BOYS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

By John Heglie

Special for the Leader

Valley Christian 93, Two Eagle 66

At Missoula in the battle of the Eagles between visiting Two Eagle River and host Valley Christian, both teams lit up the scoreboard on Saturday, dropping a combined 28 triples over the course of the entire contest.  Cameron Ireland of Valley Christian drained a dozen treys, which would rank him among the upper tier of  the state record book. 

Two Eagle trailed at the half, but outscored their hosts in the third quarter.  The visiting Eagles netted 11 triples overall, a half dozen off the fingertips of Alex Quequesah.  Another pair of Two Eagle players hit double digits, Kollin Wroblewski with 15 points and Julian Cutfinger with another dozen.  

Two Eagle (4-6) has a pair of 14C conference clashes this week, traveling to Hot Springs on Friday, Jan. 23, then host the Noxon Red Devils on Saturday, Jan. 24 in Pablo. 

Two Eagle   17    7  23  19  –  66

Valley Chr.  24  23  18  28  –  93

TWO EAGLE RIVER – Alex Quequesah 22, Kollin Wroblewski 15, Julian Cutfinger 12, Josiah Whitworth 5, Chino Lira 5, Eugene Parker 4, Dante McDougall 3.

VALLEY CHRISTIAN – Cameron Ireland 42, Elijah Redfern 14, Matt Klein 10, Parker Smith 9, Brian Gragg 6, Brad Klein 4, Nic Luoma 2,  Jordan Kelly 2,  Mac Lowder 2, Christopher Beckett 2. (Sa17Jan15)

Arlee 84

Two Eagle 52   

At Pablo, the visiting Warriors and the host Eagles engaged in a tightly contested see-saw battle much of the first half, only to have Arlee turn in a monster quarter after halftime to put his one out of reach.       The Warriors placed five players in double figures, led by Patrick BigSam and Brad Brazill, who both tallied 17 points each.  Justis Haynes was right behind them with 16 points, three quarters of them scored in the third quarter that included a trio of treys.  The other pair of players were Tyler Tanner with 14 points and Chance Brazill with another ten.

Two Eagle placed a pair of players in double figures with Alex Quequesah scoring 15 points, while Eugene Parker turned in ten and Julian Cutfinger contributed seven.  Quequesah, Kollin Wroblewski and Isaiah Mathias each reeled in a half dozen rebounds, while Quequesah dished four assists.  The Eagles shot an astounding 19-24 free-throws during the contest, but unfortunately they couldn’t duplicate the hot shooting touch from the floor to quell the Warrior blitz in the second half.

Arlee (6-0, 10-0) remains undefeated and are slated to travel to Superior next Friday, Jan. 23, then host Hot springs on Saturday, Jan. 24.  Two Eagle (3-3, 4-5) travels to Missoula for a nonconference match against the Valley Christian Eagles. 

Arlee          17  19  30  18  –  84

Two Eagle  19  10    9  14  –  52

ARLEE – Patrick BigSam 17, Brad Brazill 17, Justis Haynes 16, Tyler Tanner 14, Chance Brazill 10, Riley Rogers 4, Phillip Malatare 2, Zach Felsman 2, PJ Haynes 2.

TWO EAGLE – Alex Quequesah 15, Eugene Parker 10, Julian Cutfinger 7, Josiah Whitworth 6, Isaiah Mathias 6, Kollin Wroblewski 4, Dante McDougall 2, Chino Lira 2. (Fr16Jan15)

Arlee 63, Charlo 28

    At Arlee, the host Warriors were less than hospitable to their visiting inter-county Nordic invaders from up the highway as they doubled them up in the first half, then heaped on more scoring weight that sank any chance of mounting even a semblance of a comeback.

Arlee placed a trio of players in double figures with a fourth knocking at the door, while Charlo was led by Kobe Cox with seven points.  The Vikings were playing without their leading scored in Dalton Delaney, who was recovering from illness.   The sum total of tallied points scored by the Warriors who netted single figures countered the entire team output of the visiting Vikings.

Charlo (3-2, 4-5) faces Hot Springs as their next opponent, while Arlee (5-0, 9-0) travels to Pablo to play the Eagles of Two Eagle River.

Charlo  10    6    6    6  –  28

Arlee    16  17  15  15  –  63

CHARLO –  Kobe Cox 7, Greg Montgomery 6, Dugan Runkel 4, Michael Delaney 3, Jared Doty 2, Tyson Petticrew 2, Maverick Nelson 2, Kane Shenyer 2.

