by Scott Sacry
Florence
The Florence boys hosted St. Ignatius on Thursday, February 2nd and won 60-58 in a thriller. Florence led 14-11 after the 1st quarter, but then went cold, trailing 21-26 at half and 33-41 after 3 quarters. The Falcons rallied in the 4th quarter, outscoring the Bulldogs 27-17, including a 7-0 run to finish the game.
And it was a hectic finish. With 16 seconds left, St. Ignatius had a 2 point lead and was at the foul line to potentially go up by 4 points. But they missed both shots. Florence got the rebound, pushed it down the floor, and Jesse Padilla hit a cutting Patrick Duchien who hit a layup with 6 seconds left to tie the game. St. Ignatius lost the ball on the inbound play and the ball ended up in Ethan Alexander’s hands, who got fouled shooting. With 1.6 seconds left and the score tied 58-58, Alexander had two free throws to decide the game. He calmly nailed both shots to give Florence the improbable win. Patrick Duchien led the scoring with 22 points, Jesse Padilla had 17, and Ethan Alexander added 12.
Then on Friday the boys played Arlee and won 63-49. Tyler Abbott had a big game with 15 points, Patrick Duchien had 13, and Jesse Padilla added 12.
Florence girls played No. 10 (406mtsports.com) St. Ignatius on Thursday, Feb 2nd and lost 36-49. Then on Friday, February 3rd the Florence girls played Arlee and rolled to a 73-31 victory. Olivia Coulter had a big night with 24 points, followed by Kenzy Pickering with 11, and Quinn Skaggs and Taylor Pyette each added 9.
Stevensville
On Tuesday, January 31st, the Stevensville girls hosted Ronan. It’s hard to know which team will show up for Stevensville. At times they look like they can beat anyone, and at times they can look like they can lose to anyone. On this night, that first team showed up and they defeated Ronan in an overtime thriller, 46-44. Stevensville led most of the game, thanks in part to a potent full court press, which caused multiple turnovers. But they got cold in the 4th quarter and found themselves behind 36-40 with 1:20 left to play. Stevensville’s Claire Hutchison took over and scored 4 straight points to tie the game at 40-40 and force overtime. At the end of overtime, Stevensville got the ball with 27 seconds left and the score tied at 44-44. Stevensville’s Cambree Praast ended up with the ball with 3 seconds left, drove around her defender and put up a running one handed shot from the foul line that rolled around the rim lazily before falling through the net as the buzzer sounded, giving Stevensville the 46-44 victory. Claire Hutchison had a big night with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Cambree Praast had 8 points and a team-high 6 steals, and Shilo McLain Lampi had 7 points and 7 rebounds.
On Thursday, they hosted undefeated Dillon, the state’s No. 1 ranked Class A team (406mtsports.com). They fought hard but lost 46-67. Stevensville was down 15-29 at halftime, and the game could have gotten out of hand, but Stevensville played solidly in the second half to keep it close.
The Stevensville boys traveled to Ronan on Tuesday. Stevensville trailed 29-41 after three quarters, then rallied in the 4th. They played a solid game but fell short and lost 48-53. Then on Thursday, they traveled to face Dillon and lost 20-66. Kellan Beller led the scoring with 13 points followed by Gracen Trevino with 6.
Hamilton
On Saturday, February 4th the Hamilton boys, ranked No. 3 in the latest 406mtsports.com poll, traveled to Dillon to face a tough Dillon team. On January 14th Hamilton beat them by one point in overtime. This was another close game, with Hamilton prevailing 55-53. For the first 3 ½ quarters, Hamilton only scored 33 points, then they got hot and scored 22 points in the final 4 minutes. Hamilton was down 36-47 with 3:20 left to play in the game, then outscored Dillon 19-6 down the stretch. With 10 seconds left in the game, the score tied 53-53, Hamilton’s do-it-all senior Eli Taylor drove the length of the floor, went down the lane and hit a double pump, contested layup to win the game. Asher Magness led Hamilton with 12 points and 5 rebounds, Eli Taylor had 10 points and 2 steals, and Canaan Magness had 10 points and 5 rebounds.
