Boys Roundup: Mission suffers first loss

BIGFORK — The Mission boys headed to Bigfork on Saturday with a chance to tighten their grip on a conference championship, but the Vikings had other plans and held on for a 57-54 victory on their home court.

The Bulldogs came into the contest with a perfect record and ranked fifth in the 406MTsports.com state class B rankings. It was the teams’ second meeting of the season, after the Bulldogs won 45-42 at home in mid-December. A Mission win would have created some space between the top two teams in the Western 7B conference.

Cold shooting in the first quarter put the Bulldogs (4-1, 8-1) in an early hole Saturday against the Vikings (6-1, 7-4).

Trailing by 5 after the first period, Mission reeled off four unanswered points to take a 15-14 lead with 6:30 left in the half, but the Vikings answered with a 10-1 run of their own en route to a 25-19 halftime lead.

Mission’s all-state junior Zoran LaFrombois led all scorers with 21 points. He also had six steals and five assists.

The Bulldogs opened strong again in the third period. LaFrombois dished to Cedrick McDonald on a fast break to tie the score at 27-all just two minutes into the half.

LaFrombois later hit one of his four 3-pointers to pull Mission to within one point at 33-32, and senior Kellen McClure hit a jumper to tie the game at 36-all with 1:20 left in the third. Bigfork went on a four-point run to close out the period and led the rest of the way.

McClure finished with 10 points and five assists. McDonald scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds after missing the previous week due to illness.

LaFrombois hit another deep 3-pointer with 8 seconds left in the game to close the gap to 56-54. A subsequent Vikings free throw by Colin Wade extended the lead to three, and the Bulldogs had possession with about six seconds, but the ensuing inbounds pass was stolen.

Ross McPherson contributed 11 points for Mission.

Bryce Gilliard led Bigfork with 15 points, to go with seven rebounds. Colin Wade scored 14 points, while Isak Epperly added 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

The Bulldogs have a pair of games against third-place Thompson Falls remaining on the schedule. Those games should be key in their quest for a title. Meanwhile, the Vikings already defeated the BlueHawks 56-30 on the road and will play them again at home to close out the regular season.

On Friday at home, the Bulldogs steamrolled Troy (0-5, 2-7) in a 61-14 conference win. LaFrombois led the way with 27 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. McClure scored nine points, and McPherson added nine points and 10 rebounds. Justin Brownhad eight points and six rebounds in the win.

Bigfork 57, Mission 54

Mission 9 - 10 - 17 - 18 – 54

Bigfork 14 - 11 - 16 - 16 – 57

MISSION – Zoran LaFrombois 7 3-4 21 (3r,5a,6s), Ross McPherson 5 1-4 11 (4r,1s), Kellen McClure 5 0-1 10 (3r,5a,1s), Cederick McDonald 4 0-0 8 (7r,1s,1b), Mike Wheeler 2 (2r,1a,1b), Erich Morigeau 2, Justin Brown (4r), Jadence Peone (3r,4a). Team: 23 4-9 54 (26r,15a,9s,2b).

BIGFORK – Bryce Gilliard 15 (7r), Colin Wade 14, Isak Epperly 11 (9r,7a,1s,2b), Nick Walker 7, Wyatt Johnson 5, Levi Taylor 2 (1r,1a,2s), Eli Thorness 2, Cole Knopik 1. Team: 17 19-29 57 (31r,12a,6s,4b).

3FGs – MIS 4-15 (LaFrombois 4-11), BF 4-19 (Wade 3-4, Johnson 1-2).

Mission 61, Troy 14

Troy 7 - 4 - 3 - 0 – 14

Mission 26 - 18 - 14 - 3 – 61

TROY – Trevor Grant 6, Paxton Fisher 5, Cody Todd 3, Michael Foote 0, Barocko Garcia 0, Derek Cole 0, JJ Miller 0, Brody Kelson 0, Alex Kaufmann 0. Team: 6 1-7 14.

MISSION – Zoran LaFrombois 10 5-6 27 (9r,3a,9s,1b), Kellen McClure 3 1-2 9 (5r,4a,2s,1b), Ross McPherson 4 1-2 9 (10r,1b), Justin Brown 3 2-4 8 (6r,2a), Jadence Peone 1 1-2 3 (2r,3s), Kenny Ness 1 1-2 3, Mike Wheeler 2 (1r,2a), Andrew Rush 0 0-2 0 (2r), Erich Morigeau 0 (2r). Team: 23 11-20 61 (37r,11a,14s,3b).

3FGs – Troy 1-14 (Todd 1-4), MSI 4-13 (McClure 2-3, LaFrombois 2-7).

