Hi-Line Boys BB: Chinook, Harlem among area teams continuing to roll

The end of the basketball regular season is right around the corner for the District 9C teams, and the Class B squads along the Hi-Line. Some teams sit atop their conference, while others are still fighting for a higher spot.

There was one Thursday game last week, with Class B rivals the Rocky Boy Northern Stars and the Harlem Wildcats facing off for the second time this season. Last time, Rocky Boy upset Harlem on the road, but this time around, the Wildcats got revenge on the Stars with a 80-73 victory.

The game was close throughout, with each team scoring back-and-forth to take the lead, but Harlem pulled ahead 27-20 at the end of the first quarter. The second stanza stayed just as tight, with the Wildcats adding 20 more points to the board, while Rocky Boy was still fighting but was down 47-36 at halftime. The second half saw the Stars try to pull off a big comeback over Harlem, including a 24-point fourth period, but the Wildcats kept ahead and halted the attempted comeback to grab the win. Senior Brad Cichosz put up 33 points for Harlem, while Blake Cantrell put up 23 points for the Stars.

After the Class B thriller last Thursday, last Friday saw a mix of wins and losses among 9C and Class B. Unfortunately for Rocky Boy, the Stars suffered another close loss, to the Cut Bank Wolves 54-52. The Stars led the Wolves 15-12 at the end of the first quarter and 31-25 at the intermission, but the Wolves came back in the second half with a 29-point performance while holding back Rocky Boy to grab the win. Blake Cantrell had 11 points and Sean Gibson dropped five for the Stars.

Some 9C teams played non-conference games last Friday, too, but both 9C teams were defeated. The Turner Tornadoes fell to the Dodson Coyotes 79-41. Dodson started off the game with a 12-0 run, followed by Shane Kimmel answering for the Tornadoes. The Coyotes and Kimmel kept fighting back and forth, but Dodson had the lead 20-9 at the end of the first period.

The Coyotes continued to go on multiple runs in the second quarter, while Kimmel went on a 6-0 run himself, but Turner was still down 48-19 at the break. Dodson went on a 15-0 run in the third stanza to continue their big lead, while the Tornadoes went on a 7-0 run in the fourth, still falling to the Coyotes in the end. Kimmel led Turner with 16 points against Dodson, followed by Ryan Doyle's eight point game.

The other non-conference loss in the 9C last Friday happened to the Big Sandy Pioneers, who fell to Denton-Geyser-Stanford 67-59. The Pioneers had the lead throughout the first half, on top after the first period 19-9 and the half 30-25. But DGS rattled the Pioneers in the second half with a 26-point third quarter and a 25-point fourth stanza, while holding Big Sandy to just 28 points in the second half, to beat the Pioneers in a comeback win. Ryan Roth once again led Big Sandy with 24 points, while Clint Darlington and Kade Strutz both added 12 points.

Meanwhile, the Chinook Sugarbeeters picked up a win over 9C rival the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks last Friday 63-37. The Beeters had a big lead over CJI at the break, 38-19, followed by a 25-point second half to snag the win. Chinook held the Hawks to just five points in the first and third periods. Reese Elliot led the Beeters with 18 points, while Andrew Woods put up eight points for CJI. Chinook grabbed another win over the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds 65-46 last Saturday to sweep the weekend.

The Box Elder Bears were another 9C squad to grab a win last Friday when they beat the North Star Knights, 60-52. The Bears and Knights were tied 18-18 after the first stanza, but then Box Elder put up 19 points to North Star's 13 to grab the lead 37-31 at halftime. The Bears continued to drop baskets after the break, while the Knights put up a fight and tried to come back, but Box Elder held off North Star to claim victory. Tyrus LaMere led the Bears with 14 points, while Payne Ditmar dropped 19 points for the Knights.

The last of the Friday games saw the Fort Benton Longhorns beat HLP 70-39.

Box Elder picked up another 9C victory over Turner on Saturday night, beating the Tornadoes 73-44. Turner led the Bears 16-12 at the end of the first period, but then Box Elder dropped 19 points and held Turner to just four to lead 31-20 at the intermission.

The Bears continued their dominance by putting up 18 points in the third stanza and 19 in the fourth period, while the Tornadoes fought back with 24 points in the second half, but Box Elder stayed on top in the end. This time around, Kadyn Duran led the Bears with 15 points, while Kimmel led Turner once again and put up 27 points.

CJI picked up a non-conference win over the Valier Panthers last Saturday 84-69 to add another win to their record. The Hawks were down 25-18 after the first quarter, but then put up 25 points of their own to lead 43-41 at the break. CJI kept up the good work and dropped 23 points in the third period to extend their lead 66-59, then grabbing the victory in the fourth quarter with another 18-point quarter. The Hawks were led by Spencer Richter's 29-point game, while Caden Woods dropped 20 points for CJI.

