by Scott Sacry
The boys and girls basketball teams from 15 Montana schools (and one Idaho school, because it’s nice to include Idaho sometimes) competed in the Western A Tip Off Tournament in Frenchtown on Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14.
The boys and girls teams from Corvallis, Hamilton and Stevensville were among the teams. Each team played two games, one on Friday and one on Saturday.
Corvallis
The Corvallis girls went 2-0 at the tournament. They played Whitefish on Friday and started slowly, trailing 13-25 at halftime. But the Blue Devils came out energized after halftime and outscored the Bulldogs 27-10 in the second half to earn the 40-35 victory. Corvallis’s Ella Varner had 20 points to lead the Blue Devils. Then on Saturday they defeated Libby 48-38.
The Corvallis boys went 0-2 at the tournament. On Friday they played Whitefish and lost 31-71. On Saturday they played Libby. The Blue Devils fell behind 16-32 at halftime and weren’t able to make up the difference and were defeated 31-64.
Hamilton
The Hamilton boys went 2-0 at the tournament, winning close games against Ronan and Browning.
On Friday they played Ronan and won 57-55. The Broncs trailed 11-22 early in the 2nd quarter, then went on a run, outscoring the Chiefs 38-11 over the next two quarters. The Chiefs fought back to make it close in the end, but the Broncs held on for the two-point victory.
For Hamilton, Canaan Magness had a big game with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, Tyler Jette had 10 points, 14 rebounds and 2 assists, and Landen Wetzel and Jake McCarthy each added 9 points.
On Friday, the Hamilton boys played Browning and won 54-51. The Broncs jumped out early and led 27-20 at halftime. The Indians made a second half comeback to make it close, but Hamilton was clutch in the 4th quarter and got the victory.
For Hamilton, the one-two punch of Canaan Magness and Tyler Jette led the way. Magness had 22 points while Jette had 20. Also for Hamilton, Landon Wetzel had 6 and Asher Griffin added 5.
The Hamilton girls went 0-2 at the tournament. On Friday they played Ronan and lost 26-44. Then on Saturday the girls played Browning and lost 34-44. The Broncs trailed 19-31 going into the 4th quarter and outscored Browning 15-13 in the final frame, but couldn’t make it all the way back and took the loss.
Stevensville
The Stevensville boys went 0-2 at the tournament. On Friday they played Polson and lost 31-59. Then on Saturday, they played Whitefish and lost 35-73. For Stevensville in the Whitefish game, Angus Trangmoe led with 11 points, David Beames had 8 and Kaden Wyant added 3.
The Stevensville girls went 0-2 at the tournament. On Friday they played Polson and lost 16-56. On Saturday they played Whitefish and lost 11-65.
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