Hi-Line Boys BB: Chinook, Big Sandy boys start out strong

There was quite a handful of games across the 9C and Class districts this past Friday and Saturday, with team like Big Sandy, Chinook, Chester-Joplin-Inverness, Fort Benton, Harlem and North Star making some moves early on in the boys basketball season.

Friday's games had many highlights. The Big Sandy High boys throttled Dutton-Brady 61-28 in a road-game. The Pioneers defense shattered the Diamondbacks with 40 defensive rebounds, nine steals and nine points off of turnovers. It was a big season opener for Big Sandy, with Ryan Roth putting up 21 points, followed by Brock Proulx racking up 11 and Clint Darlington adding seven to the day.

Big Sandy followed the win with another Saturday against Augusta, beating them 70-21. Roth led the team again with 14 points, while Kody Strutz followed with 11 of his own. Overall, the weekend of games for Big Sandy head coach Thomas Dilworth and his team.

"I think they went well," said Dilworth. "I think we have a lot of things to work on and improve on. I'm pleased with how we played, but we certainly got some things to work on before we hit Chinook this weekend, as well as Hays-Lodge Pole."

The Chinook High boys had a great Friday as well, beating the Malta Mustangs 64-30. The Sugarbeeters knocked off the Mustangs with big plays and great shooting, which lead to Toby Niederegger leading the team with 12 points, followed by Reese Elliot, who racked up nine points on the day.

Saturday, Chinook snagged another victory over the Shepherd Mustangs 70-45. The Beeters managed another strong game with more excellent shooting, with Hunter Neibauer and Reese Elliot leading the squad with 16 points, while Ethan Bell racked up 14 points to propel Chinook to a great start on the year.

The Fort Benton High boys and the North Star High boys grabbed some wins on Friday, too. The Longhorns won over the Tri-City Titans 75-63, with Garrett Diekhans leading the charge with 29 points, along with Hayden Diekhans knabbing 23 points on the night.

For Fort Benton head coach Tyler Pasha, the first game was very informative for how his team looked to start the year.

"It was good to play some different competition than what we'll face all year," Pasha said. "Against Tri-City, we shot the ball really well. You could definitely tell it was the first game of the year. We had quite a few turnovers."

The Knights picked up a nice win in the season opener over Augusta 73-33. It's clear that the North Star offense put up a big game, since the win margin was 40 points. The Friday night victory is a nice start to the season for the Knights.

On top of that, Fort Benton and North Star grabbed another win each Saturday. The Longhorns beat the Centerville Miners 60-41, putting up 17 points in both the second and third quarters. Meanwhile, the Knights picked up the second win of the season over Dutton-Brady 59-47. It's safe to say that Fort Benton and North Star had some great games last weekend.

Although the Hawks lost to Sunburst 41-24 Friday, the Chester-Joplin-Inverness boys were another team to pick up a win on Saturday against the Valier Panthers. The Hawks dropped the Panthers 48-32 to kick off the season with a win, with Spencer Richter leading the squad with 19 points. For C-J-I, it will be nice to start off the year on a good note.

And C-J-I head coach Joe Horel was proud of his team's performance Saturday against Valier.

"We had a balanced scoring attack," Horel said. "The kids played better on defense. It was a nice team effort."

The Harlem High boys unfortunately faced a tough Cut Bank Wolves team, who beat the Wildcats 91-88 Friday. But, despite the loss, Harlem had some big players that night. Tyler Cichosz led the team with 26 points, while Daniel Lawrence and R.J. Ramone followed with 20 points each.

FRIDAY

Big Sandy 61, Dutton-Brady 28

Big Sandy 18 14 17 12 – 61

Dutton-Brady 2 10 1 15 – 28

Big Sandy – Brock Proulx 11, Ryan Roth 21, Elijah Wagoner 2, Kody Strutz 4, Braydon Cline 2, Clint Darlington 9, Jeremiah Genereux 5, Kade Strutz 7

Dutton-Brady – top scorer put up 13, two put up 4, one had 3, two added 2

Chinook 64, Malta 50

Chinook 13 17 18 16 – 64

Malta 6 14 15 15 – 50

Malta – Connor Tuss 6, Rex Williamson 8, Tanner Smith 8, Kooper Oxarart 17, Ben Costin 11

Chinook – Oskar Pula 6, Toby Niederegger 12, Hunter Neibauer 22, Ethan MacLeod 3, Reese Elliot 9, Benton Elliot 1, Ethan Bell 11

Cut Bank 91, Harlem 88

Harlem – Brad Cichosz 16, Tyler Cichosz 26, RJ Ramone 20, Daniel Lawrence 20, Trent Main 9, Truth Brocki 1, Jehton Longfox 3, Cassius Johnson 5

Cut Bank – not provided.

SATURDAY

Big Sandy 70, Augusta 21

Big Sandy 7 16 30 17 – 70

Augusta 6 5 5 5 – 21

Big Sandy – Brock Proulx 8, Ryan Roth 14, Elijah Wagoner 6, Kody Strutz 11, Braydon Cline 9, Clint Darlington 8, Rusty Gasvoda 5, Jeremiah Genereux 3, Kade Strutz 6

Augusta – top scorer put up 5, one player had 4, two put up 3, two put up 2

Chinook 70, Shepherd 45

Chinook 27 22 8 13 – 70

Shepherd 4 10 17 14 – 45

Chinook – Oskar Pula 2, Toby Niederegger 6, Hunter Neibauer 16, Ethan MacLeod 4, Reese Elliot 16, Benton Elliot 6, Ethan Bell 14

Shepherd – Malachi Warneke 4, Hayes Nydegger 7, Logan Murray 5, Karter Michels 7, Colt Hando 12, Jaxon DeHaven 8, Colten Allen 2

Chester-Joplin-Inverness 48, Valier 32

CJI 10 12 13 13 – 48

Valier – 32

CJI – Lane Fischer 3, Kyle Harmon 7, Spencer Richter 19, Trevin Grammar 2, Kealy Haaland 5, Caden Woods 12

Valier – not provided.