Polson boys, C-Falls girls clinch spots for Class A state hoops
The Daily Inter Lake
HAMILTON — The Polson boys clinched a spot at the state tournament, holding off a rally to beat Butte Central 58-47 in the semifinals of the Western A divisional basketball tournament on Friday at Hamilton High School.
Polson opened the second half on a 16-5 run to pull away in the contest and was solid down the stretch to seal the win.
Tanner Wilson had a game-high 18 points and Matthew Rensvold added 14 points for Polson.
Butte Central 11 12 5 19 – 47
Polson 11 14 16 17 – 58
Butte Central – Sam Johnston 4, Matt Simkins 2, Tanner Kump 15, Nate McGree 14, Dan McCloskey 2, Cade Holter 4, Jared Simkins 6.
Polson – J’von Johnson 4, Jaydon Bautista 2, Tanner Wilson 18, Jeremiah North Pigeon 8, Connor Lanier 6, Shade Main 6, Matthew Rensvold 14.
Dillon 49, Hamilton 28
HAMILTON — Dillon dominated Hamilton to remain unbeaten and advance to the Western A final.
The Beavers outscored the hosts 30-10 in the first half and coasted on strong defense to the finish.
Dillon 15 15 7 12 – 49
Hamilton 3 7 9 9 – 28
Dillon – Michael Haverfield 14, Coby King 4, Kyson Wilson 2, Jansen Anderson 1, Troy Anderson 18, Tanner Haverfield 9, R.J. Fitzgerald 1.
Hamilton – Camron Rothie 2, Ky Burch 3, Hunter Omlid 8, Tanner Goligoski 15.
Loser out
Frenchtown 45,
Columbia Falls 44
HAMILTON — Columbia Falls nearly knocked off conference rival Frenchtown in a bid to extend its season, but fell short despite a late rally.
The Wildcats led 26-23 at halftime, but slipped in the third quarter and couldn’t quite make up the difference.
Austin Green had 16 points and Logan Stephens 12 points to lead Columbia Falls.
Frenchtown 15 8 14 8 – 45
Columbia Falls 14 12 8 10 – 44
Frenchtown – Adam Botkin 15, Austin Means 11, Ethan Pyron 8, Jacob Price 5, Brock Rugg 4, Hank Rugg 2.
COLUMBIA FALLS – Austin Green 16, Logan Stephens 12, Dakota Bridwell 8, DJ Schrade 5, Drew Morgan 3.
Stevensville 43,
Corvallis 36
HAMILTON — Stevensville outlasted Corvallis in the fourth quarter to keep its season alive.
The Yellowjackets outscored Corvallis 14-9 down the stretch to pull away for the victory.
Stevensville 12 6 11 14 – 43
Corvallis 6 7 14 9 – 36
STEVENSVILLE – Jared Kingsbury 20, James Fry 10, Dalton Bragg 9, Louis Estrada-Ortiz 4.
CORVALLIS – Kobe Jessop 10, Tyler Nixon 9, Ridge Albright 7, Zach Jessop 4, Justin Catanach 4, Kolton Mahan 2.
GIRLS
Columbia Falls 57,
Butte Central 48
HAMILTON — Columbia Falls fought past a feisty Butte Central side to advance to the Western A title game and clinch a spot at the Class A state tournament.
The Wildkats couldn’t shake the defending state champs in the first half, trailing after the first quarter and entering the half down 22-18.
Columbia Falls took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Maroons 15-8 and held off a late rally to advance to the final.
Sydney Hovde had a team-high 17 points for the Wildkats. Peyton Kehr and Dani Douglas each chipped in 13 points and Kiara Burlage had 10 points.
Columbia Falls will play Corvallis in the title game tonight at 6:30.
Butte Central 6 16 8 18 – 48
Columbia Falls 4 14 15 24 – 57
Butte Central – Kloie Thatcher 8, Olivia Bolton 6, Molly Peoples 20, Emily St John 11, Corbyn Holm 3.
COLUMBIA FALLS – Dani Douglas 13, Cydney Finberg 4, Peyton Kehr 13, Kiara Burlage 10, Sydney Hovde 17.