ARLEE – Tyler Tanner 14, Justis Haynes 10, Patrick BigSam 10, Brad Brazill 9, Chance Brazill 6, Isaac Desjarlais 6, Phillip Malatare 4, Riley Rogers 2, PJ Haynes 2. (Th15Jan15)

Hot Springs 42, Charlo 39

At Charlo on Jan. 17, the host Vikings and visiting Hot Springs engaged in a protracted battle the entire game, but got singed by the Savage Heat in the latter portion of the final quarter.  The Vikings had a couple of chances to send the game into overtime, but couldn’t connect on that crucial basket to knot the score. 

Coach Gale Decker credits the team for a solid defensive effort, but difficulty generating crucial points on the scoreboard when they are needed the most has cost them in some close matches.   Dugan Runkel of the Vikings turned in a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Charlo (3-3, 4-5) travels to 6B Mission for a cross-classification contest on Thursday, Jan. 22, then host the 14C St. Regis Tigers on Friday, Jan. 23.

Hot Springs  11  14  10    7  –  42

Charlo          13  13    8    5  –  39

HOT SPRINGS – Trevor Paro 19, Nate Gray 8, Jack Dolson 8, Sam Hoff 5, Lane Foster 2.

CHARLO – Dugan Runkel 16, Tyson Petticrew 9, Kobe Cox 8, Dalton Delaney 4, Greg Montgomery 2. (Sa17Jan15)

Mission 50, Troy 48

    At Troy, the host Trojans tried to fit a muzzle around visiting Mission St Ignatius in the opening period, but the Bulldogs showed they still had plenty of bite as they scratched together a single score advantage, then held off Troy for the victory. 

Both teams featured a double trouble player punch from two prominent names that accounted for three-quarters of the entire scoring.  For the  Mission Bulldogs, the Fisher-Ahenakew duo of Aaron and Dennis combined for 37 points, while the team total from the Troy Tallmadge tandem accounted for eighty percent of their scoring.

Bulldog Aaron has been averaging just over 21 points per game and is projected to surpass the 200 demarcation for the season this coming weekend, while he could also tally his 500th point in two seasons if he maintains or beats his average.  Gentry Brown has already surpassed the century mark for two season, Will Powell is approaching the 200th threshold over the past pair of seasons, while Nick Durglo is knocking at the door of century club membership acquired over two seasons.

Mission (4-5) hosts 14C cross classification county contender Charlo on Thursday, Jan 22, then travel to Deer Lodge on Saturday, Jan. 24 for a 6B conference clash with the worrisome Wardens.

Mission  8  12  14  16  –  50

Troy     12    6  13  17  –  48

MISSION — Aaron Fisher-Ahenakew 28, Nick Durglo 9, Dennis Fisher-Ahenakew 7, Tate Weingart 2, Gentry Brown 2, Will Powell 2.

TROY — Gage Tallmadge 30,  Adam Tallmadge 9, Sean Opland 4, Brennan Olds 2, Mason Chapel 2, Kolten Winebark 1. (Sa17Jan15)

Ronan 49

Mission 42

At St. Ignatius, the visiting Chiefs deposited a pair of solid first half quarters in the bank for a five spot lead, only to have the host Bulldogs bleed their account dry when they tied the game at 33 apiece entering the final period.  That left a frantic fracas to unfold in the fourth with Ronan dashing off holding the loot.

Cedric Earthboy led all scorers with 23 points, while Aaron Fisher-Ahenakew paced the Bulldogs with a tally of 17.  The top trio of scorers from each team countered the output by those from the other side, leaving the outcome in the hands of the other contributors with Ronan getting that extra productive pair to account for the differential in scoring.

Ronan’s Earthboy surpassed his 400th varsity career point with his final tallies of the game and is on pace to acquire his 200th point of the season at some juncture during this upcoming week based upon per game averages. Chief sophomore forward Jeremiah North Piegan is likewise on pace to exceed the century mark for season scoring as well as surpass the 200th varsity career threshold this upcoming week.

Mission (0-4, 3-5) faced 7B Troy in a nonconference contest on Saturday.  Ronan (2-2, 5-5) travels to 6B Florence on Friday, Jan. 23 for a conference clash, then heads north to tame the roar of Lincoln Lions in 7B Eureka on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Ronan     16  10    7  16  –  49

Mission  12    9  12    9  –  42

RONAN – Cedric Earthboy 23, Colton McCrea 8, Jeremiah North Piegan 4, July Sorrell 4, Jayce Nenemay 3, Justin Krahn 3, Aaron Misa 2, Rhett Duffey 2.

MISSION – Aaron Fisher-Ahenakew 17, Gentry Brown 10, Dennis Fisher-Ahenakew 8, Raymond Matt 4, Nick Durglo 2, Will Powell 1. (Fr16Jan15)

Plains 50, Ronan 45

    At Plains this past Thursday, the visiting Chiefs and the host Horsemen were running stride for stride through three quarters of play, but Ronan was unable to hold the reins of their host in check the final quarter.  Ryan Ovitt scored just under half his points in the last stanza, while his team went a combined 9-for-13 from the charity stripe to hold the Chiefs at bay. 

