Braves roll with Johnson, Seaman
COLUMBIA FALLS — Flathead exploded for 26 points in the second quarter and cruised to a 69-46 win over Columbia Falls in a nonconference boys basketball tilt on Saturday night at Columbia Falls High School.
The Braves whipped the Wildcats 26-9 in the second to carry a 43-23 lead to the locker room at halftime.
Tyler Johnson led the explosive Flathead offense with 23 points on 8 of 15 shooting. He was also 5 of 6 from the free-throw line.
Eric Seaman made 6 of 7 shots from the field for an efficient 16 points.
Austin Green and Lowell Panasuk paced the Columbia Falls offense with 12 points apiece.
The Braves pushed Columbia Falls around in the middle, outrebounding the Wildcats 35-11 and outscoring them 38-18 in the paint.
Flathead overcame 16 turnovers by shooting a scorching 57.4 percent from the field.
Flathead hosts Butte at 4 p.m. Friday. Columbia Falls travels to Bigfork at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.
Flathead 17 26 10 16 — 69
Columbia Falls 14 9 8 15 — 46
FLATHEAD: Logan Siblerud 2, Stephem Bridges 9, Matt Decker 2, Eric Seaman 16, Oz Allen 4, Tyler Johnson 23, Sam Elliott 9, Anthony Jones 2, Dawson Smith 2.
COLUMBIA FALLS: Austin Green 12, Drew Morgan 2, Lowell Panasuk 12, Billy Barrett 4, Quintin Schriver 5, Logan Bechtel 5, Zack Pletcher 2, Matthew Morrison 4.
Hamilton 77, Polson 47
POLSON — Five Hamilton players scored in double digits as the Broncs ran away from Polson in the second half.
Hamilton, which led by eight at the half, outscored the Pirates 39-17 in the final two quarters to turn the contest into a rout.
Carter Kearns led the Broncs in scoring with 16.
Connor Lanier poured in 16 points to pace Polson, which hosts Frenchtown at 7:15 p.m. Thursday in its final game before the holiday break.
Hamilton 24 14 21 18 — 77
Polson 20 10 11 6 — 47
HAMILTON: Camron Rothie 6, Carson Rostad 11, Bridger Bauder 3, Tyler Chouinard 11, Tyler Barnes 2, Hunter Omlid 12, Tanner Goligoski 13, Carter Kearns 16, Trey Searle 3.
POLSON: Asa Askan 6, Robin Erickson 7, Bo Kelley 3, Connor Lanier 16, Shade Main 6, Trevor Schultz 6, Weston Danley 2, Seth Lake 1.
Bigfork 55, Anaconda 44
ANACONDA — Anders Epperly scored 19 points and Beau Santistevan dropped 16 to lead Bigfork to a road win in a Class B clash with Anaconda.
The Vikings built a comfortable lead at halftime and held steady in the second half to secure a double-digit victory.
Logan Gillard added 11 points for Bigfork, which hosts Missoula Loyola at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Bigfork 17 10 13 15 — 55
Anaconda 6 12 11 15 — 44
BIGFORK: Anders Epperly 19, Clayton Reichenbach 8, Colton Reichenbach 1, Beau Santistevan 16, Logan Gillard 11.
ANACONDA: Michael Galle 4, Bobby Swainston 7, Trent Mikalatos 12, Braxton Hill 21.
Browning 59, Whitefish 54
WHITEFISH — Deadlocked after three quarters, Browning edged Whitefish in the fourth quarter to claim a victory in a Northwest A matchup.
Derek Loring scored 12 points for Browning, and Nano Stiffarm added 10.
Lee Walburn pitched in a game-high 24 points for Whitefish in a losing effort.
Whitefish travels to Frenchtown at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Browning 10 15 14 20 — 59
Whitefish 15 10 14 15 — 54
BROWNING: Nano Stiffarm 10, Derek Loring 12, James Gilham 2, Ethan Running Crane 6, Justin Burd 7, Tyree Whitcomb 8, Taylan Edwards 5, Brandon Aims Back 9.
WHITEFISH: Alex Keuylian 5, Sam Menicke 6, Ryan Kemm 8, Lee Walburn 24, Dillon Botner 11.
Ronan 66, Libby 52
RONAN — Anthony Camel scored a game-high 21 points and Zeke Misa and Perry Panzetanga each added 12 to lead Ronan to a Northwest A victory over Libby.
Ryggs Johnston poured in 18 and Brian Peck chipped in 10 for Libby, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a third quarter in which Ronan outscored the Loggers 18-6.
Libby travels to Troy at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Libby 14 20 6 12 — 52
Ronan 18 19 18 11 — 66
Libby: Brian Peck 10, JJ Davis 7, Ryggs Johnston 18, Jay Beagle 4, Nik Jones 7, Keith Johnson 7.
Ronan: Zeke Misa 12, Randy Finley 6, Bryant Hales 2, Vincent Bird-Webster 3, Zarec Couture 2, Perry Panzetanga 12, Dallas Durheim 8, Anthony Camel 21.
