Class A boys win HIT basketball tournament

The HIT boys basketball tournament made its return to the Armory Gymnasium on the Montana State University-Northern campus this past weekend. It was a great three days of basketball with the best high school players in the state competing against one another. But at the end of Saturday night, it was the Class A boys team with the tournament championship after defeating the Class AA team, 109-83, in the title game.

"It's awesome," Class A and Havre High head coach Walynn Burgess said about winning the tournament. "This group is just different. They came in and they all cheered for each other. They had a good time and they all truly wanted to be here together."

Royce Robinson from Lewistown finished the game with 27 points as he shot 12-20 from the field. The performance capped off the weekend that saw him win the MVP of the tournament. Several other Class A players made the all-star team for the tournament such as Fisher Brown from Lewistown and Dougie Peoples from Butte Central.

Braydon Koch from Helena Capital led the Class AA team with 15 points in the championship loss and also made the all-star team. Other AA players on the all-star team include Ty Huse from Bozeman and Jackson Bayse from Bozeman.

Earlier Saturday afternoon, the Class C team defeated the Class B team, 122-85, in the tournament consolation game. Seth Amunrud from Manhattan Christian led the Class C team with 27 points in the game and he made it to the tournament all-star team. Mason Dethman from Froid-Medicine Lake from the Class C team also made the all-star team at the end of the weekend.

In the loss, Owen Long from Three Forks led the Class B team with 17 points. Some players from the Class B team that made the tournament all-star team include Finn Tesoro from Three Forks and Gavin Bates from Eureka.

The tournament had a round robin format that saw all the teams play each other from Thursday night through Saturday morning. The Class A team went 2-1 to qualify for the title game with wins over the Class C team and the Class B team and a loss to the Class AA team. The Class AA team went 3-0 to make it to the championship game with wins over the Class A, Class B and Class C teams.

The Class B team went 1-2 to play in the consolation game with losses to the Class A team and the Class AA team and a win over the Class C team. The Class C team went 0-3 before its consolation game with losses to the Class AA, Class A and Class B teams.

Many players showed why they were all-star caliber throughout the weekend. At the end of the tournament, Bates finished as the scoring leader of the weekend. Class C player Javonne Nesbit from Froid-Medicine Lake was the assist leader and Class B player R.J. Ramone from Harlem was the rebounding leader. Class A player Payton Kokot from Livingston earned the Mr. Hustle award for his performance over the weekend.

Outside of the games, the HIT tournament had some skills competitions Friday night. In the 3-point shooting contest, Tesoro walked away as the champion. In the slam dunk contest, Kokot won the competition. Overall, it was another great weekend in the 35th edition of the tournament as it gave the best players in Montana the chance to demonstrate their abilities.

"The HIT's great," Burgess said. "It's just one of those things that we love. I'm glad we get to keep having the HIT tournament. I hope it keeps running for another 35 years. It gives these kids a chance to show off their talents and it's just a joy."

Thursday:

Class A 100, Class C 88

C - 22 20 20 26 - 88

A - 32 23 24 21 - 100

C - Bryce Grebe 19, Seth Amunrud 13, Walker Doman 11, Cade Erickson 10, Mason Dethman 9, Oksar Pula 9, Bridger Vogl 6, Kolden Hoversland 5, Javone NEsbit 5, Dillon Gee 2.

A - Fisher Brown 29, Royce Robinson 19, Payton Kokot 15, Jon Kirkley 9, Colton Graham 9, Dougie Peoples 6, Michael Murphy 6, Bryce Graham 4, Riley Basta 3.

Friday:

Class AA 120, Class A 103

AA - 34 33 24 29 - 120

A - 26 25 32 20 -103

AA - Eli Hunter 25, Trent Rogers 21, Hayden Opitz 16, Jackson Bayse 12, Lane Love 12, Ty Huse 10, Payton Sanders 9, Braydon Koch 8, Reed Harris 6, Gabe Hatler 1.

