Hi-Line Boys Basketball Roundup: Big wins for Rocky Boy

With the 2012-2013 basketball season quickly approaching its end, a lot of important games were played over the weekend.

On Thursday, the District 9C Big Sandy Pioneers hosted the long time rival 1B Rocky Boy Stars. The Stars earned a win, 77-71 in Big Sandy. The Stars' offense came out hot and the Pioneers just couldn't keep pace as the Stars scored at least 20 points in all but one frame. The Pioneers put up 17 in the first and 18 in each of the finals three, but Rocky Boy's Junior Day Child proved to be too much, finishing with 30 points. Desmond Parker add 18 and Darian LaFromboise added 14 for the Stars.

Turner's Bret VanValkenburg races down the floor during Monday afternoon's game between the Tornadoes and the Havre Blue Pony froshmore team at the HHS gymnasium.

Big Sandy was paced by Trevor Lackner with 18 points, Jerry Hanson with 17, Zac Leader with 14, and Kaden Beck with 10.

The 2B Harlem Wildcats also had a Thursday game, but fell to the 1B Shelby Coyotes in Harlem. The Coyotes defeated the Wildcats 44-33, as both teams have had their share of struggles this season. The Wildcats did get decent production from Clay Doney with 11 points, while Isaiah Lawrence and Tristin Gone scored seven points each.

Harlem also hosted the Glasgow Scotties in 2B action on Friday, but managed to come away with the slim, two-point win. The Wildcats defeated the Scotties 46-44. Micah Shaw's 15 points helped the Wildcats battle back from an early deficit to earn the win. And Harlem's 26 second half points were crucial, as Stanley Irvine and Gone also scored seven points each.

Havre's Jerod Boles, left, drives around a Turner defender during Monday's boys basketball game in Havre.

Big Sandy was also back in action on Friday night, but this time against 9C rival Chinook. The Pioneers were able to defeat the Sugarbeeters 68-61. The Pioneers held a solid 14 point lead at the end of the third quarter, but the Beeters surged late in the contest. Chinook outscored the Beeters 23-14 in the final frame, but came up short. Big Sandy was led by Lackner's game high 21, while Leader added 10, Hanson added 17 and Beck added 14. Chinook was led by Grant Tilleman's 19, while Zach Molyneaux added 12, and Lane Seymour added 15.

And in more 9C play Friday, the Box Elder Bears and Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds also tipped off. The Bears continued to roll through the competition with a 79-50 win. Box Elder scored at least 14 in each quarter, including 18 in the first and 27 in the third. And with the exception of a 20-point third quarter, the Thunderbirds struggled to keep pace. Clayton Morsette led the Bears with 25 points, while Randall Gardipee added 19. Marvin Cole led the Thunderbirds with 25 points in the losing effort.

In 10C play, the Chester/J-I Hawks faced off against the district rival Power Pirates on Friday. The Hawks took down the Pirates in dominating fashion, winning 43-29. Dell Harmon scored 18 points to lead the Hawks.

District 9C Turner hosted non conference Roy-Winifred on Friday, but had a rough outing at home. Roy-Winifred defeated the Tornadoes 63-21. Turner struggled to score, but was led by Brett Vanvalkenburg's six points, and Lucas Reed's five.

Turner had to turn around and face a 9C rival on Saturday as well. But this time around, it was the Beeters who earned the impressive win over the Tornadoes. The Beeters defeated the Tornadoes 64-49 in Chinook.

Turner was simply outmatched, as Chinook scored 17 in the opening frame and never let up. The Beeters got 19 from Molyneaux, while TIlleman added 16, and McLean added 14. Turner got its best production from Reed with 16 points and VanValkenburg with 12 points.

Box Elder grabbed its second win of the weekend on Saturday, this time defeating Heart Butte 79-70 in a much closer matchup. The Bears jumped all over the Warriors, 24-12 in the opening frame, but gave up a lot of points down the stretch, including 26 in the fourth quarter. Randall Gardipee's 24 points helped the Bears hold on, while Lonnie Plainbull added 21.

