By Jean Schurman
The Stevensville Yellowjackets pulled off an upset of sorts on Thursday when they defeated Hamilton, 69-51. The Broncs were playing without Carter Kearns and Bridger Bauder who are both out due to injuries. But Hamilton coach Travis Blome gave all the credit to the Stevensville team for the win.
“They pushed us very hard defensively, and shot the ball well. You got to come, in this league, every week to play, and if you don’t, this is the consequence,” he concluded.
Stevensville jumped out to an early lead when Jarod Kingsbury hit a long trey. Although Hamilton rallied a couple of times and pulled within four points at the mid point of the second quarter after Jaylen Taggart hit two free throws, the Broncs were never able to catch the ‘Jackets. Hunter Omlid led the Broncs with 21 points and Taggart added 14 more.
Midway through the fourth quarter it looked as if Hamilton was gathering to make another run at Stevensville. The ‘Jackets were in a bit of a slump and looked rattled. Coach Tony Anderson of Stevensville called a time out and settled his team down.
“The fourth quarter has been our Achilles Heel,” said Anderson. “We’ve been up but it’s new (to them) to play with the lead and you have to learn how to play with the lead.”
Anderson went on to say his team is really pulling together and working on defense. Their big guy in the middle, Chayse Richards, finished the night with 14 rebounds. James Fry led all scorers with 22 points.
Stevensville 69, Hamilton 51
Hamilton – Cam Rothe 4, Ky Burch 4, Ty Chouinard 2, Hunter Omlid 21, Jaylen Taggart 14, Tanner Goligoski 6.
Stevensville – Jarod Kingsbury 14, James Fry 22, Dalton Bragg 10, Chayse Richards 9, Alex Gavlak 3, Luis Estrada-Ortiz 11.
Stevensville traveled to Whitefish on Friday where they took on the Bulldogs. Although Whitefish jumped out to an early lead and led by seven points at the end of the first quarter, the ‘Jackets came back to win, 68-52. Kingsbury and Fry each had 16 points. Dalton Bragg added 15 and Richards had eight points. Alex Gavlak finished with nine points and Estrada-Ortiz had four to complete the scoring
The Dillon Beavers came to Hamilton on Saturday afternoon. The game was tied at the end of the first quarter and Hamilton only trailed by three points at the half. But Dillon slowed Hamilton’s scoring down in the third quarter and then went on to win, 50-41. Omlid and Tanner Goligoski each had 11 points to pace the Broncs. Taggart added nine and Came Rothie had seven points. Ky Burch finished out the scoring with three points.
In other action, Corvallis lost to Butte Central and to Columbia Falls. Florence topped Ronan in 6B action in overtime but lost to Anaconda and to Frenchtown. Darby defeated Clark Fork but lost to Seeley Swan. Victor lost to Seeley-Swan and to Philipsburg.
Butte Central 48, Corvallis 27
Corvallis – Liang Liedle 3, Ryal Jessop 2, Ridge Albright 6, Tylor Nixon 13, Garrett Brown 3.
Butte Central – Johnston 8, Simkins 7, Kump 7, McGree 9, McCloskey 6, Heaphy 2, Holter 8, J. Simkins 1.
Florence 46, Ronan 44, OT
Florence – Tyce Pedersen 8, Brandon Bailey 9, Brent Stroppel 14, Cody Liles 5, Dillon Christopherson 8, Carson Katen 2.
Ronan – Z. Misa 5, Dennis 4, Mock 3, A. Misa 13, Morigeau 2, Stewart 13, Camel 4.
Frenchtown 48, Florence 34
Frenchtown – Botkin 10, Price 9, Baker 7, B. Rugg 6, Pyron 5, Means 5, H. Rugg 4, Hoppie 2.
Florence – Liles 18, Ethan Stensrud 4, Hunter Harrington 3, Christopherson 2, Katen 2, Devonte Clark-Gardner 2, Stroppel 2, Bailey 1.
Anaconda 58, Florence 36
Florence – Liles 11, Stroppel 9, Bailey 8, Christopherson 4, Katen 2, Stensrud 2.
Anaconda – Hill 18, Midalatos 15, Stetzner 14, Swainston 10, Byrne 1.
Darby 65, Clark Fork 54
Clark Fork – Mask 14, Callison 2, Ververis 1, Turnbull 20, Spence 15, Radford 2.
Darby – Zach McCrossin 41, Zack Kline 1, Andy Smith 1, John Beckers 10, Bridger Ernsberger 5, Dylan Parks 5, Aaron Hansen 2.
Seeley-Swan 56, Darby 49
Darby – McCrossin 20, Kline 8, Smith 3, Beckers 5, Parks 13.
Seeley-Swan –Miller 18, Haines 12, Johnson 10, Smith 7, Johnson 5, Robinett 4.