Hi-Line Boys BB: Box Elder, Fort Benton boys move up

High school boys basketball returned to the Hi-Line this past weekend with many exciting matchups. With the postseason inching closer, every team is looking to get hot at the right time.

The week started Monday with of last week Fort Benton defeating Conrad, 61-31, at home. The Longhorns got off to a strong start by taking an 18-8 lead in the first quarter. By halftime, the Longhorns had a 33-14 lead.

In the second half, the Longhorns cruised to victory to start their week. Cody Evans led Fort Benton with 14 points while Brock Grossman scored 12 points for the Longhorns.

The week continued last Thursday with the North Star Knights winning, 57-53, in overtime on the road against Conrad. But the Knights could not keep it up as they lost, 66-38, at home to the Box Elder Bears Friday night.

The Bears started strong as they took an 18-11 lead in the first quarter. The Bears continued to play well with a 28-20 lead into halftime. The Bears then rolled through the third quarter to push their lead to 50-29.

The Knights were unable to come back in the fourth as the Bears went on to win. Tracen Jilot led Box Elder with 25 points while Theron Oats Jr. scored 13 in the winning effort. Garrett Spicher led North Star with 15 points.

In another 9C matchup Friday, the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks won, 67-35, at home against the Chinook Sugarbeeters. The Hawks got off to a hot start as they jumped out to a 21-6 lead. By halftime, the Hawks had a 37-20 lead.

The Hawks pulled away in the second half to win the game. It was a team effort as both Karson Pulst and Braden Mattson scored 16 points for the Hawks. Jackson Nordboe led Chinook with 13 points.

Over in Turner, the Turner Tornadoes defended home court with a 70-49 win over Dodson. The Tornadoes jumped out to a 26-1 lead and never looked back in their dominant victory. Ryan Doyle led Turner with 21 points while Caleb Zellmer contributed 16 points in the win.

The Big Sandy Pioneers also looked good Friday with an 80-53 win over Denton-Geyser-Stanford-Geraldine at home. The Pioneers got rolling early to take a 45-24 lead by halftime. In the second half, the Pioneers pulled away for the win to start their week. Isaac Pedraza had an impressive night with 29 points while Braydon Cline scored 21 for the Pioneers.

Over in Hays Friday night, the Fort Benton Longhorns picked up a 62-49 win over the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds. Then Saturday, Fort Benton picked up a 47-42 win at home against the Big Sandy Pioneers. The Longhorns started the game by taking an 18-12 lead. By halftime, Fort Benton had a 31-24 lead.

The Longhorns were unable to pull away but they took a 40-33 lead into the fourth quarter. The Pioneers tried to come back in the fourth, but the Longhorns held on to win. Evans led Fort Benton with 12 points while Pedraza and Kody Strutz each scored 10 points for Big Sandy in the loss.

Over in Box Elder, the Box Elder Bears won, 71-57, against the Turner Tornadoes. The Bears got off to a hot start taking a 22-17 lead. But the Tornadoes came back to take a 31-28 lead at halftime.

The Bears responded in the third quarter to take a 44-42 lead. Then in the fourth, the Bears pulled away to win the game. Jilot led the Bears with 23 points while Doyle led Turner with 18 points.

The CJI Hawks wrapped up the week with a 55-29 win over Sunburst on the road. The Hawks took an 11-3 lead to start the game and stretched their advantage to 28-8 by halftime. They continued to pull away in the second half to win the game. Mattson led CJI with 24 points while Pulst scored 13 for the Hawks.

The Chinook Sugarbeeters defended home court Saturday with a 79-77 win over the HLP T-Birds. Brenden Fetter had a monster game with 39 points while Braxton Inman scored 13 points. Elsewhere on Saturday, the Harlem Wildcats ended their week with a 75-54 loss to Cut Bank at home.

At the end of the week, Box Elder remains first in the 9C district with a record of 12-2. Fort Benton, CJI and Big Sandy all end the week with an 11-3 record. North Star is fifth in the standings with a 6-7 record and Turner is sixth with a 7-7 record. Chinook comes in seventh and HLP comes in eighth in the standings.

Hi-Line high school boys basketball will continue this Thursday with Rocky Boy playing Malta at home.

