Three pointers were the norm at the MAC in Butte at the Butte Central/Hamilton game. Hamilton finished with 13 long-range bombs including three critical buckets in the last two minutes of the game. Those baskets powered the Broncs to another last second. Final score: Hamilton 57, Butte Central 55.
Butte Central had a one-point lead with time winding down and extended it to four. Hamilton senior Ky Burch stepped up and hit a trey and Hamilton pulled within one point again. But then two free throws by the Maroons widened the margin again. It was Ty Chouinard who blasted out a trey to tie the game again. Another free throw and then a basket by Butte Central put the Maroons in front by three again. But once more, Chouinard went to the air for a trey and tied the game with a little more than two and a half minutes remaining.
The Broncs then went into a four corner offense and were able to control the ball as the clock ticked down. They put the ball into Carter Kearns’ hands and he hit a shot at the buzzer for the 57-55 win. Chouinard, Hunter Omlid and Tanner Goligoski had three treys apiece in the game. Hamilton now has a 6-0 record and are 2-0 in conference play.
Hamilton 57, Butte Central 55
Hamilton – Cam Rothie 3, Ky Burch 11, Ty Chouinard 9, Hunter Omlid 13, Jaylen Taggart 4, Tanner Goligoski 11, Carter Kearns 6.
Butte Central – Johnston 3, Simpkins 6, Kump 14, McCloskey 14, Heaphy 3, Holter 2, Richards 8, Nate McGree 5.
Florence picked up their first win of the season with a 68-34 conference win over St. Ignatius on Thursday. The Falcons jumped out to a 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter and then held the Bulldogs to only 13 points in the second half. Cody Liles had 18 points to lead Florence. Marcus Zeiler added 15.
Florence 68, St. Ignatius 34
Florence – Marcus Zeiler 15, Brenden Bailey 3, Ethan Stensrud 5, Brent Stroppel 9, Cody Liles 18, Dillon Christopherson 5, Parker Hotsinpiller 2, Carson Katen 8.
St. Ignatius – Bolen 2, Hugs 8, Alexander 2, Matt 2, Cahoon 3, McClure 6, Pierre 2, Linsbigler 3, Alexander 6.
Plains defeated Darby, 68 to 32. The Horsemen found a way to shut down Zach McCrossin and held Dylan Parks to only 16 points in the win. The Tigers struggled in the third quarter and only found the basket once.
Plains 68, Darby 32
Darby – Zach McCrossin 5, Zack Kline 2, Dylan Parks 16, John Beckers 3, Nelson Smith 3, Daniel Muir 3.
Plains – R. Ovitt 10, A. Vonheeder 8, Weeks 8, T. Ovitt 2, Cole 14, Rehbein 6, McCracken 4, J. Vonheeder 15, Curry 1.
Lincoln ran over Victor, 69-35, in 13C conference action. The Pirates got off to a slow start and were never able to recover. Victor only scored five points in the opening frame. JD Kay had 11 points to pace the Pirates who were without Colt Neville.
Lincoln 69, Victor 35
Lincoln – Brown 11, Peterson 11, Fitzgerald 20, Kamps 5, Trump 1, Fuit 21.
Victor – Mason Agee 6, Jerod Halley 6, JD Kay 11, Cameron Moore 3, Logan McKinley 5, Jayce Allred 4.
On Tuesday night, Corvallis upended Stevensville, 56-49. Justin Catanach, Tylor Nixon and Logan Roth each scored 11 points in the win for the Blue Devils. Zach Jessop was also in double figures with 10 points for Corvallis. James Fry had 17 points for the Yellowjackets.