With the Hamilton Broncs trailing by two points and 14 seconds remaining in their game against the Polson Pirates, Hamilton called a time out to set the play. The inbound pass went to Hamilton’s Carter Kearns who spun past one defender and then found his way blocked by another. He dished out to sophomore sensation Hunter Omlid who bobbled the ball at his ankles and then smoothly went up for a three pointer as the buzzer sounded. The ball swished through the basket and Hamilton came away with a big win. Final score, Hamilton 58, Polson 57.
Both teams advanced to state last year with Polson finishing third. Hamilton coach Travis Blome said his team wouldn’t see each other again until divisional in February. He was happy with how his team played against the tough team.
The game was close in the first quarter with Hamilton leading most of the time. Polson did take the lead but Omlid hit two buckets to change the momentum. Jaylen Taggart pulled down a big rebound and Hamilton was in control again. By the end of the first half, Hamilton led by 11 points.
Polson came back in the third quarter behind the shooting of Matthew Rensvold. Taggart and company tried to contain him but that opened up Jeremiah North Piegan. By the end of the quarter, Hamilton only had a three-point lead. The two stayed within a basket of each other throughout the fourth quarter with Hamilton in the lead. That changed with just a little more than 90 seconds remaining when Rensvold hit a short jumper to give the Pirates the lead by one point. J’von Johnson added one but missed the second with less than 30 seconds left. Hamilton got the ball, called a time out and set up the inbounds play that led to Omlid’s shot and the Hamilton win.
Hamilton 58, Polson 57
Polson – Johnson 8, Bautista 8, Wilson 5, North Piegan 13, Main 8, Rensvold 15.
Hamilton – Ca Rothie 4, Ky Burch 8, Ty Chouinard 3, Hunter Omlid 23, Jaylen Taggart 6, Tanner Goligoski 8, Carter Kearns 6.
Hamilton defeated Corvallis on Thursday night, 58-45. The Blue Devils stayed with the Broncs for most of the first half. However the Broncs had a strong fourth quarter that powered them to the win. Kearns led all scorers with 20 points. Tylor Nixon had 17 points to lead Corvallis
Hamilton 58, Corvallis 45
Hamilton – Burch 2, Chouinard 9, Goligoski 5, Kearns 20, Omlid 19, Rothie 3.
Corvallis – Ridge Albright 9, Justin Catanach 6, Zach Jessop 2, Kobe Jessop 3, Liang Liedle 3, Kolton Mahan 3, Tylor Nixon 17, Logan Roth 2.
Stevensville notched a conference win over Butte Central on Saturday, topping the Maroons, 44-43. The Yellowjackets held Butte Central to only three points in the second quarter and then held off the late charging Maroons in the fourth quarter. Butte Central scored 21 points in the final frame but Stevensville held on for the win. Dalton Bragg and Luis Estrada each had 14 points for Stevensville.
Stevensville 44, Butte Central 43
Butte Central – McGree 14, Johnston 13, Kump 10, Holter 4, Richards 2.
Stevensville – Dalton Bragg 14, Luis Estrada 14, James Fry 7, Jarod Kingsbury 6, Chase Richards 3.
Stevensville dropped a non-conference game against Big Sky on Thursday. Estrada had 19 points to pace Stevensville.
Missoula Loyola came to Florence on Thursday. The Rams came out strongly and continued the pressure throughout the game. Florence trailed by only four points at the end of three quarters but a 24 point run in the fourth quarter powered Loyola over Florence, 69-50.
Loyola 69, Florence 50
Loyola – Lincoln 5, Twite 2, Round 1, Koppang 7, McHugh 12, Davis 19, Richardson 17, McElroy 6.
Florence – Marcus Zeiler 13, Brenden Bailey 3, Ethan Stensrud 9, Brent Stroppel 7, Cody Liles 12, Dillon Christopherson 4, Carson Katen 2.
Victor split their games over the weekend. The Pirates lost to Drummond and then defeated Darby.
The meeting with Drummond is the only time they will meet this season as Drummond has been moved into District 11/12. Victor had a difficult time working the ball around past the taller Trojans and had a slow second quarter. Drummond went on to win, 40-35.
Drummond 40, Victor 35
Drummond – Gomez 2, Parke 12, Holland 3, Manley 3, Allen 11, Davis 9.
Victor – Mason Agee 5, Jerod Halley 4, J.D. Kay 3, Colt Neville 12, Logan McKinley 4, Jayce Allred 2, Waylon Barta 5.
Neville broke loose for 24 points for the Pirates in their 69-65 win over Darby on Saturday. Although Darby led at the end of the first half, after pouring in 27 points in the second quarter, the Pirates came back with 22 points in the third quarter. McKinley had 11 points and Kay added 10 in the win. Dylan Parks had 31 points for Darby.
Victor 69, Darby 65
Victor – Agee 6, Halley 4, Kay 10, Neville 24, McKinley 11, Allred 9, Barta 5.
Darby – Zach McCrossin 17, Zack Kline 5, Dylan Parks 31, John Beckers 1, Andy Smith 9, Nelson Smith 2.