Wildcats stun Lodge Grass, come up short in title game

The Harlem boys basketball team had quite the season. The Wildcats made their return to the state tournament after not making it in 15 years and even won their first two games in Bozeman this past weekend. While the year ended with a 72-57 loss to Three Forks in the Class B State Tournament championship game Saturday night, the Wildcats finished second for their best placement in years.

The Wildcats faced much adversity throughout the year. Through the first three-quarters of the season, Harlem dealt with injuries and illness, preventing the team from reaching its full potential during the regular season. But late in the year, Harlem head coach Geno LeValdo believes they came together as they got healthier.

"Towards the end of the season, we started to gel and stick together and everything started to fall into place and we made an awesome run," LeValdo said.

The Wildcats made it to state after finishing second in the Northern B Divisionals. After an overtime win over Eureka to start the tournament, the Wildcats defeated Lodge Grass, 69-67, in the semifinal on Friday night. The Lodge Grass Indians are one of the best teams in the state and were looking to win their third straight state title this past weekend. But after a close loss to them earlier in the year where they were not fully healthy, LeValdo and his team was confident they would win.

"We knew we were just as talented if not more talented than them," LeValdo said. "We knew we could beat them so we went in more confident and knew we were going to get that win no matter what and sure enough we did."

The Wildcats had to earn the win as they went back-and-forth with the Indians through the night. They exchanged scores through the first quarter which ended with the frame tied 21-21. The competitiveness continued in the second quarter as the game went into halftime tied 39-39.

The Indians finally took the advantage in the third quarter, but the Wildcats were still in it as they trailed Lodge Grass, 56-54, heading to the fourth. The Wildcats then dug deep and were able to outplay Lodge Grass in the fourth to pull out the win and advance to the state title game.

The Wildcats were led to victory by a trio of players. R.J. Ramone led the Wildcats with 24 points while Teegan LeValdo and Tyler Cichosz each scored 11 points. Bryson Rogers led Lodge Grass with 20 points while Ty Moccasin scored 18 and Damon Gros Ventre scored 17.

But Harlem's run came to an end with a 72-57 loss to Three Forks Saturday night in the state title game. The Wolves got off to a strong start as they took a 19-14 lead in the first quarter. But the Wildcats stuck with it as Three Forks held a 34-27 lead at halftime.

The Wildcats continued to keep pace with Three Forks in the third quarter to remain in striking distance. But the Wolves took control in the fourth to pull away and secure themselves the state title.

While the Wildcats would have loved to have won a state title, they still had their best season in years. As they return from Bozeman with their second-place trophy, Geno LeValdo believes they should be proud of what they accomplished this season.

"All the summers, all the money, all the time, all the grinding. It was worth it to get this piece of hardware for our school and our community," LeValdo said.

Harlem girls fall at state

The Harlem girls basketball team had been on quite the Cinderella run this postseason. Despite a losing record in the regular season, the Wildcats went on a run through districts and divisionals to qualify for the Class B State Tournament in Bozeman this past weekend. They even won their opening game of the tournament to advance to the semifinals.

But the clock finally struck midnight as the Wildcats lost two straight games to end the year. The Wildcats first suffered a 62-34 loss to Colstrip in the semifinal Friday night. Harlem's season then came to an end with a 58-40 loss to Bigfork in the consolation game Saturday morning.

Early on against Colstrip, it looked like the Wildcats still had that spark in them as they only trailed, 15-12, to end the first quarter. Even in the second quarter, Harlem continued to play well as Colstrip only had a 24-22 lead at halftime.

But the Colstrip Fillies finally found their groove in the second half. The Fillies began to stretch away in the third quarter as they built themselves a 42-32 lead. Colstrip then dominated in the fourth quarter to pull away for the win. The next night, the Colstrip Fillies defeated Jefferson, 56-43, to win the state title. In the loss, Taya Trottier led the Wildcats with 18 points.

The Wildcats tried to keep their hopes of a trophy alive as they faced Big Fork in a consolation game on Saturday morning. But it was the Valkyries that took early control as they led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats tried to stay in it, but the Valkyries pulled away in the second half. In the third-place game later that day, Bigfork defeated Glasgow 59-47. In her last game of the season, Trottier led Harlem with 11 points.

While their last two games of the season did not go their way, the Wildcats had quite the run in the postseason. After placing fourth in the District 2B Tournament, the Wildcats won their first two games of the Northern B Divisionals. Even though they lost, 53-40, to Malta in the championship game, Harlem had placed second in divisionals and earned a spot at state. The Wildcats then dominated their opening game of the state tournament with a 61-39 victory over Thompson Falls.

Colstrip 62, Harlem girls 34, SF

HAR - 12 10 10 2 - 34

COL - 15 9 18 20 - 62

HAR - Taya Trottier 18, Emma Billmayer 7, Aaraya Mount 5, Chloe Messerly 4.

COL - Maddie Egan 20, Canzas His Bad Horse 17, Maddie Big Back 6, Gracie Bradley 6, Bailey Egan 5, Ashtynn Egann 3, Brookley Ewing 2, Rylee Deming 2, Audree Deming 1.

Bigfork 58, Harlem 40, LO

HAR - 6 15 12 7 - 40

BF - 17 15 15 11 - 58

HAR - Taya Trottier 11, Emma Billmayer 9, Aaraya Mount 8, Vanise Little 6, Chloe Messerly 6.

Harlem 69, Lodge Grass 67, SF

HAR - 21 18 15 15 - 69

LG - 21 18 17 11 - 67

HAR - RJ Ramone 24, Teegan LeValdo 11, Tyler Cichosz 11, Caleb Cole 7, Daniel Lawrence 7, Deshon Shambo 5, Lance Morgan.

LG - Bryson Rogers 20, Ty Moccasin 18, Damon Gros Ventre 17, DC Stewart 7, Lance Little Nest 3, Gabriel Kelly 2.

Three Forks 72, Harlem 57

HAR - 14 13 14 16 - 57

TF - 19 15 14 24 - 72