Hi-Line Boys Roundup: Rocky Boy, Harlem sweep Class B games

It was another exciting weekend of high school boys basketball along the Hi-Line as there were a number of marquee matchups that featured local teams.

The action started Thursday when the North Stars Knights of the District 9C visited class C power Highwood, which is the only team that has defeated the top-ranked Box Elder Bears this season. And despite facing a difficult opponent in non-conference action, the Knights more than held their own, falling by the score of 54-48.

North Star jumped out to a 15-12 lead, but Highwood responded by outscoring the Knights 15-8 in the second to grab a 27-23 halftime lead. Highwood outscored the Knights by a point in both the third and fourth quarters to hold off North Star for the win. Matthew Helmbrecht led the way for the Knights with 15 points in the loss, while Devon Miller added 13 and Payton Peterson pitched in with 11.

North Star might have kicked off the action for 9C teams but the meat of the district schedule began Friday as the top four teams in the league standings all went head-to-head. Box Elder hit the road to take on Chester/J-I, and while the game was competitive, the Bears prevailed over the Hawks 69-57.

Box Elder jumped out to a 20-11 lead after the first quarter but, by halftime, the Hawks had trimmed the deficit down to four at 33-29. The Bears extended their lead by three more points in the third quarter and ran away from the Hawks in the fourth to seal the 12-point win. Jerrod Four Colors paced the Bears with 20 points. Clayton Morsette Jr. also contributed with 19. Justin May led C/J-I with 22 in the loss. Brandon Richter also had a solid game with 13.

In another key district matchup Friday night, the Chinook Sugarbeeters paid a visit to the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds in hopes of exacting some revenge for a loss to the T-Birds on their home court earlier in the season. And thanks to an outstanding 26-point effort from Lane Seymour, the Beeters did just that, knocking off No. 6 HLP 64-58.

Chinook led throughout. The Beeters were up four after one quarter, nine at halftime and by 13 at the end of the third before HLP rallied in the fourth to make a game of it, but by then it was too late. Ian McIntosh and Zach Schellin each added 10 points apiece in the win for Chinook. HLP, on the other hand, got 17 from Frank Runs Above, 15 from Tyson Shambo and 14 Lance Strike.

In other 9C action Friday, North Star rolled Turner by the score of 77-33. The Knights continued their recent string of strong play and were aided with a 17-point effort from Peterson as well as a 16-point game from Gavin Spinler. Cody Welsh was the leading scorer for the Tornadoes with nine. Lucas Reed managed eight.

In other round ball action along the Hi-Line Friday, the Rocky Boy Northern Stars hosted Cut Bank in District 1B play and easily did away with the Wolves by the score of 79-37. Skylar Parisian put together a 19-point outing, while Cecil LaFromboise added 15. In other Class B action, the Harlem Wildcats knocked off Plentywood 68-22 in Harlem.

Saturday, North Star got a rude awakening as the Knights traveled to Box Elder and were ran out of the gym by the top-ranked Bears, who trounced the Knights 89-54. Morsette Jr. was incredible, pouring in 30 points. Four Colors had another good night with 17. Miller was the only Knight to reach double figures and finished with 11. The Bears are still undefeated in 9C play.

In another important 9C matchup, HLP traveled to Chester for a crucial game against C/J-I. But unfortunately, for the second straight night, the T-Birds came up short, falling 76-64 to the Hawks.

The game was a tight battle all the way through, but after falling behind by two after the first quarter, C/J-I rallied with 19 points in the second quarter to claim a four-point halftime lead. The T-Birds cut it down to two going into the final stanza but both teams scored 24 points over the final eight minutes as C/J-I hung on for the win.

Brandon Richter had a stellar showing in the win for the Hawks, totaling 29 points. May contributed with 14 and Troy Harmon ended up with 13. Tyson Shambo led the T-Birds with 21 points. Sterling White Cow added 16 and Runs Above had 12.

The Beeters continued their winning ways Saturday when they hosted Big Sandy and defeated the Pioneers 67-35 in 9C play. Seymour was stellar again for Chinook with 21 points. Cody McCracken added 15 and Travis Hamilton also added 11. Kyle Strutz and Geno Menard each finished with nine points in the loss for the Big Sandy.