Harlem snagged another big win last Saturday, beating rival Cut Bank 93-57 in the Jungle. The Wildcats started off the game with a first quarter lead 17-11, followed by a 18-point second stanza to stay on top 35-26 at the break. After halftime, Harlem racked up 34 points in the third period to gain a massive lead 69-45. The Wildcats then put up 24 points in the fourth quarter to pick up a major victory as the regular season is ending. Cichosz once again led Harlem with 25 points, followed by Daniel Lawrence's 21-point game.

THURSDAY

Harlem 80, Rocky Boy 73

Harlem 27 20 15 18 – 80

Rocky Boy 20 16 24 13 – 73

Harlem – Brad Cichosz 33, RJ Ramone 13, Daniel Lawrence 16, Tyler Cichosz 3, Jehton Longfox 4, Cassius Johnson 8, Amari Stanley 1.

Rocky Boy – Joe Demontiney 19, Sean Gibson 10, JoJo Standing Rock 19, Blake Cantrell 23, Sage Bradley 6.

FRIDAY

Dodson 79, Turner 41

Dodson 20 28 23 8 – 79

Turner 9 10 10 12 – 41

Dodson – Kadin Racine 3, Julian Benson 8, Jera Benson 6, Corbin Lone Bear 23, Shaun Ball 10, Alex Werk 4, Zarek Jones 23, Dwight Werk 2, Tanner Ball 4.

Turner – Jack Harmon 2, Shane Kimmel 16, Charlie Calvert 6, Ryan Doyle 8, Colton Honey 2, Trever Kimmel 7.

Denton-Geyser-Stanford 67, Big Sandy 59

DGS 9 17 26 25 – 67

Big Sandy 19 11 18 10 – 59

DGS – Dylan Taylor 11, Kein Carpenter 21, Ace Becker 4, Arik Ayers 9, Parker Donaldson 21, Justin Dye 1.

Big Sandy – Ryan Roth 24, Kody Strutz 2, Braydon Cline 5, Clint Darlington 12, Jeremiah Genereux 4, Kade Strutz 12.

Chinook 63, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 37

Chinook 19 19 13 12 – 63

CJI 5 14 5 13 – 37

Chinook – Levi Jenson 4, Ethan Bell 13, Damon H. 3, Brandon Eoff 2, Benton Elliot 5, Toby Niederegger 4, Reese Elliot 18, Ethan MacLeod 2, Oskar Pula 12.

CJI – Andrew Woods 8, Kyle Harmon 5, Jordan Bender 2, Spencer Richter 6, Bryce Kammerzek 6, Kealy Haaland 4, Caden Woods 6.

Box Elder 60, North Star 52

Box Elder 18 19 17 6 – 60

North Star 18 13 11 10 – 52

Box Elder – Zander Parisian 11, Tayce St. Pierre 4, Jacen Corcoran 2, Jaden Jilot 6, Malique Rosette 11, Kadyn Duran 12, Tyrus LaMere 14.

North Star – Ty Hansen 15, Frank Nerat 2, Payne Ditmar 19, Garrett Spicher 6, Caden Rettig 11.

Cut Bank 54, Rocky Boy 52

Cut Bank 12 13 12 17 – 54

Rocky Boy 15 16 7 14 – 52

Cut Bank – Hayden Harrell 3, Devin Gobert 3.

Rocky Boy – Blake Cantrell 11, Sean Gibson 5.

SATURDAY

Box Elder 73, Turner 44

Box Elder 12 19 18 19 – 73

Turner 16 4 14 10 – 44

Box Elder – Gabe Saddler 8, Tyrus LaMere 13, Kadyn Duran 15, J. Mitchell 3, Malique Rosette 7, Jaden Jilot 10, Jacen Corcoran 6, Zander Parisian 9.

Turner – Shay Humphreys 3, Jack Harmon 11, Shane Kimmel 27, Ryan Doyle 1, Trever Kimmel 2.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness 84, Valier 69

CJI 18 25 23 18 – 84

Valier 25 16 18 10 – 69

CJI – Lane Fischer 4, Andrew Woods 10, Kyle Harmon 12, Spencer Richter 29, Kealy Haaland 9, Caden Woods 20.

Valier – K. Broesder 3, L. Stoltz 7, C. Peterson 17, B. Connelly 23, W. Bowmans 5, B. Stoltz 14.

Harlem 93, Cut Bank 57

Harlem 17 18 34 24 – 93

Cut Bank – 11 15 19 12 – 57

Harlem – Brad Cichosz 25, Tyler Cichosz 9, RJ Ramone 16, Daniel Lawrence 21, Trent Main 10, Cassius Johnson 2, Teagan LeValdo 6, Amari Stanley 2, Richard Hoops 2.

Cut Bank – Gobert 7, Harrell 14, Crowe 4, Vastobe 6, Litrell 11, Balbie 12, Gray 3.