The basketball season got off to a limited start after a long holiday break. Most schools only had one game except for the Class C schools.
The Florence Falcons trailed for only the first few minutes of the game on Friday night before taking control and moving on to a 59-46 conference win over the St. Ignatius Bulldogs.
Even with a couple of starters on the bench for disciplinary reasons, the Falcons looked tough under the basket and on the perimeter. Brad Schaff, at 6’4” and about 240 pounds, controlled the boards with over 20 rebounds. He also had 13 points. Ryan Mangun drilled 25 points using a mixture of inside shooting and long range shooting. The Falcons did hit a dry spell in the final quarter and missed six straight lay-ups before Mangun broke the dry spell and powered the way to the win.
Florence 59, St. Ignatius 46
St. Ignatius– Jarred Brown 12, Stuart Grant 22, Patrick Eichert 4, Aaron Fisher-Ahenakaw 8.
Florence – Brandon Johnson 9, Levi Clagett 8, Travern Smith 4, Ryan Mangun 25, Brad Schaff 13.
Victor picked up a couple of wins over the weekend. The Pirates defeated Lincoln, 48-22. After a close first quarter with only one point separating the two, Victor stepped up their defense and their scoring and went on to win. Brady Tuttle had 17 points in the game.
Victor 48, Lincoln 22
Victor– Austin Lewis 2, Colt Neville 2, Kolton Benish 8, Nate Bishop 7, Brady Tuttle 17, Ethan Etter 2, Jack Peterson 6, GP Monta 4.
Lincoln – Nick 1, Jorgensen 8, Brady 6, Fitzgerald 3, Nick 2, Eisenzimer 2.
On Saturday, Victor traveled to Pablo to the Two Eagle River School. Again, the Pirates had a slow first quarter but kept the pressure on and cruised to a 70-57 victory. Tuttle again had the hot hand with 25 points. Jack Pederson added 12 more. Also in double figures were GP Monta with 11 and Austin Lewis and Nate Bishop with 10 points.
Victor 70, Two Eagle 57
Victor– Austin Lewis 10, Nate Bishop 10, Terrell Sherill 2, Brady Tuttle 25, Jack Peterson 12, GP Monta 11.
Two Eagle River–Carpenter 6, Janson 19, Bourdon 1, Ducharme 4, Parker 11, Hewankorn 9, Lira 7.
Darby split their games this weekend. The Tigers lost a heartbreaker to Philipsburg on Friday, 48-45. Darby took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter but couldn’t hold on for the win. Zach McCrossin led all scorers with 18 points.
Philipsburg 48, Darby 45
Philipsburg– Metesh 12, Immenshuh 2, Stephenson 6, Bohrnsen 9, Comings 13, Mickelson 2, Waldbillig 4.
Darby – Zach McCrossin 18, Rope Rennaker 5, Druex Kuntz 4, Joe Caicedo 14, William Westfall 4.
Darby cruised to a 71-55 win over Valley Christian on Saturday. After trailing by five at the end of the first quarter, the Tigers roared back in the second to score 25 points. McCrossin had 21 points and Joe Caicedo led all with 24 points.
Darby 71-Valley Christian 55
Darby – McCrossin 21, Andy Smith 2, Rennaker 7, Kuntz 9, Caicedo 24, Westfall 6, Dawson Jakober 2.
Valley Christian – Bohlken 10, Redfern 12, Kiemele 6, Lodine 7, Klein 20.
Hamilton took on Butte Central in Southwest A action. The Broncs stayed with the Maroons in the first quarter and only trailed by one point at the buzzer. However they didn’t score a point in the second while Butte Central scored 12. Butte Central went on to win, 53-36. Josh Heath and Ty Burt each had seven points to lead the Broncs.
Butte Central 53, Hamilton 36
Butte Central – Guldseth 9, McGree 2, Peterson 5, Sessions 7, Ferriter 10, Bolstad 20.
Hamilton – Josh Heath 7, Kris Cleveland 2, Ty Burt 7, Teague Blome 5, Brett Huxtable 2, Kameron Kohn 6, Josh Bauder 5, Ky Burch 2.
Corvallis traveled to Dillon for conference game as well. The Blue Devils had a tough time getting going and fell, 60-31. Jayce Gilder had 13 points to lead Corvallis.
Dillon 60, Corvallis 31
Corvallis– Alma Powell 6, Jayce Gilder 13, Chaney Waldo 2, Brigham Parrish 5, Austin Bankston 2, Andrew Leopold 3.
Dillon –Kluesner 7, Tory 3, Williams 4, Ju. Ferris 2, Love 4, Simpkins 6, Ferris 6, Scott 15, Huber 2, Ja. Ferris 7, Richardson 4.
Finally, Stevensville took on Class AA Missoula Sentinel. Although the Yellowjackets trailed throughout the game, they were making a comeback as time ran out. Sentinel won, 47-45. One of the biggest thorns in Stevi’s side was Chase Walker, who played for Corvallis last year. He led all scorers with 21 points and five rebounds. Stevensville’s Jared Schultz led the ‘Jacket with 15 points. Chris Bergman was 3-for-3 from beyond the three point line.
Sentinel 47, Stevensville 45
Stevensville – Jesse Sims 6, Chance Coleman 5, Zach Gavlak 8, Jared Schultz 15, Chris Lords 2, Chris Bergman 9.
Sentinel – Walker 21, Khameneh 2, Violette 9, Q. Walker 3, Darko-Kelley 6, Laughnan 3, Zander 3