by Scott Sacry
Hamilton splits with Butte Central
The Hamilton boys and girls basketball teams hosted Butte Central on Saturday, February 15. These were important games as both teams from both schools are vying to get 3rd place in the conference, which earns a bye into divisionals.
The Hamilton girls played one of their most complete games of the season and defeated Butte 40-25. This avenged a 35-38 loss to Butte in Butte on January 25. The Broncs led 21-17 going into the 4th quarter, then outscored the Maroons 19-8 in the final quarter to get the victory.
For Hamilton, Ashlynn McKern had a big game with 18 points. Ella Griffin and Tricia Wilson each had 8, Annalise Lewis had 3, and Mariah Domingo added 2.
In the boys game, the Hamilton and Central boys were evenly matched. In their first matchup on January 25, Hamilton defeated Butte 62-60. This game was just as close, but this time Butte got the 58-55 win.
Hamilton was behind much of the game, but fought back and briefly took a 41-40 lead at the start of the 4th quarter. Butte again built up a lead, and again Hamilton fought back. The Broncs had a chance to tie the game with four seconds to play, but failed to get off a shot and lost by 3 points.
Hamilton’s Canaan Magness had another big game, scoring 27 points with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Magness, only a junior, scored his 1000 career points in the first quarter. Tyler Jette had 7 points and continued to do his best Dennis Rodman imitation by grabbing 17 rebounds. Jake McCarthy had 10 points, Landen Wetzel had 5 points, Kaeden Gum had 4 points and 5 rebounds, and Asher Griffin added 2 points.
Darby
The Darby boys and girls went to Florence on Thursday, February 13.
In the girls game, Darby fell to #1 ranked Flacons 22-76.
For Darby, Hadley Heiland led the scoring with 14 points, Natalie Anderson had 3, Nyna Reasor and Georgia Fisher each had 2, and Ella Bush added 1. In the boys game, Darby fell to Florence 35-69.
The Darby boys and girls then played at Arlee on Saturday, February 15. In the girls game, Darby trailed 20-23 at halftime, then they turned it around in the 3rd quarter and led 33-28 going into the 4th. Arlee came back to tie the game 42-42 at the end of regulation, forcing overtime. Darby controlled in overtime and won 50-46.
In the boys game, Darby held tough early and the game was tied 14-14 after the first quarter, but Arlee slowly distanced themselves and Darby lost 42-64.
Victor
The Victor boys and girls played at St. Regis on Friday, February 14. In the girls game, Victor was defeated 23-45. For Victor, Whitney Bugli and Kayden Allred each had 4 points, Stella Jordan and Claira Jordan each had 3, and Asia Parks, Sadie Davis, Nichole Bugli and Hannah Buchanan each had 2. Victor fell 21-78 in the boys game.
The Victor boys and girls hosted Charlo on Saturday, February 15. In the boys game Victor fell 38-78. In the girls game Victor lost 34-70. For Victor, Asia Parks led the scoring with 9 points. Hannah Buchanan had 5, Kayden Allred had 4, Chloe Pollan and Sadie Davis each had 2, and Nichole Bugli and Whitney Bugli each added one.
Stevensville
Stevensville’s Emma Tan looks to make a move. The Stevensville girls had a busy week last week playing games against Dillon, Corvallis and Frenchtown. Photo by Avery Sacry.
The Stevensville boys had a busy week. They hosted #1 ranked Dillon on Tuesday, February 11 and lost 34-71.
Then they hosted Corvallis on Thursday, February 13. Corvallis led 17-12 after the first quarter, then distanced themselves in the second quarter to take a 34-19 halftime lead. Stevensville fought back and narrowed Corvallis’s lead to 8 points late in the 3rd quarter, but Corvallis held strong and won 62-43. Then on Saturday, the Stevensville boys hosted #2 Frenchtown and were defeated 40-76.
The Stevensville girls also had a busy week. On Tuesday, February 11, they played at #2 ranked Dillon and were defeated 10-84. Then on Thursday, they went to Corvallis and were defeated by the Blue Devils 7-52. Finally, on Saturday, February 15, they hosted #4 Frenchtown and were defeated 19-61.
Corvallis
The Corvallis boys went to Stevensville on Thursday, February 13. Corvallis led 17-12 after the first quarter, then distanced themselves in the second quarter to take a 34-19 halftime lead. Stevensville fought back and narrowed Corvallis’s lead to 8 points late in the 3rd quarter, but Corvallis held strong and won 62-43. Then the Corvallis boys hosted #1 Dillon on Saturday, February 15, and lost 28-71.
Corvallis girls hosted Stevensville on Friday, February 13. The Corvallis girls controlled the game throughout and won 52-7. Then on Saturday the Corvallis girls went to #2 Dillon and lost 22-65.