Girls
Columbia Falls 49,
Flathead 41
COLUMBIA FALLS — Hannah Gedlaman, Ryley Kehr and Trista Cowan each scored in double digits for Columbia Falls as the Wildkats toppled Class AA foe Flathead in a nonconference test.
Gedlaman scored 16 to go with 12 apiece from Kehr and Cowan. Their offensive contributions provided enough of a boost to top the Bravettes, who managed just 41 points and were held to eight and six points in the second and third quarters, respectively.
Clara Vandenbosch paced Flathead with 14 points, while Maddie Walter added 12.
Columbia Falls hosts Bigfork for a nonconference tilt at 7:15 p.m. Thursday. Flathead is home versus Butte at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Flathead 12 8 6 15 — 41
Columbia Falls 12 12 10 15 — 49
FLATHEAD: Maddie Walter 12, Averie Olson 4, Mary Heaton 9, Clara Vandenbosch 14, Taylor Henley 2.
COLUMBIA FALLS: Dani Douglas 7, Savannah Ellis 2, Hannah Gedlaman 16, Ryley Kehr 12, Trista Cowan 12.
Bigfork 61, Anaconda 46
BIGFORK — Jaime Berg notched a career-high scoring total for the second time in eight days, pouring in 30 points, including four 3-pointers, in a win over Anaconda.
Berg’s monster performance helped Bigfork improve to 5-0 on the young season.
Ellie Berreth chipped in 11 points for the Valkyries, who led 36-21 at the half.
Bigfork hosts Missoula Loyola at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Anaconda 12 9 9 16 — 46
Bigfork 16 20 10 15 — 61
ANACONDA: Mia Sullivan-Sanders 10, Claire Miller 2, Sydnie Peterson 9, Megan Reich 19, Isabel Faltenberger 2, Logan Stetzner 4.
BIGFORK: Jaime Berg 30, Abby Lembke 1, Ellie Berreth 11, Shae Anderson 4, Abby Ellison 6, Rakiah Grende 6, Izzy Santistevan 3.
Libby 45, Ronan 41
RONAN — Libby finished on top after a roller coaster of a second half against Ronan.
Despite leading by four at halftime, Libby found itself facing a 9-point deficit after Ronan ran wild in the third quarter.
The Loggers responded, however, outscoring the Chiefs 21-8 in the fourth quarter to claim a narrow victory.
Shannon Reny led the Libby offensive attack with 22 points.
Ronan’s Micalann McCrea scored a team-high 18 points.
Libby travels to Troy at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Libby 7 10 7 21 — 45
Ronan 6 7 20 8 — 41
Libby: Alli Collins 3, Linsey Walker 2, Sammee Bradeen 9, Khalyn Hageness 3, Shannon Reny 22, McKenzie Proffitt 1, Brooklyn Rainer 5.
Ronan: Micalann McCrea 18, Gabby Wirz 2, Tiana Ulutoa 6, Regan Clairmont 3, Jaelynn Askan 2, Louetta Conko Camel 8, Kiana Finley 2.
Hamilton 50, Polson 28
HAMILTON — Polson scored only 16 points in the final three quarters combined in a blowout loss on the road at Hamilton.
Jaycee Frydelund managed 14 points and Quinn Motichka chipped in eight against the stifling Broncs defense, but it wasn’t enough to get the Polson offense as a whole off the ground.
Hamilton steadily added to its lead throughout the game before pulling away late with a 17-5 fourth-quarter advantage.
Polson travels to Frenchtown at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.
Hamilton 15 9 9 17 — 50
Polson 12 6 5 5 — 28
Hamilton: Tessa Della Silva 5, Abby Johnson 6, Kara Nye 4, Jorden Taggert 7, Mallory McGill 9, Cariann Kunkel 13, Lauren Ryter 6.
Polson: Kaelyn Smith 2, Quinn Motichka 8, Natasha Gravelle 3, Olivia Perez 1, Jaycee Frydelund 14.
Browning 54, Whitefish 44
WHITEFISH — Browning exploded for 23 points in the fourth quarter to turn a close game into a double-digit win over Whitefish.
Whitefish scored 15 points in the fourth, its largest offensive output of the game in a single quarter, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Indians’ high-flying attack led by Dolci Skunkcap, who scored a game-high 17.
Marlee Bender led Whitefish with 15 points.
Whitefish welcomes Frenchtown at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Browning 11 10 10 23 — 54
Whitefish 10 7 12 15 — 44
BROWNING: Lacie Goss 6, Olivia Hall 8, Taylor Jordan 6, Veronica Reed 2, Ronnal Jordan 9, Dolci Skunkcap 17, Tamika Guardipee 6.
WHITEFISH: Kit Anderson 5, Claire Carloss 9, Kaiah Moore 4, Ashton Ramsey 7, Payton Kastella 4, Marlee Bender 15.