Bigfork boys, girls advance to Western B Divisional semis

RONAN — The Bigfork boys had no trouble taking care of business on first-day action at the Western B Divisional boys basketball tournament Thursday evening at the Ronan Event Center.

Bigfork (17-2) held Anaconda to single-digit scoring in three of the four quarters for a 68-23 victory.

Bigfork held a commanding 40-10 lead at the half.

Clayton and Colton Reichenbach led the way for Bigfork with 19 and 15 points, respectively.

Anders Epperly added 11.

Brandon Sawyer was the high scorer for Anaconda with eight points.

The Vikings, winners of six straight, advance to semifinal play tonight at 9.

Bigfork is the defending divisional and state champion.

Bigfork 17 23 21 17 — 68

Anaconda 5 5 10 3 — 23

BIGFORK — Anders Epperly 11, Clayton Reichenbach 19, Eli Hines 4, Colton Reichenbach 15, Luke Schmit 7, Trey Christiaens 3, Wyatt Reichenbach 2, Logan Gilliard 7.

ANACONDA — Kyler Gochanonr 1, Leroy Wilson 1, Brandon Sawyer 8, Peyton Klaneeky 3, Dylan Smith 4, Eli Saltenberger 4, Michael Galle 2.

Eureka vs. Mission

RONAN — Results from this final evening game on opening day were not available by press time.

Missoula Loyola 73,

Florence 48

RONAN — Loyola scored 40 points in the first half and rolled to an easy win over Florence.

The No. 1 seed Rams (16-3) from District 6B took over the game in the second quarter, outscoring the Falcons 20-6.

Jack Lincoln led Loyola with 15 points and Charles Burns had 13.

Parker Hotsinpiller paced Florence with 12 points.

Loyola will take on Deer Lodge in the semifinals today at 7:20 p.m., while Florence meets Thompson Falls in loser-out action today at 11:20 a.m.

Loyola 20 20 12 21 – 73

Florence 14 6 16 12 – 48

LOYOLA – Jack Lincoln 15, Charles Burns 13, Jacob Hollenback 11, Cooper Waters 8, Liam Haffey 7, Ryal Tirrell 6, Bucky Crippen 5, Liam Lechner 3, Jaden Job 3, Nick Mitzel 2.

FLORENCE – Parker Hotsinpiller 12, Brendan Bailey 11, Blake Shoupe 8, Beau Neal 8, JP Briney 4, Jacob Round 3, Eli Pedersen 2.

Deer Lodge 50,

Thompson Falls 32

RONAN — Deer Lodge overcame a slow start to defeat Thompson Falls in first-round action.

A low-scoring first half saw Deer Lodge take a 15-13 lead into halftime. But the Wardens went off for 35 points after that.

Dyllon McDermid led the charge, scoring 12 of his game-high 16 in the second half, and Greydon Nicholson added nine for Deer Lodge.

Grand Lundberg had 11 points for Thompson Falls.

Deer Lodge moves on to face Loyola in today’s semifinals at 7:20 p.m., and the Blue Hawks take on Florence at 11:20 a.m. in loser-out play.

Deer Lodge 8 7 18 17 — 50

Thompson Falls 6 7 8 11 — 32

DEER LODGE – Dyllon McDermid 16, Greydon Nicholson 9, Ben Anderson 8, L. Nicholson 7, Judd Applegate 7, Ozzie King 3.

TFALLS – Grand Lundberg 11, Riley Riffle 10, Brian Henry 6, Nathan Schraeder 3, Ryan Schraeder 2.

Girls

Anaconda 45, Eureka 36

RONAN — Anaconda outscored Eureka 12-6 in the final quarter to pull away for the upset in the first round of the Western B Divisional basketball tournament.

The No. 1 seed Lions (13-6) from District 7B were down just 25-23 at halftime, but could only muster 13 points in the second half.

Isabel Saltenberger and Logan Stetzner paced the Copperheads with 11 points each. Sienna Utter had 15 for Eureka, but just two of those points came after halftime.