Corvallis 52, Dillon 44
HAMILTON — Corvallis upset top-seeded Dillon to advance to the divisional title game.
The Blue Devils outscored Dillon 26-13 in the first half and held off any Beavers runs in the second half for the victory.
Dillon 6 7 17 14 – 44
Corvallis 13 13 12 14 – 52
Dillon – Paige Rouse 7, Kylie Christiensen 8, Kelsy Truman 8, Bailey Berriochoa 17, Brynley Fitzgerald 2, Kathleen Tatarlea 2.
Corvallis – Penny Jessop 12, Calla Haldorson 11, Emme Warnken 9, Corinne Sanderson 15, Genesis Keith 2, Tayler Wright 3.
Loser out
Frenchtown 42, Stevensville 27
HAMILTON — Frenchtown bounced back from a slow first quarter to hold Stevensville to 14 points in the final 24 minutes, winning a loser out game in a blowout.
Frenchtown 7 9 14 12 – 42
Stevi 13 3 5 6 – 27
Frenchtown – Shannon Worster 18, Liv Williams 8, Kylie Willett 7, Emilie Hinrichs 5, Sydney Channer 3, Meg Delaney 1.
Stevensville – Angel Richards 10, Evynne Alexander 6, Makayla Davids 5, Megan Pendergast 4, Hailey Kampka 2.
Hamilton 46, Whitefish 16
HAMILTON — Whitefish couldn’t keep the momentum from its first win going, falling behind early to the host Broncs in a loser-out rout.
Lauren Schulz had four points to lead the Bulldogs.
Whitefish 3 2 4 7 – 16
Hamilton 12 12 6 16 – 46
Whitefish – Lauren Schulz 4, Annisa Brown 3, Becca Catina 3, Diana Vasquez 2, Libby Nagler 2, Kaiah Moore 2.
Hamilton – Mallory McGill 11, Reilly Rostad 8, Lauren Ryter 8, Tessa Della Silva 5, Tristy Searle 4, Ashlee Searle 3, Rachel Ringer 3, Kalian Rocheleau 2, Kara Nye 2.
Western B Divisional
Boys
Anaconda 52, Bigfork 46
RONAN — Anaconda hit some big shots late and held off top-seeded Bigfork to pull off an upset in the semifinals at the Ronan Events Center.
The Copperheads tied the game late in the fourth quarter on a technical free throw, then hit a big 3-pointer to take the lead with less than two minutes to play. Anaconda was sound at the free throw line as Bigfork’s chances late didn’t fall.
Clayton Reichenbach and Beau Santistevan led the Vikings with 10 points each.
Bigfork will play Deer Lodge in a consolation semifinal this morning.
Anaconda 16 9 9 18 – 52
Bigfork 11 18 9 8 – 46
Anaconda – Bobby Swainston 3, Trent Mikalatos 11, Kadin Stetzner 8, Braxton Hill 27, Kayne Cobban 3.
Bigfork – Anders Epperly 5, Colton Reichenbach 9, Clayton Reichenbach 10, Luke Schmit 2, Logan Taylor 1, Logan Gilliard 9, Beau Santisteven 10.
Missoula Loyola 68, Thompson Falls 56
RONAN — Loyola moved on to the championship game with a strong win over Thompson Falls.
Loyola will play Anaconda in the final. The two teams split overtime wins in the regular season.
Thompson Falls 14 11 12 19 – 56
Loyola 6 22 23 17 – 68
Thompson Falls (8-14) – McKenzie Holt 8, Dylan Beckman 6, Danny Hoisington 29, John Skerl 6, Garrett Strine 1, Nathan Thibeault 6.
Loyola (18-3) – Jack Lincoln 16, Ryan McHugh 12, Parker Davis 18, Fisher Richardson 15, Jack Burns 1, Joey McElroy 6.
Loser out
Florence 59, Libby 41
RONAN — Florence went on a 13-3 run in the second quarter to run away from Libby in a loser-out game.
Libby hung around, largely thanks to six 3-pointers from sophomore Ryggs Johnston, including 15 points in the third quarter.
Johnston finished with a game-high 23 points to lead the Loggers.
