Hi-Line Boys BB: Fort Benton wins round one with Chinook, Big Sandy sweeps

Another big week of Hi-Line boys basketball has passed, with teams shuffling around conference standings and working hard to earn a spot to the big show later in the season.

This last weekend was full of District 9C matchups and Class B showdowns packed with action.

The Big Sandy Pioneers were the first of many teams to open the weekend with a win last Friday. The Pioneers beat conference rival Turner Tornadoes 82-48. Big Sandy opened the matchup with a 15-point first quarter, but Turner pushed to stay in the game and put up nine.

The second stanza saw the Tornadoes and Pioneers fight back and forth. Big Sandy added 20 points to the board, while Turner was not far behind with a 16 points, but the Pioneers still led at halftime 35-25. Big Sandy broke away after the break and dropped 30 points, while holding the Tornadoes to just six. Turner and the Pioneers both put up 17 points in the fourth, but Big Sandy's big third period propelled them to the win. Ryan Roth led the Pioneers with a big 31-point game, while Turner was led by Shane Kimmel's 24 point game.

Big Sandy continued to win last Saturday, adding another conference win over the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks, 61-44. The game started off close in the first half, with the Hawks only down 10-9 at the end of the first quarter, then keeping pace with the Pioneers in the second stanza to be close behind 33-27 at the break. But CJI was kept at bay in the second half, only dropping 17 points throughout the rest of the game, while Big Sandy added 28 points to claim the win. This time around, the Pioneers were led by Clint Darlington's 17 points and the Hawks were led by Kyle Harmon's 10-point game.

CJI had rough game last Thursday against Fort Benton. The Hawks lost to the Longhorns 78-38. Fort Benton dominated the whole game, opening with a 21 point first quarter and a 24 point second stanza, while holding CJI to just 13 points in the first half to lead 45-13. The Longhorns continued to keep up the pace, dropping 26 points in the third period, while the Hawks added nine. In the end, CJI put up 16 points in the fourth quarter, but Fort Benton claimed the win. Garret Diekhans led the Longhorns with 21 points, while CJI was led by Kyle Harmon with 11 points.

Then, in what was certainly the biggest game of the seaosn so far in the 9C, Fort Benton snagged a win last Saturday against the Chinook Sugarbeeters, who were fighting for the top spot in 9C. The Longhorns stomped the Beeters 71-39 and now sit atop the 9C standings, still undefeated. The game between the two saw a big first half for Fort Benton, who dropped 35 points over Chinook, who added 20 in the first half. The Beeters ultimately fell victim to two 18 point periods by Fort Benton, while putting up 19 in the second half. The Longhorns were led by Hayden Diekhans this time around with 23 points, while Chinook was led by Benton Elliot with 10 points.

But the Beeters are still in the race for the top seed due to a win over the North Star Knights last Friday night, 86-57. Chinook had a consistent game, putting up 20-plus points in every quarter. The Knights started down 20-7 at the end of the first period and Chinook kept rolling to lead 41-19 at intermission. After the break, North Star dropped 22 points in the third quarter, but the Beeters stayed on top with a big 45-point second half to steak the claim on the victory. Chinook was led by Hunter Niebauer's 23 point game, followed by Reese Elliot's 22 point performance. Caden Rettig led the Knights with 18 points.

Despite the Friday loss, North Star grabbed a conference win over Turner last Saturday, 59-46. The Knights started the game down 13-9 at the end of the first quarter, but North Star dropped 20 points in the second stanza to lead the Tornadoes 29-25 at the break. Turner and the Knights continued to fight throughout the second half, but North Star stayed on top to win. Rettig once again led the Knights with 23 points, while Turner was led by Shay Humphreys with 15 points in the game.

Harlem grabbed two big wins over the weekend, too. The Wildcats beat 9C Box Elder last Friday, 92-59, then beat Poplar last Saturday in a big 110-63 win. Against Box Elder, Harlem dropped 34 points in the third quarter, followed by a 27-point fourth period to cap off a big day, led by Brad Cichosz with 36 points, while the Bears were led by Tyrus LaMere's 16-point game. In the win over Poplar, the Wildcats had two quarters with 30 points or more, the second being 35 and the third being 33. This time around, R.J. Ramone balled out and put up 40 points in the big Class B win.

Box Elder may have lost last Friday, but the Bears grabbed a close, 63-62 win over the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds last Saturday to stay alive in 9C. Meanwhile, HLP suffered a tough loss last Friday to the Roy-Winifred Outlaws, 57-48. The Thunderbirds are still looking for another win on the season.

Rocky Boy grabbed two wins last Friday over Conrad, 69-52 and Choteau last Saturday, 87-65. The Stars battled to a close bout with the Cowboys, but a 30-point performance by Blake Cantrell and a 16-point game by Benji Crebs lifted Rocky Boy over Conrad. The Stars then beat Choteau in a great matchup, with Cantrell dropping 27 points, followed by Joe Demontiney's 17-point game.

