Hi-Line Boys Roundup: Beeters sweep 9C games, Tornadoes win

With postseason tournaments rapidly approaching, there was another week of wall-to-wall boys basketball action along the Hi-Line, starting last Tuesday in Box Elder.

The Bears, the defending Class C state champions, played host to Chester-Joplin-Inverness and demolished the Hawks by a final score of 91-52. Box Elder led 27-6 at the end of the first quarter and never looked back.

Pernell Morsette had a stellar outing for Box Elder with three made 3-pointers and 29 points. Trey Henderson added 15 and Dusty Weiss contributed with 14. Cory Richter led the Hawks with 26, while Brett Henke had 12.

Thursday, another important 9C contest took place in Fort Benton and at home against North Star, the Longhorns used an 18-8 run in the fourth quarter, to overcome an eight-point deficit to win 39-37. Ty Hasbrouck had 12 to lead Fort Benton; Andy Giles pitched in with 11. Dane Miller led North Star with 16 points, Keevan Borlaug ended up with nine.

Looking to rebound from its loss to Box Elder Tuesday, CJI was at home Friday against Chinook. Yet the Sugarbeeters had no sympathy for the Hawks. The Beeters scored the first 20 points of the game and held CJI scoreless into the second quarter in a 57-18 drubbing. Isaac Bell had an outstanding night with 23 points. Wade Schneider added 10. Richter led the Hawks with six.

North Star was also in action Friday night and paid a visit to district-leader Hays-Lodge Pole, which outscored the Knights 26-7 in the opening stanza on its way to a 73-38 win. Frank Runs Above led all scorers with 20 points. Chance Main added 11 points and Tyson Shambo had 10. Borlaug led North Star with 16 points.

Box Elder was also in action Friday night and after beating CJI Tuesday, the Bears paid a visit to Geraldine-Highwood and earned an impressive 65-37 victory. Morsette had another good night for Box Elder and scored a game-high 19 points. Henderson added 13 and Weiss finished with 12.

The Bears were also in action Saturday night and entrenched their grip on a top-two seed at the 9C tournament with a 55-43 win over Chinook. HLP also earned another victory in district play Saturday, knocking off Big Sandy 81-28. The win improved the T-Birds record to 13-1 overall and 11-0 in the 9C. The Pioneers also lost Friday to Denton-Geyser-Stanford 70-28.

Elsewhere in the 9C Saturday, Turner got its fifth win of the season and third in district play, thanks to a 73-52 home victory over CJI. Eddie Harmon went off for the Tornadoes, as he scored 34 points to lead Turner to the win. Cody Welsh contributed with 16 points and Tracer Heilig ended up with nine. Evan Dahin-den had 16 points to pace the Hawks, while Shay Richter also had a solid effort with 14 points.

Fort Benton, which beat North Star Thursday, was off Friday, before paying a visit to Class-B foe Conrad Saturday. The game was competitive throughout and was especially close early on as the Longhorns trailed by three after the first quarter and by just one point at halftime. Yet, the Cowboys went on to win the game 56-44. Giles led the Longhorns with 13, while Damon Bird, Garrett Diehkans and Ty Hasbrouck all had eight.

In terms of Class B teams along the Hi-Line, Rocky Boy had a big weekend, knocking off Harlem Friday night 71-53, then defeating District 1B rival Shelby 71-62. The game between the Stars and the Coyotes was neck-and-neck, but a 21-point fourth quarter allowed Rocky Boy to pull away. Kendall Windy Boy was a big key for the Stars, thanks to his 19-point effort. Kordell Small also added 14 and Chase Corcoran finished with 13.

Harlem also played Saturday, taking on fellow Class B opponent Cut Bank. Yet, the Wildcats, who are still winless on the season, dropped the game 89-55.

Monday night, the North Star Knights beat the Havre High junior varsity team 54-42 as Keevan Borlaug, Devon Miller and Jimmy Snow combined for 48 points. The Blue Ponies got 10 from Tanner Parson and eight from Trey Murphy.

Tuesday

Box Elder 91, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 52

CJI 6 15 18 13 - 52

Box Elder 27 21 22 21 - 91

Chester-Joplin-Inverness: Brett Henke 12, Evan Dahinden 10, Cory Richter 26, T. Wamkin 4. Totals: 14 19-32.

Box Elder: Pernell Morsette 29, Peter Azure Jr. 10, Chris Burns 2, Leo Johnson 3, Tanner Parisian 4, Peyton Gardipee 2, Wyatt Caplette 2, Trey Henderson 15, Lane Caplette 4, Dusty Weiss 14, Marlin Dickenson 2, Nate Plain Bull 4. Totals: 39 8-11.