The final 9C game of the weekend came when Fort Benton-Geraldine took a trip to Turner to take on the Tornadoes. And thanks to a great all-around effort, the Longhorns got a much needed 59-15 win over the home team. Toren Andreason scored 19 points to lead the way for the Horns’. Ben Hulme also contributed with 13. Lucas Reed was the high scorer for Turner in the loss with eight.

In Class B action Saturday, Rocky Boy continued its hot streak and knocked of district rival Shelby at home by the score of 69-59. Junior Day Child led the Stars in that one with a game-high 16 points. LaFromboise added 12, Parisian had 11 and Bubby Gopher added 10.

Rounding out the action along the Hi-Line this past weekend was Harlem. The Wildcats earned their second straight win in 2B play via a 49-44 victory over Wolf Point Saturday night.

Thursday

Highwood 54, North Star 48

North Star15 8 12 13 -- 48

Highwood12 15 13 14 -- 54

North Star – Willy Gilead 4, Jimmy Snow 5, Payton Peterson 11, Devon Miller 13, Matthew Helmbrecht 15. Totals: 20 3-9.

Highwood – Luke Davison 12, Jake Malek 6, Darren Malek 12, Jordan LaFontaine 8, Logan Ferda 16. Totals: 25 4-14.

3-point goals – Gilead 1, Snow 1, Helmbrecht 3. Total fouls – North Star 11, Highwood 14. Fouled out – J. Malek.

Friday

Rocky Boy 79, Cut Bank 37

Cut Bank 13 12 6 6 – 37

Rocky Boy 28 17 18 16 – 79

Cut Bank – Seth Omsberg 7, Jeremiah Peveler 4, Wyatt Harwood 15, Jess Ray 7, James Growing Thunder 2, Tanner Lighthiser 2. Totals: 15 5-12.

Rocky Boy – Bubby Gopher 12, Isiah Murie 2, Levi Olson 9, Skylar Parisian 19, Junior Day Child 6, Jerrell Gopher 2, Lance Parker 5, Lonnie Plain Bull 8, Cordell Small 1, Cecil LaFromboise 15. Totals: 26 8-12.

3-point goals – Omsberg 1, Harwood 1, B. Gopher 4, Parisain 3, Plain Bull 2. Total fouls – Cut Bank 16, Rocky Boy 14. Fouled out – None.

Chinook 64, Hays-Lodge Pole 58

Chinook 18 13 17 16 -- 64

HLP 14 8 12 23 -- 58

Chinook: Lane Seymour 26, Ian McIntosh 10, Zack Schellin 10, Travis Hamilton 8, Wade Schneider 4. Totals: 14 31-44.

Hays-Lodge Pole: Jace Shambo 4, Tyson Shambo 15, Lance Strike 14, Sterling White Cow 6, Frank Runs Above 17, Tough Snow 2. Totals: 23 9-12.

Fouls: Chinook 10, HLP 28. 3-pointers: T. Shambo 3, Whitecow 1, Runs Above 2.

Box Elder 69, Chester/J-I 57

Box Elder 20 13 16 20 - 69

C/J-I 11 18 13 15 - 57

Box Elder: Brandon The Boy 5, Bodis Duran 9, T. Bernard 4, Clayton Morsette Jr. 19, Jesrrod Four Colors 20, T. Morsette 3, Quinn Baker 3, P. Morsette 4, J. Bradley 2. Totals: 24 13-22.

C/J-I: Brandon Richter 13, B. Theel 2, J. Miles 2, Troy Harmon 9, Corey Richter 9, Justin May 22. Totals: 22 9-15.

North Star 77, Turner 33

Turner 7 11 9 6 – 33

North Star 18 27 26 6 – 77

Turner – Cody Welsh 9, Tyler Humphreys 5, Tristna Billmayer 4, Damian Schuhmacher 2, Bret VanValkenburg 5, Lucas Reed 8. Totals: 15 2-5.