On Thursday, they hosted East Helena. Hamilton jumped out to an early 11-2 lead and it looked like they were headed to a blowout victory, but East Helena rallied, and at halftime the score was 25-25. The game stayed close in the second half, and Hamilton prevailed 62-56. Hamilton’s Eli Taylor sank 6 straight free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. Asher Magness led the way with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Eli Taylor had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, and Cole Dickemore added 9 points.
The Hamilton girls hosted East Helena on Thursday and rolled to a 54-23 victory. Hamilton exploded in the 1st quarter, outscoring East Helena 30-6, and were up 43-12 at halftime. They took the foot off the gas in the second half for the win. Taryn Searle had a huge game with 24 points, followed by Ashlynn Mckern with 8 and Ayda Griffin with 7.
Then on Saturday, they traveled to Dillon to face top-ranked and undefeated Dillon. On January 14th Hamilton lost to Dillon by 4 points. Hamilton was down 19-25 at halftime, but couldn’t keep up with the high powered Dillon team in the second half and fell 45-64. Taryn Searle had a big night with 22 points, Emilee Searle followed with 9, and Ashlynn Mckern added 6 points.
Darby
The Darby boys traveled to Missoula on Tuesday, January 31st to take on Valley Christian. The Tigers roared out of the gate, taking a 19-3 lead after the 1st quarter, and leading 35-14 at halftime. It was more of the same in the 2nd half as they rolled to a symmetrical 63-36 victory. This was their 9th straight victory. Hooper Reed owned the paint and had 21 points, Will Martin had 12, and Stevan Gabric added 10.
On Friday, they traveled to Seeley and lost 53-54, ending their 9 game winning streak. Darby started slowly, trailing 16-32 at halftime. They made a valiant comeback in the second half but were unable to get over the top. Hooper Reed led the Darby with 17 points, followed by Stevan Gabric with 11, and Cullen Duggan with 9.
The Darby girls also played Valley Christian on Tuesday and they won, 44-36. The girls started slowly, trailing 15-19 at halftime. But they came out strong in the 3rd quarter, outscoring Valley Christian 17-6 to take the lead and earn the victory. Sierra Reed led the way with 12 points, followed by Kylie Schlapman with 10, and Makena Hawkinson and Georgia Fisher had 6 points each.
On Friday, they traveled to Seeley to face Class C’s No. 10 ranked team (406mtsports.com). The Darby girls fought hard but lost 37-49. They were down 10-27 at halftime but battled back, outscoring Seeley 27-22 in the second half. Kyleigh Flux led with 12 points, Lillian Boyd and Kylie Schlapman each had 8, and Madison Nelson added 6.
Victor
The Victor boys traveled to Drummond on Saturday and lost 28-42 in a low scoring affair. Landon Nuttall led the scoring with 13 points, followed by Russell Drewien with 8. The Victor girls also played Drummond and lost 4-59.
Corvallis
The Corvallis boys hosted a strong Frenchtown team on Thursday, February 2nd and lost 35-57. Then on Saturday, they hosted East Helena and won 67-43. In this game, Corvallis jumped out to a 18-7 1st quarter lead and kept the advantage the rest of the game, outscoring East Helena 16-6 in the 4th quarter to preserve the win. Aaron Powell led with 19 points, followed by Derek Criddle with 12, and Tyler Wies with 11.
The Corvallis girls traveled to face a tough Frenchtown squad on Thursday and lost 28-61. Ava Loren led with 6 points and Tylin Sorenson added 5 points.
Then on Saturday, they went to East Helena and lost 28-37 in a low scoring, defensive affair. Ella Varner, Ava Loren, and Tylin Sorenson each scored 6 points.