3-pointers: Dahinden 2, Richter 3, P. Morsette 3, Azure, Johnson, Henderson 2, Weiss

Thursday

Fort Benton 39, North Star 37

North Star 16 6 7 8 - 37

Fort Benton 6 9 6 18 - 39

North Star: Dylan Miller 4, Caden Rettig 2, Jimmy Snow 6, Dane Miller 16, Keevan Borlaug 9. Totals: 16 4-13.

Fort Benton: Damon Bird 4, Ty Hasbrouck 12, Logan Giles 6, Andy Giles 11, Garrett Diekhans 6. Totals: 12 12-17.

3-pointers: A. Giles 3, Miller.

Friday

Chinook 57, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 18

Chinook 20 11 17 9 - 57

CJI 0 9 4 5 - 18

CJI - Shay Richter 4, Brett Henke 2, Evan Dahinden 2, B. Whitley 2, Cory Richter 6, T. Wamkin 2.

Chinook - T. Hannum 3, Isaac Bell 23, R. Kellam 4, Kyle McMaster 7, Brenden Edwards 2, Cord Schneider 8, Wade Schneider 10.

Hays-Lodge Pole 73, North Star 38

North Star 7 10 13 8 -- 38

HLP 26 19 16 12 – 73

North Star – Caden Rettig 2, Jimmy Snow 13, Devon Miller 5, Keevan Borlaug 16.

Hays-Lodge Pole Jace Shambo 6, Tyson Shambo 10, Frank Runs Above 20, R. Foote 6, C. Main 11, D. Shambo 3, Lance Strike 6, G. Snow 5, Kyle Young Jr. 2, Tough Snow 4.

3-pointers J. Snow 4, T. Shambo, Runs Above 2, D. Shambo, G. Snow.

Box Elder 65, Geraldine-Highwood 37

Box Elder 16 12 19 18 -- 65

G-H 9 8 3 17 – 37

Box Elder – Pernell Morsette 19, Petey Azure 7, Chris Burns 2, Chaiz Lynn 2, Tanner Parisian 3, Payton Guardipee 2, Trey Henderson 13, Lane Caplette 3, Dusty Weiss 12, Seth Duran 2. Totals: 24 15-22.

Geraldine-Highwood – Zeke Davison 5, Bryce Birgenheier 3, Erik Nielson 2, Brady Duvall 10, Liam Laws 2, Caleb Meeks 5, Ryan Seaman 1, Mavrick McKinlay 9. Totals: 12 9-13.

3-pointers – Azure, Parisian, Davison, Birgenheier, Duvall, Meeks.

Saturday

Rocky Boy 71, Shelby 62

Shelby 21 12 15 14 – 62

Rocky Boy 22 15 13 21 – 71

Shelby – Reynolds 14, Watson 9, Whitted 3, White 21, Anderson 2, Johnson 11, McAllister 2. Totals: 21 11-14.

Rocky Boy – Kordell Small 14, Ben Iron Eyes 5, Jerrell Gopher 12, Chase Corcoran 13, Jordan Tyner 2, Frankie Bacon 4, Kendall Windy Boy 19. Totals: 26 13-21

3-pointers – Watson 3, Whitted, White 3, Small, Gopher 3, Corcoran 2.

Turner 73, CJI 52

CJI 8 13 6 25 -- 52

Turner 18 17 12 26 -- 73

CJI – J. Diemert 4, Shay Richter 14, Brett Henke 6, Evan Dahinden 17, T. Huli 2, T. Wanken 9. Totals: 21 9-25.

Turner – Austin Welsh 6, Jack Harmon 4, Kurt Calvert 2, Cody Welsh 15, Eddie Harmon 34, Shane Kimmel 3, Tracer Heilig 9. Totals: 26 16-26.

Three point goals – Dahinden 1, A. Welsh 1, E. Harmon 2, Kimmel 1, Heilig 1.

Conrad 56, Fort Benton 44

Fort Benton 14 12 11 7 - 44

Conrad 17 10 18 11 - 56

Fort Benton: Damon Bird 8, Ty Hasbrouck 8, Hayden Dickhans 2, Logan Giles 2, Andy Giles 13, Garrett Diekhans 8, Jace Pimperton 3.

Conrad: Kyle Vandenacre 4, Austin Padilla 8, Ryan Murack 17, Clint Judison 6, Damon Baney 3, Bert Paulsen 8.