Cedric Earthboy and Jeremiah North Piegan collaborated on 25 points in the losing effort, while Colton McCrea and Justin Krahn combined for another ten points.  Ronan (4-5) travels to St. Ignatius on Friday, Jan. 16 for a 6B conference contest with the Mission Bulldogs.

Ronan  11  11  11  12  –  45

Plains  11  12  11  16  –  50

RONAN – Cedric Earthboy 15, Jeremiah North Piegan 10, Colton McCrea 5, Justin Krahn 5, July Sorrell 4, Jayce Nenemay 4, Bryce Cullen 2.

PLAINS – Kyle Revier 19, Ryan Ovitt 15, Alec Cole 6, Trent Brouillette 6, Aaron Baker 4.

Polson 54, Libby 44

At Libby, the visiting Pirates turned in a productive first half to carve out a double figure lead over the host Loggers, then maintained the margin the second half to even their conference record.  Polson had their best shooting game of the season from the floor, converting in the upper deck of the 50th percentile.  Pirate players were also in an exceptionally giving mood, dishing out a season high 20 assists in the process. 

The Pirates were paced by Matt Rensvold and Tanner Wilson, who combined for three dozen points and a baker’s dozen rebounds.  Wilson and Andrew Curley each dished out five assists.

Polson (1-1, 3-6) travels to Whitefish (1-2, 4-7) to face the Bulldogs on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Polson 13 17 9 15 — 54

Libby 10 10 12 12 — 44

POLSON — Wyatt Ducharme 6, Chris McDonald 2, Derek Peel 5, Tanner Wilson 17, Andrew Curley 5, Matthew Rensvold 19.

LIBBY — Jonny Cielak 9, Collin Johnson 11, Zander Petersen 1, Colin Maloney 2, Erik Lauer 5, Michael Curtiss 16.

Corvallis 57

Polson 46

At Corvallis, the visiting Pirates got off to a slow start in the first half as the host Blue Devils cobbled together a double digit lead intermission.  Polson made some halftime adjustments and only a single basket separated  them from matching the host team in the latter going, but were unable to carve into the deficit. 

The Pirates were bedeviled by a pair of big beastly 6-4 behemoths in Jayce Gilder and Jesse Sims, who had combined for 50 points in their overtime win over Stevenville the week prior.   Sims was the State A Tournament MVP two seasons ago with Stevensville, while Gilder is facetiously called “Little Jayce” by former Ronan coach Clayton Curley who now coaches football at Corvallis, knowing full well that Gilder is a far cry from being associated with diminutive descriptors.  Both Gilder and Sims are ranked among the top four scorers as well as rebounders in the Southwestern A Conference.

The Pirates did manage to place a trio of players in double figures, with Tanner Wilson in the teens, Andrew Curley with a dozen and Matt Rensvold with a ten spot.  Unfortunately for Polson, the Corvallis double digit numbers were of a larger variety.

Polson      12  6  11  17  –  46

Corvallis  20  8  14  17  –  59

POLSON – Tanner Wilson 16, Andrew Curley 12, Matthew Rensvold 10, Chris McDonald 5, Wyatt Ducharme 2, Joe Gallatin 1.

CORVALLIS – Jayce Gilder 21, Andrew Leopold 17, Jesse Sims 16, Chase Jessop 5.

Week 5 of the basketball season continues to feature Polson Pirates in places of  prep prominence among the TOP TEN of the NWA conference statistical categories.  Andrew Curley continues to lead the league in triples with two dozen with a pair of Cats right on his heels, while both Derek Peel and Payton Lefthand come in at the eighth and ninth spots.  Matt Rensvold has move up to fourth place for throwing down deuces, while Tanner Wilson has emerged in the ninth spot.  For individual total points, Rensvold has moved up to fourth place, while Curley and Wilson come in at eleventh and twelfth.  Chris McDonald and Lefthand give the Pirates representation for free-throw shooting percentage tied for eleventh place. 

    Sophomore Rensvold is still top dog when it comes to rebounding with senior 6-5 Bridger Truett of Frenchtown just a couple back, with Tanner Wilson coming in at the eleventh.  Rensvold holds on to third place for blocking shots, with both McDonald and Ducharme are tied for ninth. 

    In keeping with Pirate pilfering and pillaging tradition, Lefthand has slipped to sixth when it comes to pinching basketballs due to sitting out a game, with both Curley as well as Rensvold representing the team on the lower rungs of the category ladder.  When it comes to dishing assists, Wilson has risen to fourth, Lefthand at sixth and Peel is tied for tenth.