The 9C Thunderbirds played their second game of the weekend on Saturday, but couldn't get into the win column for the second time. Roy-Winifred beat their second 9C opponent of the weekend, defeating the Thunderbirds 68-43.

Hays-Lodge Pole was shut out in the first frame, and never recovered. The T-Birds went on to score decent numbers in the remaining frames, 17, 11, and 15, but the defense couldn't get the stops. Cole led the Thunderbirds with 17 and Darrin Long Fox added 12.

Also on Saturday, two teams that are very familiar with each other tipped off, as the 9C North Star Knights hosted the 10C Hawks in Rudyard. The Hawks handled the Knights 63-28, as Justin May scored a team high for the Hawks. Steven May also added 13. For the Knights, Quinn Spinler led the way with 10 points.

Rocky Boy followed Thursday's win over Big Sandy with another win on Saturday. Rocky Boy defeated District 1B rival Fairfield 66-55 at home. The Stars led by just four points after the first eight minutes, but steady scoring helped spread the gap. Darien LaFromboise led all scorers with 26, but Parker added 12 to the mix, while Day Child finished with 15 points.

In a special Monday afternoon game, Turner notched its third win of the season, by defeating the Havre High froshmore team 43-29 at the HHS gymnasium. Turner got a game-high 15 points from Lucas Reed and 11 each by Dylan Welsh and Bret Vanvalkenburg in the victory. The Blue Ponies were led by 13 points from sophomore Dakota Christianson.

Thursday

Rocky Boy 77, Big Sandy 71

Rocky Boy 23 21 13 20 – 77

Big Sandy 17 18 18 18 – 71

Rocky Boy – Elijah Gopher 5, Isiah Murie 4, Junior Day Child 30, Justin Raining Bird 4, Desmond Parker 18, Darian LaFromboise 14, Cecil LaFromboise 2.

Big Sandy – Zac Leader 14, Kyle Strutz 2, Jessey Bailey 10, Jerry Hanson 17, Kaden Beck 10, Trevor Lackner 18.

Shelby 44, Harlem 33

Shelby 11 16 11 6 – 44

Harlem 7 8 12 6 – 33

Shelby – Thane McCracken 2, Jared Eckhardt 5, Ryan Clark 18, Tyler White 17, Dru Genger 2.

Harlem – Stanley Irvine 2, Isaiah Lawrence 7, Micah Shawl 5, Tristin Gone 7, Tyler Doney 1, Clay Doney 11.

Friday

Harlem 46, Glasgow 44

Glasgow 15 8 9 12 – 44

Harlem 9 11 16 10 – 46

Glasgow – Brian Larson 10, Jason Thibault 2, Chase Folsum 7, Jake Page 14, Keil Krumwiede 9, Jake Colstad 2.

Harlem – Anthony Gray 5, Stanley Irvine 7, Isaiah Lawrence 5, Micah Shaw 15, Tristan Gone 7, Tyler Doney 3, Clay Doney 4.

Big Sandy 68, Chinook 61

Chinook 6 18 14 23 – 61

Big Sandy 18 19 15 14 – 68

Chinook – Lane Seymour 15, Scott Schmitt 2, Zach Molyneaux 12, Jacob McLean 7, Grant Tilleman 19.

Big Sandy — Zac Leader 10, Jessey Bailey 6, Jerry Hanson 17, Kaden Beck 14, Trevor Lackner 21.

Box Elder 79, Hays-Lodge Pole 50

Hays-Lodge Pole 11 8 20 11 – 50

Box Elder 18 14 27 20 – 79

Hays-Lodge Pole – Marvin Cole 25, Jeff Sorrell 6, Gage Essert 3, Darnell Parisian 5, Jalen Brockie 9.

Box Elder – Brandon The Boy 5, Clayton Morsette Jr. 25, William Ketchum 2, Randall Gardipee 19, Quinn Baker 6, Thomas Parisian 3, Lonnie Plain Bull Jr. 10, Jacob Burns 2, Kylee Fiddler 5, Slayte Duran 2.

