrett Anderson 2, Skylar LaForge 11, Shane Bacon 1, Dusty Standing Rock 2, Nick Henry 4, Cody Lamere 4, Kirby Lafromboise 12, Darian Lafromboise 4. Totals: 21 8-11.

Choteau — Jacob Horn 1, Chase Crabtree 1, David Lightner 9, Nate Duroscher 4, Austin Walker 2, Isaac Howard 9, Chris Schlesser 6. Totals 12 7-16.

Plentywood 71, Harlem 51

Harlem 7 15 12 17 — 51

Plentywood 18 19 19 15 — 71

Harlem — Skylar Speakthunder 17, Bud Buck 11, Jarette Werk 6, Brandon Hammond 13, Jimmy Werk 2. Ttoals: 21 5-10.

Plentywood — Mark Angvick 3, Brady Osksa 12, Rob Nyby 27, Trey Howard 2, Cody Lindblom 8, Matt McCoy 11, Pres Harris 8. Totals: 24 21-33.