Hi-Line Boys Basketball Roundup

Basketball action resumed for area teams after the holiday break and results varied, including big wins, tough losses, and even some weather-caused cancelations and postponements.

On Thursday, the District 9C Big Sandy Pioneers continued their struggles in 2014.

Moore/Judith Gap came into Big Sandy and handed the Pioneers their fifth loss of the season and kept the Pioneers winless on the season. Big Sandy suffered an 81-35 loss at home.

Jerry Hanson continued to lead the Pioneers, this time with 13 points, but it wasn’t enough to stay competitive after trailing 20-10 after the first quarter. Geno Menard finished with nine for the Pioneers and Laurence Alderdice finished with eight. Cody Bailey also had four points in the loss.

Cold weather and icy conditions rolled into the area on Friday, and three Hi-Line teams had to call off games. The Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds were scheduled to face the Chinook Sugarbeeters in a 9C showdown, while the 2B Harlem Wildcats canceled their conference matchup with Malta.

The 10C Chester/J-I Hawks did play on Friday, and in doing so earned a 57-38 conference win over Valier on the road.

Valier struggled to get going on offense, turning in a four-point first quarter, and the Hawks took advantage with 14-points in the first, 15 in the second, and 14 more in each of the third and fourth quarters. Dell Harmon and Justin May led the way with 12-points each, but Klayton Lohr followed with another 11. Steven May also scored nine in a balanced effort.

Rocky Boy failed to grab a conference win over Fairfield on Friday. Fairfield defeated the 1B Stars 51-35 in Fairfield.

After trailing by just two-points at the half, the Stars ran out of offense. Rocky Boy scored just 12 total points in the second half while Fairfield posted 26 to run away with the game. Cecil Lafromboise led all scorers with 17 points, but got little help. Bubby Gopher, Shadow Laforge, and Desmond Parker all finished with six-points each.

Friday wasn’t kind to the 9C Turner Tornadoes as they also suffered a 50-21 loss to Hinsdale. The Tornadoes didn’t score more than six-points in a quarter and were paced by Dylan Welsh and Lucas Reed with eight-points each. Tyler Humphreys was the only other scorer for the Tornadoes, and finished with five.

Box Elder did come away with a win on Friday, and the Bears did so in dominating fashion. In a 9C matchup, the Bears defeated the North Star Knights 81-41 in Box Elder.

And the Bears got off to a hot start and never looked back. Outscoring the Knights 26-5 in the first frame, the Bears were in control from start to finish. The Knights did post 20 in the second frame, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with a Bears offense that scored 55 points over the final three frames.

Cooper Spicher led the Knights with 12 points and Sam Ulman pitched in 11 with two field goals and five free throws. Gavin Spinler also had a pair of 3-pointers to finish with eight points.

Box Elder was led by Randall Gardipee’s 20 points on eight buckets and three free throws, while Clayton Morsette Jr. added 12. Jerrod Four Colors also finished with 10 and Jacob Jones finished with nine to help lead the way.

The Bears were also in action on Saturday, and grabbed another win to remain undefeated on the season. The Bears defeated Moore/Judith Gap 93-58, but no statistics were submitted. Box Elder is 6-0 on the season.

After Friday’s cancelation, Harlem got back to action on Saturday and narrowly escaped with an overtime win. The Wildcats defeated Cut Bank 53-44 at home and improved to 2-2 on the season.

The Wildcats took a 37-32 lead into the fourth frame, but couldn’t hold on in regulation. They were outscored 12-7 and went into overtime tied at 44-44. But once in extra time, the Wildcats outscored the Wolves 9-0 for the win. Isaiah Lawrence led Harlem with 13, followed by Stanley Irvine with 11, and Tristen Gone with 10.

Rocky Boy bounced back after Friday’s loss to defeat the Shelby Coyotes 57-49 in another conference matchup in Rocky Boy.

The contest was tight most of the way through, but a big third quarter helped the Stars get out in front, and stay out in front. The Stars outscored the Coyotes 27-17 in the third quarter to help ensure the win. Parker had a big game with a game-high 23 points and Lafromboise finished with 13. Murie also had eight points.

In another 9C matchup, the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds defeated the North Star Knights 73-47 on Saturday in Gildford. The loss dropped the Knights to 2-4 on the season, while the win boosted the Thunderbirds to 4-1.

The offensive struggles continue for the Knights, as they were led by Spicher’s 20 points and Ulman’s 15. The next highest scorer was Quinn Spinler and Gavin Spinler with just four points each. But the Thunderbirds’ defense didn’t allow more than 13 in a frame, while the offense got double digit scoring from three individuals. Sterling White Cow had 16, Nate Doney had 13, and Tyson Shambo had 20. Frank Runs Above wasn’t too far behind with another nine-points, as the Thunderbirds scored at least 18 in each of the four quarters.

Turner and Big Sandy finished off the weekend with a 9C matchup in Turner, and the Tornadoes took a huge step forward. Turner defeated Big Sandy 57-43 for their first 9C win in several seasons.

The Tornadoes held a 23-21 lead at the break and was able to hold on for the win. A 21-point third quarter helped stretch the lead to 44-33, and a 13-point fourth quarter helped seal the deal. Dylan Welsh played a big role with 13 points, but Lucas Reed led all scorers with 25 for the Tornadoes.

Big Sandy was paced by Jerry Hanson’s 21 points.

Turner is 3-3 on the season and Big Sandy is 0-6.

THURSDAY

Moore/Judith Gap 81, Big Sandy 35

M/JG 20 23 27 11 – 81

BS 10 5 7 13 – 35

M/JG – L. Westbrook 2, H. Wichman 18, C. McAllister 4, C. Stevenson 13, M. Deupree 9, J. Aune 13, M. Hertel 14, W. Stevenson 2, K. Bingham 4, B. Tyler 2. Totals: 38 1-7.