THURSDAY

Fort Benton 78, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 38

Fort Benton 24 21 26 7 – 78

CJI 3 10 9 16 – 38

Fort Benton – Garrett Diekhans 21, Jackson Schmele 2, Logan Giles 7, Hayden Diekhans 12, Nick Marias 2, Jacob Giles 3, Stephen Gannon 8, Jace Thompson 6, Devin Bird 9, Cody Evans 2, Billy Ullery 6.

CJI – Kealy Haaland 3, Blake Harmon 2, Spencer Richter 7, Kyle Harmon 11, Andrew Woods 2, Byrle Ghekiere 3, Lane Fischer 9.

FRIDAY

Big Sandy 82, Turner 48

Big Sandy 15 20 30 17 – 82

Turner 9 16 6 17 – 48

Big Sandy – Lane Demontiney 1, Ryan Roth 31, Elijah Wagoner 4, Kody Strutz 6, Braydon Cline 3, Clint Darlington 12, Rusty Gasvoda 2, Wylee Snapp 2, Jeremiah Genereux 11, Kade Strutz 10.

Turner – Shay Humphreys 2, Austin Welsh 5, Jack Harmon 7, Shane Kimmel 24, Charlie Calvert 4, Trever Kimmel 6.

Chinook 86, North Star 57

Chinook 20 21 21 24 – 86

North Star 7 12 22 16 – 57

Chinook – Reese Elliot 22, Hunter Neibauer 23, Levi Jensen 2, Ethan Bell 13, Toby Niederegger 2, Ethan MacLeod 14, Oskar Pula 8, Braxton Inman 2.

North Star – Caden Rettig 18, Payne Ditmar 6, Rhett Wolery 7, Garrett Spicher 6, Jaden Sargent 9, Hayden Massar 8, Austin Hansen 3.

Harlem 92, Box Elder 59

Harlem 11 20 34 27 – 92

Box Elder 9 18 11 21 – 59

Harlem – Truth Brockie 5, Trent Main 6, RJ Ramone 25, Tyler Cichosz 15, Brad Cichosz 36, Teagan LeValdo 3, Jehton Longfox 2.

Box Elder – Jayden Gopher 2, Zander Parisian 11, Tayce St. Pierre 2, Jacen Corcoran 2, Malique Rosette 7, Chris Burns 10, Kadyn Duran 4, Tyrus LaMere 16, Gabe Saddler 5.

Rocky Boy 69, Conrad 52

Rocky Boy 22 13 20 14 – 69

Conrad 11 14 15 12 – 52

Rocky Boy – Benji Crebs 16, Blake Cantrell 30, Joe Demontiney 12, Sean Gibson 2, JoJo Standing Rock 5, Wyatt Caplette 4.

Conrad – not stats were reported.

SATURDAY

Fort Benton 71, Chinook 39

Fort Benton 19 16 18 18 – 71

Chinook 11 9 9 10 – 39

Fort Benton – Garrett Diekhans 19, Billy Ullery 2, Logan Glies 2, Max Lane 4, Hayden Diekhans 23, Nick Marias 7, Stephen Gannon 4, Devin Bird 12, Jace Thompson 8.

Chinook – Oskar Pula 8, Benton Elliot 10, Toby Niederegger 4, Reese Elliot 8, Damon Hannum 5, Hunter Neibauer 4.

Rocky Boy 87, Choteau 65

Rocky Boy 15 26 18 28 – 87

Choteau 5 6 28 26 – 65

Rocky Boy – Joe Demontiney 17, Sean Gibson 10, Wyatt Caplette 14, Nacona Limberhand 13, Blake Cantrell 27, JoJo Standing Rock 6.

Choteau – no stats reported.

Harlem 110, Poplar 63

Harlem 24 35 33 18 – 110

Poplar 13 15 24 11 – 63

Harlem – Brad Cichosz 20, Tyler Cichosz 16, RJ Ramone 40, Daniel Lawrence 15, Truth Brockie 2, Trent Main 4, Jehton Longfox 4, Cassius Johnson 2, Teagan LeValdo 6, Amari Stanley 1.

Poplar – M. Menz 3, A. Azure-Youpee 6, W. Lambert 13, E. Fox 3, H. Atikinson 2, I. Growing Thunder 6, D. Gourneau 13, D. Red Eagle 17.

Big Sandy 61, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 44

Big Sandy 10 23 13 15 – 61

CJI 9 18 10 7 – 44

Big Sandy – Elijah Wagoner 7, Ryan Roth 13, Kody Strutz 11, Clint Darlington 17, Jeremiah Genereux 4, Kade Strutz 9.

CJI – Andrew Woods 9, Kyle Harmon 10, Spencer Richter 9, Bryce K. 2, Kealy Haaland 6, Caden Woods 8.

North Star 59, Turner 46

North Star 9 20 11 19 – 59

Turner 13 12 7 14 – 46

North Star – Austin Hansen 10, Caden Rettig 23, Garrett Spicher 4, Payne Ditmar 3, Hayden Massar 8, Gavin Spicher 4, Jaden Sargent 3, Rhett Wolery 4.

Turner – Shay Humphreys 15, Austin Welsh 11, Jack Harmon 13, Charlie Calvert 3, Trever Kimmel 6.