Chester/J-I 43, Power 29

C/J-I 4 15 10 14 – 43

Power 7 2 14 6 – 39

C/J-I – Dell Harmon 18, Tim Stokes 5, Mike Henke 3, Steven May 5, Cody Ramberg 3, Casey Kinyon 2, Justin May 7.

Power – Torren Lee 9, Kyle Schmidt 7, Levi Willekes 4, Isaiah Dunk 5, Ryan Gunderson 2, Seth Kitchin 2.

Roy-Winifred 63, Turner 21

Roy-Winifred 17 16 15 15 – 63

Turner 4 8 1 8 – 21

Roy-Winifred – Tucker Matovich 9, Chad Kananen 22, Samu Soini 2, Buster Sayer 7, Luke Stulc 20, Lee Thompson 3.

Turner – Dylan Welsh 4, Tyler Humphreys 4, Bret VanValkenburg 6, Lucas Reed 5, Alvero Gonzalez 2.

Saturday

Chinook 64, Turner 49

Turner 8 13 10 18 – 49

Chinook 17 13 18 16 – 64

Turner — Dylan Welsh 9, Tyler Humphreys 4, Bret VanValkenburg 12, Lucas Reed 16, Aiyero Gonzalez 8.

Chinook — Lane Seymour 4, Dylan Surber 2, Scott Schmitt 2, Zach Molyneaux 19, Jacob McLean 14, Cody McCracken 2, Zack Schellin 3, Ty Simenson 2, Grant Tilleman 16.

Box Elder 79, Heart Butte 70

Box Elder 24 15 14 26 – 79

Heart Butte 12 15 21 20 – 70

Box Elder – Brandon The Boy 16, Clayton Morsette Jr. 9, Randal Gardipee 24, Thomas Parisian 7, Lonnie Plain Bull Jr. 21, Kylee Fiddler 2.

Heart Butte – Tyler Still Smoking 8, Eric Denney 7, Elijay Young Running Crane 14, Wyatt Skunkcap 16, Jared Bullshoe 2, Jacey Aimsback 23.

Roy-Winifred 68, Hays-Lodge Pole 43

Roy-Winifred 17 21 19 11 – 68

Hays-Lodge Pole 0 17 11 15 – 43

Hays-Lodge Pole – Darrin Long Fox 12, Nate DOney 2, Jeff Sorrell 7, Marvin Cole 17, Gage Essert 3, Jalen Brockie 2.

Roy-Winifred – Tucker Matovich 22, Chad Kananen 17, Samu Soini 4, Jordan Harrell 2, Luke Stulc 15, Lee Thompson 6, Simon Neilson 2.

Chester/J-I 63, North Star 28

C/J-I 11 22 18 12 – 63

North Star 5 12 5 6 – 28

C/J-I – Dell Harmon 5, Tim Stokes 9, Mike Henke 8, Steven May 13, Casey Kinyon 9, Woods 2, Justin May 15.

North Star – Cooper Spicher 7, Quinn Spinler 10, Gavin Spinler 2, Sam Ulmen 4, Jaxon Simonson 3.

Rocky Boy 66, Fairfield 55

Fairfield 11 17 12 15 – 55

Rocky Boy 15 15 18 18 – 66

Fairfield – Nick Drishinski 6, Morgan Schenk 10, Dylan Palmer 2, Yancy Gagne 13, Drew Oveson 7, Trevor Schenk 12, Tanner Meyer 5.

Rocky Boy – Junior Day Child 15, Jared Coffee 3, Justin Raining Bird 4, Desmond Parker 12, Darien LaFromboise 26, Cecil LaFromboise 4.

Monday

Turner 43, Havre Frosh 29

Turner 11 13 9 10 – 43

Havre 8 10 6 5 – 29

Turner – Dylan Welsh 11, Tyler Humphreys 2, Bret Vanvalkenburg 11, Lucas Reed 15, Alvero Gonzalez 2, Reece Hutton 2.

Havre – Charlie Christianson 7, Bridger Bibeau 7, Cole Keller 2, Dakota Christianson 13.