The basketball season is upon us. This weekend all of the valley’s teams took to the road to compete in Ronan and Polson, St. Regis, Manhattan, and Harlowton. This early exposure to other conferences will come in handy at the end of the season and gives coaches a chance to evaluate their own teams as well as the opposition.
Class A schools were in Polson and Ronan. Stevensville, who won the state championship last March, looks to be tough again even with a new coach, Joey Wark, at the helm. The Yellowjackets return three strong all state players – Jared Schultz, Zach Gavlak and Jesse Sims – along with Chris Lords who saw quite a bit of time last season.
Stevensville defeated Frenchtown in their opening game in a close match. The Broncs lead at the end of the first quarter but as the game progressed, the ‘Jackets gained steam and went on to win, 58-43. Gavlak and Sims each had 18 points and Schultz added 17.
Stevensville 58, Frenchtown 43
Stevensville– Zach Gavlak 18, Jesse Sims 18, Jared Schultz 17, Chance Coleman 2, Chris Lords 2, Chris Bergman 1.
Frenchtown – Chapman 20, Truett 16, Honken 3, Marceau 2, Lind 2.
On Saturday, Stevensville took on Libby in a lopsided affair. The Yellowjackets held the Loggers to only eight points in the first quarter and won, 68-15. Gavlak led with 15 points while Sims and Schultz each had 10 points.
Stevensville 63, Libby 15
Stevensville – Bo Zeiler 7, Lords 8, Jace Omlid 5, Coleman 2, Gavlak 15, Sims 10, Schultz 10, Noah Baney 6.
Libby – Clark 2, Johnson 5, Winslow 1, Curtiss 4, Sullivan 3.
Corvallis took on Bigfork, who finished fourth in state at the Class B tournament last year. The Blue Devils played right with the Vikings until the third quarter when they were outscored by six points. Bigfork went on to win, 60-53. Chance Waldo and Alma Powell each had 11 points for the Blue Devils.
Corvallis– Chaney Waldo 11, Alma Powell 11, Jayce Gilder 9, Brigham Parrish 8, Porter Jessop 7, Andrew Leopold 5, Austin Bankston 2.
Bigfork – Evans 21, Landon 17, Sandry 10, Trent 7, Boese 3, Jordt 2.
Corvallis picked up a win over Whitefish on Saturday. The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead and held on to win, 45-41. Powell had 19 points and Jayce Gilder added 10 more. Utah transfer Brigham Parrish added seven points.
Corvallis 45, Whitefish 41
Corvallis
Corvallis – Powell 19, Gilder 10, Waldo 4, Parrish 7, Leopold 2, Jessop 3.
Whitefish – Nicholsen 7, Wilson 2, Havens 10, Doorn 6, Anderson 7, Ramlow 2, Wilson 2, Olson 1, Wetsch 6.
Hamilton lost a close game to Whitefish on Friday. After trailing by as many as 10 points, the Broncs closed the game to only two points before the buzzer sounded and they lost, 56-54. Josh Heath had 19 points and Josh Bauder finished with 11 points.
Whitefish 56, Hamilton 54
Hamilton – Josh Heath 19, Josh Bauder 11, Ty Burt 8, Kameron Kohn 7, Kris Cleveland 5, Teague Blome 4.
Whitefish – Doorn 18, Anderson 13, Havens 11, Nicholson 7, Ramlow 5, Olson 2.
Columbia Falls 76, Hamilton 44
Hamilton –Heath 12, Tanner Lehr 5, Cleveland 2, Burt 4, Bret Huxtable 7, Kohn 14.
Columbia Falls – Presnell 6, Houston 5, Fagerland 5, Kimmet 4, Alexander 4, Morgan 22, Williams 6, McManus 4, Trinastich 11, Wallace 9.
Florence begins their season with a new coach, Boone Nelson, running the show and only a couple of players that have had much varsity time. Brad Schaff, coming off a baseball injury, is the go-to guy in the middle and will be a force for the Falcons. Ryan Mangun and Brady Pickering have each had some playing time at the varsity level too.
The Falcons dropped their opening game, 45-41, against Whitehall, another team that also made a trip to last year’s state tournament. Mangun led the Falcons with 11 points.
Whitehall 45, Florence 41
Whitehall– Reed 11, Larsen 2, Coffing 5, Connell Coffing 7, C. Robertson 7, Murphy 13.
Florence – Brandon Johnson 7, Levi Clagett 8, Kade Hornaday 2, Ryan Mangun 11, Brad Schaff 9, Brady Pickering 2, Travern Smith 2.
Florence turned things around on Saturday and came out with a win. The Falcons played consistent ball throughout and came away with a 45-34 win over Ennis. Schaff had 14 points to lead his team.
Florence 45, Ennis 34
Florence – Travern Smith 15, Schaff 14, Mangun 8, Johnson 5, Pickering 2, Tynan Heck 1.
Ennis –McKitrick 10, McKitrick 7, Sullivan 5, Goodman 5, Farnes 4, Johnerson 3.
Darby was at the Harlowton Tournament where they split their games. They opened against Bridger and won in a close game, 61-60. The Tigers came back from a six point deficit at the half for the win. Rope Rennaker had 19 points and Joe Caicedo led the team with 24 points.
Darby 61, Bridger 60
Darby– Zach McCrossin 6, JJ Horvath 1, Rope Rennaker 19, Druex Kuntz 2, Joe Caicedo 24, Williams Westfall 7, Dawson Jakober 2.
Bridger – Matt 13, Zenter 6, Pfeiffer 7, Parker 2, Dravetsky 10, Riddle 8, Goldsberry 14.
The Tigers then played Broadus. They came up short against the Powder River County School and lost 66-29. Caicedo had 11 and Zach McCrossin finished with 10 points.
Broadus 66, Darby 29
Darby –McCrossin 10, Rennaker 3, Kuntz 3, Caicedo 11, Westfall 2.
Broadus – Gaskill 19, Scarber 4, Williams 6, West 2, Lynch 15, Riley 6, Madley 6, Turnbough 6, Harrington 2
Victor played St. Regis in their first game of the tournament and the season. The Pirates jumped out to 10 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back. They went on to win, 56-30. Brady Tuttle had 15 points and Michael O’Leary finished with 13 points.
Victor 56, St. Regis 30
Victor– Colt Neville 1, Colton Benisk 2, Nate Bishop 6, Terrell Sherrill 5, Brady Tuttle 15, Ethan Etter 2, Michael O’Leary 13, Jack Pederson 2, Ryan Lewis 6, GP Monta 4.
St. Regis – Lewis 4, Lowry 7, Managhan 13, Wickham 4, Clute 2.
The Pirates topped Coeur d’Alene Charter School, 36-26. Nate Bishop had 11 points and Tuttle finished with 10 points.