Florence 15 13 19 12 — 59
Libby 12 3 19 7 — 41
FLORENCE — Tyce Pederson 5, Brendon Barley 7, Colby Kohlman 5, Brent Stroppel 18, Cody Liles 22, Jacob Scolly 1.
LIBBY — Brian Peck 1, Ryggs Johnston 23, Gabe Peck 6, Colin Maloney 4, Nik Jones 1, Ryan Nagle 2, Erik Lauer 4.
Deer Lodge 73, Troy 38
RONAN — Deer Lodge got on top of Troy early, then held the Trojans to one point in the fourth quarter in a loser-out victory.
Dillon Savage had 19 points to lead Troy.
Troy 9 11 15 1 — 38
Deer Lodge 21 17 17 18 — 73
TROY — Dillon Savage 19, Tucker Winn 5, Jordan Day 7, Mason Chapel 5, Hunter Lieghty 2.
DEER LODGE — Colter Scully 3, Cade Benjamin 24, Greydon Nicholson 2, Dyllon McDermid 13, Riley Boese 1, Judd Applegate 6, Koby Owens 11, Brandon Porter 13.
GIRLS
Semifinals
Ronan 65, Bigfork 60
RONAN — Ronan shook off a slow first quarter and held off a hot Bigfork team late to advance to the championship game.
Lee Camel shook off a slight limp to lead the Maidens with 27 points.
Ronan will play Florence in the Western B championship game.
Jaime Berg had 17 points for Bigfork. Bigfork will play Eureka in a consolation semifinal this morning.
Bigfork 17 10 10 23 — 60
Ronan 11 23 12 19 — 65
BIGFORK — Haile Norred 15, Shae Anderson 9, Ellie Berreth 3, Abby Ellison 14, Jaime Berg 17, Emilee Park 2.
RONAN — Micalann McCrea 17, Jaelynn Askan 2, Alicia Camel 17, Hannah Moss 2, Lee Camel 27.
Florence 39, Troy 33
RONAN — Troy couldn’t close out Florence late, falling to the Falcons in the semifinals.
Troy trailed by six points entering the fourth quarter, but cut the lead to two with 1:20 to play after back-to-back 3-pointers. That is as close as the Trojans would get.
Allie Coldwell led Troy with 12 points. The Trojans fall to the consolation semis, where they will play Deer Lodge this morning.
Florence 8 10 12 9 — 39
Troy 8 8 8 9 — 33
FLORENCE — Autumn Round 11, Rilee Mangun 10, McKenna Liles 3, Danielle Zahn 6, Chloe Arthur 9.
TROY — Aurora Becquart 3, Annie Day 3, Allie Coldwell 12, Kaitlyn Downey 6, Sami Rohrich 4, Allie Brown 3, Alyssa Lewis 2.
Loser out
Deer Lodge 40, Libby 31
RONAN — Deer Lodge came out of the half firing to top a tough Libby squad in loser out play.
Jayden Winslow led Libby with 16 points.
Libby 6 9 5 11 — 31
Deer Lodge 11 6 13 10 — 40
LIBBY — Alli Collins 1, Madison Monigold 2, Abby Ennenga 1, Jayden Winslow 16, Sammee Bradeen 4, Bridget Carvey 7.
DEER LODGE — Rachel Nicholsen 10, Josee Applegate 14, Rilee Gray 4, Kerstin Cooper 2, Kamryn Scully 3, Jessi Graveley 3, Ariel Clark 4.
Eureka 56,
Missoula Loyola 49
RONAN — Eureka held off a late Loyola rally to win a loser out game.
Erynn Thier had 19 points to lead Eureka. The Lions play Bigfork in a consolation semifinal this morning.
Loyola 15 7 8 19 — 49
Eureka 16 12 18 10 — 56
LOYOLA-SACRED HEART — Sam Tiede 5, Emma Daniel 2, Caroline Stahl 1, Sydney Koppang 12, Tessa Burke 22, Kenna Guenther 5, McKenna Round 2.
EUREKA — Avory Escobar 2, Sienna Utter 9, Cassie Hammock 2, Maggie Graves 9, Ashley Waldo 2, Stacy Cooper 13, Erynn Thier 19.