The Hamilton Broncs are shaping up to be the team to beat in the Southwest A. With a well-rounded group of experienced players, one never knows which Bronc is going to have the hot hand and no defense can overlook any of the five players on the court. Tanner Goligoski, Carter Kearns and Hunter Omlid all have the ability to score from almost any place on the floor. Add in Cam Rothie whose long range shot is deadly, Bridger Bauder who can muscle his way inside for the rebound or the shot, Tyler Chouinard, Tyler Barnes and Carson Rostad and defenses don’t know which way to go.
Thursday night in the Battle of the Bitterroot, it was Goligoski’s time to shine. The 5’9” junior sank 7 of 7 three point shots in the first half. He went on to finish with nine treys and 31 points in the 67-39 win over Corvallis. Hamilton jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in the conference match-up. Zach Jessop led Corvallis with seven points.
Hamilton 67, Corvallis 39
Corvallis – Jace Barcus 3, Ridge Albright 6, Jeff Stoker 4, Ryan Wiggins 4, Zach Jessop 8, Kobe Jessop 7, Garrett Brown 7.
Hamilton – Cam Rothie 6, Carson Rostad 8, Bridger Bauder 5, Tyler Barnes 2, Hunter Omlid 6, Tanner Goligoski 31, Carter Kearns 9.
It was more of the same on Saturday when Hamilton took on Polson. Although the Broncs only led by four points at the end of the first quarter, Hamilton continued to hit their shots while limiting Polson in each quarter. Hamilton won, 77-47. Kearns led all scorers with 16 points. Goligoski added 13 and Chouinard and Rostad were also in double figures with 11 each.
Hamilton 77, Polson 47
Hamilton – Rothie 6, Rostad 11, Bauder 3, Tyler Chouinard 11, Barnes 2, Omlid 12, Goligoski 13, Kearns 16, Trey Searle 3.
Polson – Askan 6, Erickson 7, Kelley 3, Lanier 16, Main 6, Schultz 6, Danley 2, Lake 1.
Stevensville lost to Columbia Falls in non conference action, 48-32. The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead and Stevensville was never able to catch them. Alex Gavlak had 12 points to pace Stevensville.
Columbia Falls 48, Stevensville 32
Stevensville – Alex Gavlak 12, Logan Roth 11, Devlin Sherman 4, Colby Meeds 3, Sean Craft 2.
Columbia Falls – Morrison 14, Morgan 11, Schriver 9, Panasuk 6, Green 4, Bechtel 4.
The ‘Jackets lost to Butte Central, 52-46 in a close game on Saturday. Stevensville was closing the gap in the fourth quarter when time ran out. Logan Roth finished with 17 points to lead all scorers.
Butte Central 52, Stevensville 46
Stevensville – Meeds 14, Roth 17, Ivan Yazvak 3, Kaleb Behner 3, Gavlak 2, Craft 2, Sherman 5.
Butte Central – Simkins 3, Heaphy 9, Simkins 2, Sestrich 6, McCloskey 16, Neumann 3, Holter 6, Richards 7.
Florence split their games this week. The Falcons lost to Thompson Falls, 65-57. A slow second quarter in which the Falcons only scored seven points while the Bluehawks scored 21 proved to be the difference. Marcus Zeiler had 30 points for Florence.
Thompson Falls 65, Florence 57
Florence – Tyce Pedersen 2, Brenden Bailey 2, Dillon Christopherson 4, Jacob Scully 3, Brent Stroppel 13, Marcus Zeiler 30.
Thompson Falls – Beckman 8, Hoisington 31, Lundberg 1, Frields 5, Erosa 2, Johnson 2, Thibeault 16.
The Falcons upended the highly touted Loyola Rams on Saturday, 58-54 in a very close game. Only one point separated the two teams at the end of three quarters but Florence pulled ahead for the victory. Brent Stroppel finished with 17 points and Tyce Pederson finished with 15.
Florence 58, Loyola 54
Florence – Stroppel 17, Pedersen 15, Zeiler 13, Christopherson 9, Bailey 2, Parker Hotsinpiller 1, Scully 1.
Loyola – Koppang 16, Twite 11, Hollenbeck 11, Lincoln 8, Tirrell 6, Bell 2.
In another Battle of the Bitterroot, the Darby Tigers topped Victor, 58-43. Victor hit a dry spell in the second quarter and couldn’t regroup enough to overcome the Tigers’ edge. Dylan Parks finished with 18 points for Darby. Will Jessop had 17 points for Victor.
Darby 58, Victor 43
Darby – Dylan Parks 18, Brandon Winter 14, Nelson Smith 8, Aaron Hansen 13, Cole Kayser 5.
Victor – Mason Agee 10, Jerod Halley 3, Will Jessop 17, Garritt Gleason 4, Christian Moevao 3, Waylon Barta 6.
Victor lost to Drummond, 54-35, on Saturday. Jerod Halley had 10 points to pace Victor.
Drummond 54, Victor 35
Victor – Halley 10, Barta 9, Agee 6, Jessop 4, Skyler Webberson 4, Tristan Chavez 2.
Drummond – Holland 16, Davis 12, Parke 9, Allen 7, Manley 4, Gomez 2, Pool 2, Parke 2.