Pirates cruise to two wins

Trent Wilson and Colton Graham scored 16 points each as the Polson boys earned a much needed 57-40 conference victory over Libby at home on Saturday.

The Pirates (3-2, 6-5), used a tenacious press to build a 36-17 halftime lead and held the Loggers (3-3, 8-4) at bay from there.

The Pirates outrebounded Libby 29-17.

Xavier Fisher contributed 10 points and three steals for Polson, while Jarret Wilson scored 10 points, to go with six rebounds and six assists.

Two nights earlier, Polson hosted Corvallis in a nonconference matchup and came away with a 79-43 win over the Blue Devils (2-9).

Trent Wilson had a season-high 19 points in the win and pulled down four rebounds. Graham finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Polson and Browning top the Northwest A standings with two conference losses each. Key remaining games include a road contest at Ronan on Feb. 4 and a home game against Browning to close out the regular season Feb. 12.

Polson 57, Libby 40

Libby 8 - 9 - 10 - 13 – 40

Polson 14 - 22 - 8 - 13 – 57

LIBBY – TJ Andersen 11 (7r), Kaleb Folk 11, Caleb Williams 7 (2b), Tyler Andersen 5, Ryan Collins 3, Cy Stevenson 3. Team: 16 5-8 40 (17r,4a,5s,3b)

POLSON – Trent Wilson 8 0-0 16 (4r,2a,2s), Colton Graham 6 3-4 16 (4r,3a,2s,1b), Xavier Fisher 3 3-3 10 (1r,1a,3s), Jarrett Wilson 4 2-3 10( 6r,6a,3s), Alex Muzquiz 1 1-2 3 (1r,1a,1s), Dawson DuMont 2 (2r,1s), Braunson Henriksen 0 0-2 0 (9r,1b), Robert Perez 0 (1r,1s), Nikolai Figaro 0 (1b), Cymian Kauley (1r), Ethan McCauley, Espn Fisher, Tyler Wenderoth. Team: 23 9-14 57 (29r,13a,12s,2b).

3FGs – L3-10 (R.Collins 1-1, TJ Andersen 1-3, Ty.Andersen 1-3), P2 (X.Fisher, Graham).

Polson 79, Corvallis 43

Corvallis 2 - 17 - 11 - 13 – 43

Polson 20 - 20 - 26 - 13 – 79

CORVALLIS – Donovan Potter 16 (4a), Tyler Weis 8, Dillen Potter 7, David Broch 6, Derek Criddle 3, Aaron Powell 2, Bennett Boelman 1. Team: 14 8-13 43 (25r,8a,9s,3b).

POLSON – Trent Wilson 8 3-5 19 (4r,1a,4s), Colton Graham 3 4-5 11 (7r,5a,4s,2b), Jarrett Wilson 4 2-4 10 (8r,5a,7s), Dawson DuMont 4 0-0 8 (3r), Xavier Fisher 3 1-2 7 (1a,3s), Alex Muzquiz 3 0-0 6 (1r,1a,1s), Braunson Henriksen 2 0-0 4 (2r), Espn Fisher 3 (1s), Nikolai Figaro 1 1-2 3 (1a,1s), Robert Perez 2 (4r,1a,1s), Tyler Wenderoth 2, Ethan McCauley 2 (1r,1a,1b), Cymian Kauley 2 0-2 2 (2r), Brock Henriksen (3r,1s). Team: 33 11-18 79 (34r,17a,23s,2b).

3FGs – C7-28 (Do.Potter 3-12, Broch 2-3, Weis 2-7), P2 (E.Fisher, Graham).

Chiefs take two tough losses

Ronan headed into the week in first place with a 3-1 conference record. Two losses later, they find themselves in the middle of the standings and in need of some wins.

Payton Cates led the Chiefs (3-3, 5-4) with 13 points and Ruben Couture added 11 points in a 50-46 loss to Browning (4-2, 6-3) Saturday night at home.

Marlo Tonasket scored nine points for Ronan, while Elijah Tonasket scored seven and Ted Coffman added six.

Tommy RunningRabbit led Browning with a game-high 15 points.

Ronan held a 25-20 halftime lead, but the Chiefs trailed after three periods and couldn’t make up the difference.

The Chiefs traveled Friday to Whitefish, where they fell 59-38 to the Bulldogs (1-3, 4-4).

Elijah Tonasket had a team-high 11 points in the loss, while Cates scored nine.

The Bulldogs outscored the Chiefs 14-3 in the fourth period.

Browning 50, Ronan 46

Browning 8 - 12 - 14 - 16 – 50

Ronan 12 - 13 - 8 - 12 – 45

BROWNING – Tommy RunningRabbit 15, Jesse Carlson 9, Maurice Redhorn III 9, Justice Johnson 6, Joe Bullshoe 6, Jamerson LazyBoy 3, Brayds Vielle 2.