The Lions have loser-out action at 8 a.m. today against Thompson Falls.

Anaconda moves on to the semifinals to face Missoula Loyola today at 4 p.m.

Anaconda 12 13 8 12 — 45

Eureka 13 10 7 6 — 36

ANACONDA – Isabel Saltenberger 11, Logan Stetzner 11, Arieona Mattson 7, Megan Reich 6, Mia Sullivan-Sanders 5, Lindsey Seitzinger 2, Sami Johnson 2, Claire Miller 1.

EUREKA – Rhiana Hawkins 3, Megan Hanson 6, Avery Escober 6, Sienna Utter 15, Maggie Graves 6.

Missoula Loyola 65,

Thompson Falls 25

RONAN — Lani Walker had 24 points as Loyola crushed Thompson Falls to earn a spot in the semifinals.

The Rams (14-4) held the Blue Hawks to just two points and no field goals in the second quarter and took a commanding 36-8 lead into halftime.

Sam Clevenger and Syd Koppang each added eight points for Loyola. Megan Baxter had 12 for Thompson Falls.

Loyola takes on Anaconda today at 4 p.m. while Thompson Falls has a loser-out clash with Eureka this morning at 8.

Loyola 17 19 19 10 — 65

Thompson Falls 6 2 9 8 — 25

LOYOLA – Lani Walker 24, Sam Clevenger 8, Syd Koppang 8, Brooke Twite 7, Nat Clevenger 7, Evelyn Demblans-Dechans 6, Violet Whitegrass 3, Molly McHugh 2.

TFALLS – Megan Baxter 12, Jody Detlaff 6, Faith Frields 3, Riley Wilson 2, Maya Stiles 2.

Florence 65, Mission 37

RONAN — Rilee Mangum scored 12 of her game-high 20 points in the opening quarter to spark Florence to an easy victory over Mission.

Florence, winners of 16 straight, led 28-6 after eight minutes of play.

Danielle Zahn added 14 points for Florence.

Addison Arlint paced Mission with 10 points.

Florence faces Bigfork in semifinal play today at 5:40 p.m. Mission falls into loser-out action at 9:40 a.m. versus Deer Lodge.

Mission 6 7 9 15 — 37

Florence 28 8 19 9 — 65

MISSION — Karolyna Buck 8, Olivia Garland 4, Afton Brander 2, Madyson Currie 4, Courtney Mitchell 2, Sydney Brander 4, Azia Umphrey 3, Addison Arlint 10.

FLORENCE — Kolbi Wood 4, Emma Stensrud 5, Cynthia Rendon 1, Joey Janetski 4, Kylie Koyatch 2, Kasidy Yoeman 6, Rilee Mangum 20, Jaidyn Larson 1, Makenna Liles 8, Danielle Zahn 14.

Bigfork 37, Deer Lodge 34

RONAN — Ansleigh Edgerton scored 15 of her game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter to rally Bigfork by Deer Lodge.

With Bigfork leading 35-34, sophomore guard Audrey Buenz missed two free throws with 8 seconds left, but rebounded her second miss for an easy basket with 3 seconds showing to complete the scoring.

Bigfork trailed 8-2, 19-8 and 26-12 heading into the fourth quarter.

Edgerton was 7 of 7 free-throw shooting in the final frame, when Bigfork tallied 23 points.

Alyssa Lamb led Deer Lodge offensively with 13 points.

Bigfork (11-8) moves into the semifinal round today at 5:40 p.m. versus Florence. The Valkyries have won six straight.

Deer Lodge falls into loser-out play at 9:40 a.m. against Mission.

Deer Lodge 8 11 7 8 — 34

Bigfork 2 6 6 23 — 37

DEER LODGE — Alyssa Lamb 13, Makenzi Meagher 3, Rachel Nicholson 6, Rilee Gray 4, Mya Wirth 2, Kamryn Scully 6.

BIGFORK — Emma Berreth 3, Audrey Buenz 2, Jordon Nelson 2, Rakiah Grende 5, Ansleigh Edgerton 22, Izzy Santistevan 3.