The Butte Central Maroons came to Hamilton on Saturday. Butte Central came in undefeated with a 12-0 record. Hamilton, ranked No. 5 in the state, only had two losses and was undefeated in conference play.
Hamilton jumped out to 12-2 lead in the first quarter and although Butte Central finally found the basket, the Broncs had a seven point lead at the end of the first quarter. But by the middle of the second quarter, the Maroons had pulled to within two points and then tied the game.
“Butte Central is a great team,” said Hamilton coach Travis Blome. “They are very well coached.”
A drive to the basket by senior Cam Rothie netted two points and a foul and Hamilton again took the lead. A trey by Tanner Goligoski and a steal and a basket by Hunter Omlid and the Broncs were again in the lead.
“Defensively, we did areal good job of rebounding and protecting the shooters,” said Blome.
Butte Central again made a run and tied the game after a technical on Hamilton. Butte Central’s Dylan Bestrich sank both free throws and then hit a trey. But Hamilton came back with a sweet pass from Rothie to Goligoski was fouled and sank both charity shots. By the end of the quarter, Hamilton had a six point lead.
Hamilton went into a clock management style of game and selected their shots with care. The Maroons were having to foul and Hamilton, who shot 16 of 20 free throws, kept pulling away. They went on to win, 55-41, and are now tied with Butte Central for first place in the Southwest A.
“We’re just tied. We have a lot of conference games left. I’m not too worried about that right now, we just have to get better, get better for Thursday when we play Frenchtown,” concluded Blome.
Hamilton 55, Butte Central 41
Hamilton – Tanner Goligoski 24, Hunter Omlid 11, Cameron Rothie 10, Carson Rostad 5, Trey Searle 3, Tyler Barnes 2
Butte Central – Braden Harrington 15, Cade Holter 10, Dylan Sestrich 5, Gator Yelenich 5, Jared Simpkins 4, Aaron Richards 2.
The Corvallis Blue Devils lost to Frenchtown, 54-42. Although Corvallis came out on fire in the first quarter and led by eight points, the Broncs comeback in the second to turn the momentum around and take the game. CalebWarnken had 20 points to lead the Blue Devils.
Frenchtown 54, Corvallis 42
Frenchtown – Cade Baker 14, Mason Pryon 2, Brandon Finley 10, Zack Baker 9, Jared Cole 2 Devin Shelton 2, Dawson Leishman 2 , Hank Rugg 10, Ben Larson 3.
Corvallis – Liang Liedle 6, Tanner Jessop 5, Carson Jessop 9, Garrett Brown 2, Caeson Jessop 9, Caleb Warnken 20.
The Blue Devils lost a close game against Columbia Falls, 48-47. Corvallis had the lead for much of the game but a strong fourth quarter for the Wild Cats gave them the game. Warnken had 15 points for Corvallis and Caeson Jessop added 12.
Columbia Falls 48, Corvallis 47
Columbia Falls – Dillon Wanner 2, Drew Morgan 11, Dillon Shipp 13, Sam Hovde 12, Danny Henjum 6, William Dyon 3, Logan Betchel 1.
Corvallis – Liang Liedle 2, Tanner Jessop 6, Garrett Brown 8, Caleb Warnken 15, Jace Barcus 4, Caeson Jessop 12.
Florence picked up a win over visiting St. Ignatius, 70-68. Florence freshman Beau Neal had 18 points, all three point shots, including the go-ahead shot with just seconds remaining in the game. Brenden Bailey had 19 points for Florence also.
Florence 70, St. Ignatius 68
St. Ignatius – Lucas Vanderburg 10, Jacob Hugs 4, Flint McPherson 18, Wacey McClure 7, Jedi Christy 19, Matt Anderson 10
Florence – Brenden Bailey 19, JP Briney 3, Jacob Round 15, Blake Schoupe 5, Eli Pedersen 2, Colby Kohlman 4, Levi Posey 4, Beau Neal 18.
The Victor Pirates split their weekend. On Thursday, they lost to Hot Springs, 64-51. The Pirates could not contain freshman Jack McAllister who scored20 points. Victor was led by Skyler Webberson who had 18 points. On Friday, the Pirates defeated Lincoln, 64-55. Jerod Halley had a break out night with 16 points. Weberson finished with 21 points.
Darby picked up two wins and maintained their conference lead.They defeated Valley Christian on Friday and Two Eagle River on Saturday, 83-40.Dylan Parks had 27 points to pace the Tigers.