RONAN – Payton Cates 13, Ruben Couture 11, Marlo Tonasket 9, Elijah Tonasket 7, Ted Coffman 6.

Whitefish 59, Ronan 38

Ronan 14 - 10 - 11 - 3 – 38

Whitefish 11 - 16 - 18 - 14 – 59

RONAN – Elijah Tonasket 3 4-7 11, Payton Cates 4 0-0 9, Marlo Tonasket 6, Ted Coffman 2 0-0 5, Ruben Couture 2 0-0 4, Jordan Gatch 1 1-1 3. Team: 14 5-8 38.

WHITEFISH – Bodie Smith 20 (3s), Talon Holmquist 16 (14r,1b), Fynn Ridgeway 7, Logan Conklin 6, Cody Berry 3, Jaxsen Schlauch 2, Jack Sears 2, Mason Kelch 2, Gabe Lund 1. Team: 22 9-20 59 (43r,6a,10s,2b).

3FGs – RON 5 (M.Tonasket 2, E.Tonasket, Cates, T.Coffman), WF 6-12 (Smith 3-4, Conklin 2-5, Ridgeway 1-3).

Vikings keep rolling

The Charlo boys went 1-1 last week, with an 80-68 loss to St. Regis on Friday and a 76-38 win over Two Eagle River School on Saturday.

Wesley Anderson scored 23 and Colt Hovet had 10 points for the Vikings (3-2, 6-5) against St. Regis (6-0, 9-2), both career highs. Anderson also had 14 rebounds. Coyle Nagy added nine points, while Keaton Piedalue and Stetson Reum each scored eight.

Statistics from Saturday’s game were not available at press time.

The Vikings sit alone in second place behind St. Regis and have a key game against third-place Hot Springs at home on Feb. 4.

Reum, Anderson and Hayden Hollow each scored 14 points to lead Charlo on Saturday. Piedalue finished with 10.

Thomas Spotted Eagle led the Eagles with a game-high 21 points.

Charlo 76, Two Eagle River 38

TERS 12 - 5 - 14 - 7 – 38

Charlo 21 - 20 - 19 - 16 – 76

TWO EAGLE RIVER – Thomas Spotted Eagle 7 4-8 21 (3r,4s), Nate Gates 1 3-3 5 (4r), Ryley AfterBuffalo 2 0-0 5 (2r,2s), Cai Burke 1 1-2 3 (10r), Chris Brown 2, Daniel BlackWolf 2 (7r,1s), Tyler Pierre 0 0-2 0, Sx'lek's Bell 0 0-1 0 (1r), John Finley (2r). Team:13 8-16 38(29r,7s).

CHARLO – Wesley Anderson 6 2-5 14 (10r,1s), Hayden Hollow 6 0-0 14 (4r,1a,2s), Stetson Reum 5 4-6 14 (6r,3a,1s), Keaton Piedalue 3 4-9 10 (8r,1a,3s), Coyle Nagy 3 2-4 9 (3r,2a,1s), Tucker Love 3 2-4 8 (3r,2a,2s), Jacob Tomlin 1 1-2 4 (6r), Colt Hovet 2 (2r,1a,1s), Hayden Smith 1 (1r,1a). Team: 28 16-32 76 (43r,12a,10s).

3FGs – TER 4-21 (T.SE 3-12, R.AB 1-4), Charlo 4-15 (Hollow 2-4, Nagy 1-1, Tomlin 1-1).

St. Regis 80, Charlo 68

St.Regis 19 - 15 - 21 - 25 – 80

Charlo 15 - 22 - 8 - 23 – 68

ST. REGIS – Tanner Day 28 (10r), Caleb Ball 23 (6s), Kaleb Park 15, Adam Ball 13, John Pruitt 1 (2a). Team: 26 12-31 80 (25r,3a,9s).

CHARLO – Wesley Anderson 10 3-5 23 (14r,1s), Colt Hovet 4 2-2 10, Coyle Nagy 9, Keaton Piedalue 8, Stetson Reum 8, Tucker Love 6, Hayden Hollow 4. Team: 30 6-8 68(30r,12a,10s).

3FGs – SR 7-17 (Park 5-7, Day 1-2, C.Ball 1-7), Charlo 2-10 (Nagy 1-2, Piedalue 1-4).

Loyola tops Warriors

Missoula Loyola visited Arlee on Friday night and came away with a 54-31 victory. Statistics from the game were not available at press time.

The Chiefs’ other game last week, at home against Deer Lodge on Tuesday, was cancelled due to poor road conditions.