Monday

Fort Benton 61, Conrad 31

CON - 8 6 5 12 - 31

FB - 18 15 15 13 - 61

CON - Samuel Blanchard 11, Teagan Arnold 7, Zack Durnell 5, Braidyn Denzer 4, Noah Walker 3, Brayden Stordall 1.

FB - Cody Evans 14, Brock Grossman 12, Sam Smith 8, Eli Arganbright 7, Truman Giese 6, Landis Arganbright 6, Sterling Herzog 6, Morgan Axtman 2.

Friday

Box Elder 66, North Star 38

BE - 18 10 22 16 - 66

NS - 11 9 9 9 - 38

BE - Tracen Jilot 25, Theron Oats Jr. 13, Skylar Walker 8, Alex Four Colors 6, Tuarie Stiffarm-Rosette 6, Matthias Blackbird 3, King Ragged Robe 2.

NS - Garrett Spicher 15, Gavin Spicher 14, Chris Burkartsmeyer 4, Carter Campbell 3, Gavin Clawson 2.

CJI 67, Chinook 35

CHI - 6 14 5 10 - 35

CJI - 21 16 20 10 - 67

CHI - Jackson Nordboe 13, Brenden Fetter 10, Edwards 4, Flint Annis 3, Braxton Inman 3, Levi Jensen 2.

CJI - Karson Pulst 16, Braden Mattson 16, Nate Nelson 12, Blake Harmon 8, Adam Grammar 8, Cooper Streit 2, Ryland St. John 2, Dane Grammar 2, Pat Dahlin 1.

Turner 70, Dodson 49

DOD - 1 14 15 19 - 49

TUR - 26 18 16 10 - 70

DOD - Mikey Jaynes 26, Sebastian Best 8, Junior Stiffarm 6, Mason LoneBear 4, Chaske Cliff 3, Lance Snow 2.

TUR - Ryan Doyle 21, Caleb Zellmer 16, Trent Billmayer 14, Charlie Calvert 8, JR Brown 6, Tate Beck 5.

Big Sandy 80, DGSD 53

DGSG - 6 18 10 19 - 53

BS - 19 26 23 12 - 80

DGSG - Kameron Myllymaki 10, Kain Vincent 9, Ace Becker 8, Axel Becker 7, Clay Harwood 4, Tyce Smith 3, Colter Howell 3, Blaze 3, B. Ridgeway 2, C. Sherer 2.

BS - Isaac Pedraza 29, Braydon Cline 21, Kody Strutz 11, Wylee Snapp 9, Cooper Taylor 5, Jaesun Yirsa 3, Ryder Galbavy 2.

Saturday

Fort Benton 47, Big Sandy 42

BS - 12 12 9 9 - 42

FB - 18 13 9 7 - 47

BS - Kody Strutz 10, Isaac Pedraza 10, Wylee Snapp 9, Braydon Cline 8, Cooper Taylor 3, Ryder Galbavy 2.

FB - Cody Evans 12, Lincoln Pelle 9, Landis Arganbright 9, Eli Arganbright 8, Brock Grossman 6, Sterling Herzog 2, Truman Giese 1.

Box Elder 71, Turner 57

TUR - 17 14 11 15 - 57

BE - 22 6 16 27 - 71

TUR - Ryan Doyle 18, Charlie Calvert 16, Caleb Zellmer 9, Tate Beck 6, Trent Billmayer 5.

BE - Tracen Jilot 23, Matthias Blackbird 10, Alex Four Colors 10, Skylar Walker 9, King Ragged Robe 7, Theron Oats Jr. 5, Julian Henry 5, Tavory Whitford 2.

CJI 55, Sunburst 29

CJI - 11 17 14 13 - 55

SUN - 3 5 15 6 - 29

CJI - Braden Mattson 24, Karson Pulst 13, Blake Harmon 5, Adam Grammar 4, Ryland St. John 3, Nate Nelson 2, Cooper Streit 2, Elijah Sanders 2.

SUN - Conlan Kerfoot 16, Connor Sullivan 5, John Buckley 4, Vince Taylor 2, Ian Benjamin 2.

Chinook 79, HLP 77

CHI - Breden Fetter 39, Braxton Inman 13, Carson Nissen 6, Levi Jensen 5, Flint Annis 2.

HLP - N/A.