Hi-Line Boys: Chinook off to a strong District 9C start

During the previous two weeks, all the teams within the District 9C and along the Hi-Line opened up their boys basketball seasons with non-conference contests. Most teams played in some kind of pre-season tournament in order to get their first couple of games in.

But this past weekend, the ante was upped as every team within the 9C broke into their conference slate Friday and Saturday night and of the eight teams, three emerged without a loss and those were Chinook, Box Elder and Fort Benton.

North Star had a chance to be one of those teams, after notching a road win against Turner Friday night. Caden Rettig finished with 13 points for the Knights, who got the same amount (13) from Hayden Massar. Turner actually led at halftime, 26-19, however, North Star outscored the Tornadoes 23-14 in the third and 14-4 in the final stanza to notch the 12-point win. Cody Welsh had 13 in defeat for Turner; Shane Kimmel added 10.

After that meeting, both teams turned around and played exciting games Saturday night. North Star played host to Box Elder and lost a thriller to the Bears 54-52. Chris Burns and Nacona Limberhand paced with the Bears with 17 and 16 points respectively, while Quentin Limberhand finished with 10. Payne Ditmar poured in 19 for North Star in the loss. The Knights also saw Bailey Spicher (12 points) and Caden Rettig (11 points) reach double figures.

The victory was the second straight for the Bears, who won their first home game of the season Friday night against Chester-Joplin-Inverness by the score of 50-25. The Bears defense was ferocious as they held the Hawks to just three points in the first quarter and 10 in the entire first half. On the other end of the floor, Burns continued his hot start with a game-high 22 points, finishing just three points shy of CJI's entire point total. Quentin Limberhand also contributed with 10 points. For CJI, Spencer Richter and Tyler Wanken finished with eight points each.

In another 9C contest Friday, Chinook hosted Hays-Lodge Pole and the Sugarbeeters continued their winning streak in 9C play with a 56-44 win over the Thunderbirds. Isaac Bell had a big night for the Beeters in the win, scoring a game-high 19 points, with 14 of those coming in the second half. Reese Elliot also reached double figures for Chinook with 11. Kevin Young Jr. led the way for HLP with 11 points. Jeffrey Stiffarm Jr. also added nine and Gilbert snow finished with eight.

After knocking off HLP Friday, Chinook also paid a visit to Big Sandy Saturday and cruised to a 66-27 win. It was the second straight loss in the 9C for Big Sandy, which also dropped a game Friday night to Fort Benton, as the Longhorns knocked off the Pioneers 65-50.

Speaking of Fort Benton, the Longhorns were home against Turner Saturday night and even though it wasn't easy, the Longhorns were the victors of an overtime thriller. It took two extra sessions before Fort Benton secured the 71-67 victory, which improved its record to 4-0 on the season along with Chinook.

While HLP lost Friday night, the T-Birds rebounded in a big way Saturday, knocking off CJI 71-41. HLP scored at least 13 points in each stanza but really opened up a big lead with 22 points in the second and 23 in the fourth. Desmond Shambo was the leading scorer in the game with 15. Jeremy Pretty Paint and Snow also put together solid outings with 11. Wanken finished with 14 points in the loss for CJI. The Hawks also got 10 from Andrew Woods.

Rocky Boy was also in action this week in Class B but dropped both of its games. The Stars went to Shelby Friday and fell short against the Coyotes 60-58, then followed it up with a home loss against Fairfield Saturday, 63-49.

Harlem played two home games in Class B against Malta and Wolf Point and earned a split. The Wildcats knocked off Malta 63-55 in a District 2B game, then lost to Wolf Point 67-50 in another district battle Saturday night.

Friday

Chinook 56, Hays-Lodge Pole 44

HLP 13 9 9 13 - 44

Chinook - 19 15 10 17 - 56

HLP - Gilbert Snow 8, Jeffrey Stiffarm 9, Jeremy Pretty Paint 2, Derek Shambo 2, S. Grandchamp 1, K. Blackcrow 7, Kevin Young Jr. 11, Mo Cliff 1, Deshone Shambo 2, J. Brockie 3.

Chinook - Isaac Bell 19, Etan Bell 6, Hunter Neibauer 6, Trajan Hannum 5, Reese Elliot 11, Riley Kellam 7, Cord Schneider 9.

North Star 56, Turner 44

North Star 8 11 23 14 - 56

Turner 8 18 14 4 - 44

North Star - Austin Hansen 11, Bailey Spicher 8, Caden Rettig 13, Payne Ditmar 6, Hayden Massar 13, Rhett Worley 5.

Turner - Austin Welsh 8, Jack Harmon 3, Kurt Calvert 3, Cody Welsh 13, Shane Kimmel 10,Tracer Heilig 6.

Box Elder 50, CJI 25

CJI- 3 7 9 8 - 25

Box Elder- 12 10 15 13 - 50

CJI- Andrew Woods 7, Spencer Richter 8, Evan Dahinden 2, Tyler Wanken 8

Box Elder- J. Jilot 2, K. Duran 10, Chris Burns 22, A. Raining Bird 2, M. Rosette 2, Quentin Limberhand 10, K. Sutherland 2

3 Pointers- Richter, Woods, C. Burns, K. Duran

Fouled out- none

Technicals- K. Duran

Saturday

Hays-Lodge Pole 71, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 41

Chester-Joplin-Inverness 16 11 6 8 - 41

HLP 13 22 13 23 71

Hays-Lodge Pole: Gilbert Snow 11, Jeffrey Pretty Paint 11, Ken Black Crow Jr. 2, Kyle Young Jr. 6, Deshon Shambo 2, W. Bringing Good 4, John Brockie 6, Desmond Shambo 15, Moke Cliff 8.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness: Andrew Woods 10, Tyler Wanken 14, Evan Dahinden 6, Spencer Richter 9.

Box Elder 54, North Star 52

Box Elder 12 14 13 15 - 54

North Star 19 10 5 18 - 52

Box Elder - Kadyn Duran 5, Chris Burns 17, Nacona Limberhand 16, Malique Rosette 2, Quentin Limberhand 10.

North Star - Austin Hansen 2, Bailey Spicher 12, Caden Rettig 11, Payne Ditmar 19, Hayden Massar 6, Rhett Wolery 2.