Class A Boys take first at HIT

With the end of the high school basketball season, the Hi-Line Invitational Tournament made its return to Havre. This past weekend at Armory Gymnasium, some of the best high school boys basketball players competed in the postseason all-star tournament.

The four teams at the tournament represented each class of high school boys basketball in the state of Montana: Class AA, Class A, Class B and Class C. There was plenty of competitive basketball, but at the end of the day Saturday, the Class A team took home first with a 97-91 win over the Class C team.

"It truly shows how tough Class A really is. A lot of people kind of sleep on them," Class A head coach Walynn Burgess said about Class A winning the HIT. "It's really fun to coach these guys and actually get to meet them so it was a really enjoyable weekend for me."

The championship game was competitive from the start as Class A had a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. At halftime, Class A only had a 40-39 lead. Class C then took momentum in the third quarter to take a 63-60 lead.

Class A retook control in the fourth quarter as they went on to win. Dougie Peoples of Butte Central led the way with 24 points for Class A. Royce Robinson of Lewistown also played well with 20 points for Class A. Seth Amunrud of Manhattan Christian led Class C with 20 points in the losing effort.

Earlier on Saturday, the Class AA team finished third after defeating the Class B team, 92-90, in the consolation game. Class AA got off to a strong start taking a 35-25 lead in the first quarter. However, Class B came back to cut the deficit to 55-47 heading into halftime. Class B then dominated the third quarter to take a 76-74 lead.

However, Class AA pulled it out in the fourth quarter to win the game. Lane Love of Billings Skyview had a strong game with 33 points to lead Class AA. Eli Hunter of Gallatin also played well for Class AA with 19 points. On the losing end for Class B, Reynolds Johnston of Missoula Loyola had a strong performance with 28 points.

The tournament started all the way back on Thursday night. In the opening game of the tournament, Class A pulled out a 110-105 win over Class C. Ryder Lee of Miles City had a strong start to the tournament with 24 points for Class A. On the other side, Kade Erickson of Broadview-Lavina led Class C with 18 points.

The tournament continued Friday morning with Class A defeating Class AA 107-101. Fisher Brown of Lewistown led the way this time for Class A with 22 points. Love led Class AA with 23 points. Later Friday, Class C defeated Class B 96-84. Amunrud and Mason Dethman of Froid-Medicine Lake each scored 19 points for Class C. On the other side, Johnston led Class B with 14 points.

On Friday afternoon, Class A dominated for a 141-98 win over Class B. Peoples and Robinson each scored 26 points for Class A while Hayden Steffenson of Columbus led Class B with 21 points. Friday wrapped up with Class C defeating Class AA 110-100. Bryce Grebe of Melstone led Class C with 19 points while Hunter and Kellen Harrison of Bozeman each scored 20 points for Class AA.

Before the championship and consolation games Saturday, the day started with Class AA defeating Class B 131-112. Love had another strong game with 22 points for Class AA. On the other side, Steffenson played well with 25 points for Class B.

At the end of the weekend, the HIT announced its Boys All-Star Team for the tournament. Making up the team were Peoples, Brown, Robinson, Harrison, Love, Hunter, Amunrud, Dethman, Grebe, Steffenson, Johnston and Ethan Stack of Missoula Loyola. For his play, Peoples was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Love finished the weekend leading the tournament in scoring. Other statistical leaders in the tournament include Harrison with assists and Steffenson with rebounds. Kaden Bishop of Malta was named Mr. Hustle while Bridger Vogl of Belt was named Mr. Defense. In Friday night's skill challenges, Braydon Cline of Big Sandy won the 3-point contest while Conner Michaud of Frenchtown won the dunk contest.

This year's HIT was the 36th edition of the tournament. While it could have lost its steam over the years, those involved in the tournament such as Burgess believe it is still going strong and should continue to provide excellent competition in the future.

"You just get the best out of each class and I think in the last five or six years, we've really brought in high-end, talented kids," Burgess said. "It's really cool to see this type of stuff and I just can't wait for it to come back again next year."

Thursday

Class A 110, Class C 105

A - 32 26 27 25 - 110

C- 29 24 11 41 - 105

Class A - Ryder Lee 24, Royce Robinson 19, Dougie Peoples 14, Asher Magness 11, Fisher Brown 10, Xavier Butler 9, Michael Murphy 9, Eli Quinn 8, Eli Taylor 3, Conner Michaud 3.

Class C - Kade Erickson 18, Bridger Vogl 16, Mason Dethman 16, Bryce Grebe 13, Blake Harmon 9, Mason Venema 9, Tracen Jilot 8, Seth Amunrud 7, Braydon Cline 4, Shad Boyce 4.

Halftime: Class A 58-53. 3-pointers: A 11-38 (Ryder Lee 3), C 14-42 (Kade Erickson 4). Rebounds: A 56 (Ryder Lee 10), C 54 (Bridger Vogl 8).

Friday

Class A 107, Class AA 101

A - 26 19 35 27 - 107

AA - 26 20 33 22 - 101

Class A - Fisher Brown 22, Michael Murphy 21, Dougie Peoples 16, Conner Michaud 15, Royce Robinson 14, Asher Magness 12, Eli Quinn 2, Ryder Lee 2.

Class AA - Lane Love 23, Kellan Harrison 19, Donovyn Headswift 12, Jaxan Lieberg 11, Eli Hunter 11, Cooper Tyson 10, Billy Carlson 7, Josiah Cuaresma 3, Anthony Schacht 3.