North Star – Dylan Miller 2, Cade Chvilicek 5, Willie Gilead 2, Gavin Spinler 16, Jimmy Snow, Payton Peterson 17, Devon Miller 18, Keevan Borlaug 3, Matthew Helmbrecht 8, Thomas Nerat 2, Thatcher Smith 2. Totals: 31 4-8.

Saturday

Box Elder 89, North Star 54

North Star 10 21 8 15 – 54

Box Elder 21 23 28 17 – 89

North Star – Willy Gilead 9, Gavin Spinler 8, Payton Peterson 9, Devon Miller 11, Keevan Borlaug 3, Matthew Helmbrecht 9, Thatcher Smith 3, Chris Lowery 2. Totals: 18 12-19.

Box Elder – Brandon The Boy 2, Bodis Duran 7, Tristan Bernard 2, Clayton Morsette Jr. 30, Jake Jones 9, Jerrod Four Colors 17, Talon Morsette 5, Quinn Baker 4, Trey Henderson 3, Pernell Morsette 6, Jacob Bradley 4. Totals: 34 12-14.

3-pointers – Gilead 3, Spinler, Borlaug, Helmbrecht, Duran, C. Morsette Jr. 4, Four Colors, T. Morsette, Henderson, P. Morsette. Total fouls – NS 15, BE 19.

Chester/J-I 76, Hays-Lodge Pole 74

HLP 19 13 18 24 – 74

C/J-I 17 19 16 24 – 76

Hays-Lodge Pole – J. Shambo 3, Tyson Shambo 21, D. Castillo 2. L. Strike 12, Sterling White Cow 18, Frank Runs Above 12 Tough Snow 6. Totals: 31 4-14.

C/J-I – Brandon Richter 29, B. Hawks 4, B. Theel 4, Troy Harmon 13, Corey Richter 12, Justin May 14. Totals: 26 22-29.

3-pointers – J. Shambo, T. Shambo 4, Whitecow 3, B. Richter, Harmon. Total fouls – HLP 20, CJI 10. Fouled out – Castillo.Fort Benton-Geraldine 59, Turner 15

Fort Benton/Geraldine 59, Turner 15

FB-G 12 17 20 10 – 59

Turner 4 4 6 1 – 15

Fort Benton-Geraldine: J. Hooper 2, T. Arganbright 7, R. Briese 2, Ben Hulme 13, E. Nielsen 2, A. Giles 2, Toren Andreasen 17, R. Kurtz 2, J. Briese 2, Sean Bronec 8. Totals: 27 4-10.

Turner – C. Welsh 1, E. Harmon 2, T. Humphreys 2, B. VanValkenbuerg 2, L. Reed 8. Totals: 7 1-5.

3-pointer – Arganbright. Total fouls – FBG 10, Turner 15. Fouled out – Reed.

Rocky Boy 69, Shelby 59

Shelby 10 10 17 22 – 59

Rocky Boy 13 21 19 16 – 69

Shelby – TJ Reynolds 9, Aaron White 9, Andrew Johnson 8, Ryan Clark 12, Brad Fretheim 10, Tyler White 11. Totals: 18 18-23.

Rocky Boy – Bubby Gopher 10, Isiah Murie 2, Levi Olson 6, Skylar Parisian 11, Junior Day Child 16, Shadow LaForge 5, Lonnie Plain Bull 7, Cecil LaFromboise 12. Totals: 20 11-17.

3-point goals – Reynolds 1, Johnson 1, T. White 1, Gopher 2, Olson 1, Parisian 1, Day Child 2, LaForge 1, Plain Bull 1. Total fouls – Shelby 15, Rocky Boy 22. Fouled out – Clark.

Chinook 67, Big Sandy 35

Big Sandy 8 10 2 15 – 35

Chinook 25 18 18 6 – 67

Big Sandy: L. Edwards 7, S. Wing 6, Geno Menard 9, Kyle Strutz 9, Laurence Alderdice 4. Totals: 16 3-8.

Chinook: Lane Seymour 21, K. Johnson 1, J. McIntosh 6, Cody McCracken 15, Zach Schellin 2, Travis Hamilton 11, W. Schnaldi 8. Totals: 27 8-19.