A - Dougie Peoples 15, Colton Graham 14, Royce Robinson 14, Bryce Graham 12, Cayden Merchant 12, Michael Murphy 11, Fisher Brown 8, Riley Basta 7, Jon Kirkley 6, Payton Kokot 4.

Class B 112, Class C 104

B - 27 19 25 27 14 - 112

C - 31 23 25 19 6 - 104

B - Gavin Bates 23, Colby Martinez 23, Owen Long 13, RJ Ramone 13, Connor Tuss 9, Joe Demontiney 9, Ty Moccasin 7, Kaelob Flores 7, Fin Tesoro 5, Caleb Cole 3.

C - Mason Dethman 24, Walker Doman 15, Seth Amunrud 14, Dillon Gee 13, Kolden Hoversland 10, Javonne Nesbit 9, Bryce Grebe 6, Cade Erickson 5, Oskar Pula 5, Bridger Vogl 3.

Class A 122, Class B 89

B - 21 24 27 17 - 89

A - 30 31 29 32 - 122

B - Joe Demontiney 18, RJ Ramone 12, Ty Moccasin 12, Gavin Bates 11, Colby Martinez 10, Owen Long 8, Connor Tuss 5, Fin Tesoro 5, Caleb Cole 4, Kaelob Flores 4.

A - Dougie Peoples 27, Michael Murphy 14, Colton Graham 13, Fisher Brown 13, Payton Kokot 12, Bryce Graham 10, Cayden Merchant 10, Royce Robinson 10, Jon Kirkley 8, Riley Basta 6.

Class AA 97, Class C 94

C - 15 23 24 26 6 - 94

AA - 25 27 25 11 9 - 97

C - Seth Amunrud 28, Dillon Gee 15, Bryce Graham 11, Javonne Nesbit 10, Bridger Vogl 9, Oskar Pula 8, Cade Erickson 7, Mason Dethman 4, Walker Doman 3.

AA - Braydon Koch 19, Jackson Bayse 18, Reed Harris 14, Lane Love 10, Ty Huse 10, Hayden Optiz 9, Payton Sanders 8, Eli Hunter 7, Trent Rogers 4.

Saturday:

Class AA 99, Class B 84

AA - 19 30 21 29 - 99

B - 26 17 28 13 - 84

AA - Ty Huse 16, Braydon Koch 15, Lane Love 14, Hayden Optiz 11, Payton Sanders 11, Reed Harris 10, Eli Hunter 9, Jackson Bayse 5, Trent Rogers 4, Rogan Barnwell 4.

B - Gavin Bates 15, Connor Tuss 12, RJ Ramone 11, Owen Long 11, Caleb Cole 8, Joe Demontiney 7, Fin Tesoro 7, Ty Moccasin 6, Colby Martinez 5, Kaelob Flores 2.

Class C 122, Class B 85, Consolation

B - 18 18 22 27 - 85

C - 24 39 36 23 - 122

B - Owen Long 17, Gavin Bates 11, Caleb Cole 11, Colby Martinez 11, Fin Tesoro 9, Joe Demontiney 8, Connor Tuss 6, RJ Ramone 6, Ty Moccasin 4, Kaelob Flores 2.

C - Seth Amunrud 27, Bridger Vogl 18, Cade Erickson 17, Walker Doman 16, Oskar Pula 11, Dillon Gee 9, Bryce Graham 9, Mason Dethman 8, Javonne Nesbit 5, Kolden Hoversland 2.

Class A 109, Class AA 83, Championship

A - 24 28 28 29 - 109

AA - 13 26 21 23 - 83

A - Royce Robinson 27, Cayden Merchant 15, Riley Basta 14, Colton Graham 14, Payton Kokot 10, Bryce Graham 9, Michael Murphy 8, Fisher Brown 7, Dougie Peoples 5.

AA - Braydon Koch 15, Jackson Bayse 14, Ty Huse 11, Lane Love 10, Hayden Opitz 8, Payton Sanders 8, Reed Harris 8, Eli Hunter 5, Trent Rogers 2, Rogan Barnwell 2.