BS – Jerry Hanson 13, Zachary Works 1, Cody Bailey 4, Geno Menard 9, Laurence Allderdice 8. Totals: 11 4-16.

Total fouls: MJG 15, BS 10. Fouled out – none. 3-pointers: Hanson 3, Aune 3, Stevenson.

FRIDAY

Chester/J-I 57, Valier 38

C/J-I 14 15 14 14 - 57

Valier 4 12 10 12 - 38

C/J-I – Dell Harmon 12, Tim Stokes 6, Steve May 9, Troy Harmon 2, Casey Kinyon 5, Klayton Lohr 11, Justin May 12. Totals: 18 14-23.

Valier – Carter Miller 1, Cole Wagner 14, Cooper Hawke 11, Jeb Lunda 3, Sean Brownell 2, Keegan Widhalm 1, Halsten Beck 6. Totals: 13 7-20.

Total fouls – CJI 19, Valier 21. Fouled out – Lunda, Beck. Three pointers – Harmon 1, Kinyon 1, Lohr 3, May 2, Wagner 3, Hawke 2.

Fairfield 51, Rocky Boy 35

Rocky Boy 12 11 6 6 - 35

Fairfield 19 6 12 14 - 51

Rocky Boy – Bubby Gopher 6, Shadow Laforge 6, Desmond Parker 6, Cecil Lafromboise 17. Totals: 14 6-10.

Fairfield – CJ McWilliams 2, Dru Oveson 8, Dalton Palmer 3, Yancy Gagne 8, Morgan Schenk 11, Trevor Schenk 13, Joel Beck 6. Totals: 19 10-18.

Total fouls – Rocky Boy 14, Fairfield 13. Fouled out – B. Gopher. Three pointers – B. Gopher 1, Oveson 1, Palmer 1, M. Schenk 1.

Hinsdale 50, Turner 21

Turner 6 3 6 6 – 21

Hinsdale 10 13 19 8 – 50

Turner - Dylan Welsh 8, Tyler Humphreys 5, Lucas Rood 8.

Hinsdale - Cach Younkin 5, Wrangler Jones 2, Dallas Capdeville 5, Brett Johnson 3, Kyle Albus 5, Wyatt Pattison 10, Logan McColly 2, Luke Johnson 18.

Box Elder 81, North Star 41

North Star 5 20 7 9 – 41

Box Elder 26 19 21 15 – 81

North Star – Cooper Spicher 12, Quinn Spinler 2, Gavin Spinler 8, Payton Peterson 2, Sam Ulman 11, Mathew Helmbrecht 2, Jaxon Simonson 4.

Box Elder – Brandon The Boy 5, Clayton Morsette Jr. 12, Randall Gardipee 20, Jacob Jones 9, Ryan Gardipee 4, Jerrod Four Colors 10, Quinn Baker 4, Thomas Parisian 6, Slayte Duran 4.

SATURDAY

Harlem 53, Cut Bank 44 (OT)

Cut Bank 11 14 7 12 0 - 44

Harlem 14 15 8 7 9 – 53

Cut Bank – Tanner Coen 2, Kaz Harwood 5, Rocky Racine 2, Wyatt Harwood 6, Jess Ray 4, Dylan Vasboe 18, Joey Karcher 7. Totals: 14 11-19.

Harlem – Stan Irvine 11, Isaiah Lawrence 13, Anthony Gray 8, Tristen Gone 10, Tyler Doney 5, Clay Doney 6. Totals: 21 6-15.

Total fouls – Cut Bank 14, Harlem 18. Fouled out – W. Harwood, Ray, Gone. Three pointers – Vasboe 4, Irvine 2, Lawrence 1, Gray 2.

Rocky Boy 57, Shelby 49

Shelby 11 8 17 13 - 49

Rocky Boy 12 7 27 11 - 57

Shelby – Bielawski 6, Johnson 2, Clark 20, Frethiem 11, White 10. Totals: 19 5-7.

Rocky Boy – Isaiah Murie 8, Bubby Gopher 3, Shadow LaForge 4, Darrell Gopher 3, Isaiah Turntoes 3, Desmond Parker 23, Cecil Lafromboise 13. Totals: 22 8-14.

Total fouls – Shelby 13, Rocky Boy12. Fouled out – B. Gopher. Three pointers – Beilaawski 2, Clark 1, White 3, Murie 1, B. Gopher 1, LaForge 1, D. Gopher 1, Parker 1. Technical fouls – B. Gopher.

Hays-Lodge Pole 73, North Star 47

Hays-Lodge Pole 18 18 18 19 – 73

North Star 9 13 12 13 - 47

Hays-Lodge Pole - Bruce Denny Jr. 2, Nate Doney 13, Thomas Molina 4, Sterling Whitecow 16, Darnell Parissan 2, Tyson Shambo 20, Frank Runs Above 9, Tough Snow 7.

North Star - Cooper Spicher 20, Quinn Spinler 4, Gavin Spinler 4, Payton Peterson 2, Sam Ulman 15, Matt Helmbrecht 1.

Turner 57, Big Sandy 43

Big Sandy 6 15 12 10 – 43

Turner 10 13 21 13 – 57

Big Sandy – Jerry Hanson 21, Cody Bailey 5, Geno Menard 4, D. Shipp 7, Laurence Alderdice 6. Totals: 18 5-8.

Turner – Dylan Welsh 13, Tyler Humphreys 9, Tristian Billmayer 2, Bret VanValkenburg 8, Lucas Reed 25. Totals: 23 9-18.

Total fouls – Big Sandy 19, Tuner 9. Fouled out – none. 3-pointers – Hanson 1, Shipp 1, Humphreys 2.