Halftime: Class AA 46-45. 3-pointers: A 13-34 (Fisher Brown 4), AA 12-27 (Kellan Harrison 3). Rebounds: A 39 (Conner Michaud 9), AA 44 (Kellan Harrison 8).

Class C 96, Class B 84

C - 22 26 31 17 - 96

B - 18 14 30 22 - 84

Class C - Seth Amunrud 19, Mason Dethman 19, Bryce Grebe 11, Kade Erickson 11, Shad Boyce 10, Blake Harmon 9, Tracen Jilot 6, Braydon Cline 4, Bridger Vogl 4, Mason Venema 3.

Class B - Reynolds Johnston 14, Zoran Lafrombois 13, Ethan Stack 13, Mason Meier 8, Treyton Wilke 7, Delray Lilley 7, Bohdi Brenden 7, Kaden Bishop 5, Stockton Oxarart 4, Hayden Steffenson 4, Thomas Buchanan 2.

Halftime: Class C 48-32. 3-pointers: C 10-39 (Seth Amunrud 3), B 9-43 (Zoran Lafrombois 2). Rebounds: C 63 (Shad Boyce 10), B 61 (Ethan Stack 11).

Class A 141, Class B 98

A - 29 31 81 - 141

B - 28 20 50 - 98

Class A - Dougie Peoples 26, Royce Robinson 26, Ryder Lee 16, Conner Michaud 15, Eli Taylor 13, Fisher Brown 13, Asher Magness 9, Xavier Butler 8, Michael Murphy 7, Eli Quinn 5,

Class B - Hayden Steffenson 21, Mason Meier 16, Delray Lilley 12, Reynolds Johnston 11, Bohid Brenden 10, Ethan Stack 8, Stockton Oxarart 6, Kaden Bishop 5, Zoran Lafrombois 5, Treyton Wilke 3.

Halftime: Class A 60-48. 3-pointers: A 16-34 (Eli Taylor 3), B 13-32 (Stockton Oxarart 2). Rebounds: A 53 (Xavier Butler 8), B 29 (Hayden Steffenson 6).

Class C 110, Class AA 100

AA - 22 22 27 29 - 100

C - 24 18 34 34 - 110

Class AA - Kellen Harrison 20, Eli Hunter 20, Cooper Tyson 16, Lane Love 15, Jaxan Lieberg 11, Billy Carlson 6, Anthony Schacht 6, Donovyn Headswift 4, Josiah Cuaresma 2.

Class C - Bryce Grebe 19, Bridger Vogl 17, Seth Amunrud 15, Tracen Jilot 14, Mason Venema 14, Kade Erickson 11, Shad Boyce 8, Braydon Cline 5, Mason Dethman 4, Blake Harmon 3.

Halftime: Class AA 44-42. 3-pointers: AA 7-29 (Eli Hunter 3), C14-31 (Seth Amunrud 3). Rebounds: AA 43 (Josiah Cuaresma 6), C 46 (Bridger Vogl 8).

Saturday

Class AA 131, Class B 112

B - 28 17 34 33 - 112

AA - 58 13 34 26 - 131

Class B - Hayden Steffenson 25, Reynolds Johnston 22, EthanStack 17, Bohdi Brenden 12, Thomas Buchanan 9, Zoran Lafrombois 8, Treyton Wilke 7, Kaden Bishop 5, Mason Meier 3, Stockton Oxarart 2, Delray Lilley 2,

Class AA - Lane Love 22, Donovyn Headswift 20, Josiah Cuaresma 19, Eli Hunter 19, Kellen Harrison 12, Jaxan Lieberg 12, Billy Carlson 11, Cooper Tyson 8, Anthony Schacht 8.

Halftime: Class AA 71-45. 3-pointers: B 10-29 (Bohdi Brenden 3), AA 16-37 (Eli Hunter 5). Rebounds: B 52 (Hayden Steffenson 12), AA 40 (Lane Love 8).

Class AA 92, Class B 90, Consolation

AA - 35 20 19 18 - 92

B - 25 22 29 14 - 90

Class AA - Lane Love 33, Eli Hunter 19, Kellen Harrison 17, Jaxan Lieberg 7, Donovyn Headswift 7, Josiah Cuaresma 5, Cooper Tyson 4.

Class B - Reynolds Johnston 28, Hayden Steffenson 16, Bohdi Brenden 13, Ethan Stack 10, Delray Lilley 8,Stockton Oxarart 7, Zoran Lafrombois 3, Treyton Wilke 3, Mason Meier 2.

Halftime: Class AA 55-47. 3-pointers: AA 11-36 (Kellen Harrison 3), B 14-37 (Reynolds Johnston 4). Rebounds: AA 41 (Kellen Harrison 6), B 46 (Hayden Steffenson 12).

Class A 97, Class C 91, Championship

A - 14 26 20 37 - 97

C - 12 27 24 28 - 91

Class A - Dougie Peoples 24, Royce Robinson 20, Michael Murphy 12, Asher Magness 12, Ryder Lee 9, Conner Michaud 9, Fisher Brown 6, Xavier Butler 3, Eli Quinn 2.

Class C - Seth Amunrud 20, Shad Boyce 16, Mason Dethman 11, Tracen Jilot 10, Bryce Grebe 9, Blake Harmon 7, Kade Erickson 7, Mason Venema 4, Braydon Cline 4, Bridger Vogl 3.

Halftime: Class A 40-39. 3-pointers: A 12-38 (Michael Murphy 4), C 10-36 (Seth Amunrud 4). Rebounds: A 49 (Royce Robinson 11), C 54 (Mason Dethman 9).