Chiefs chop down Loggers, rock Co-Falls

Ronan improved to 2-0 in Northwestern A Conference play, taking down Libby 74-41 on Tuesday, Jan. 14, and Columbia Falls on Thursday, Jan. 16.

Laurance Lozeau led the Chiefs with 14 points against Libby, hitting six shots, dishing out four assists, and snagging four steals. Jhett McDonald also had 14 points, while Wade Qualtier had 12 points.

The win also improved Ronan’s overall record to 6-2 overall, while Libby fell to 0-2 in conference play and 3-5 overall.

At the Columbia Falls contest, Lozeau crossed the 300-point milestone as Ronan won 75-60.

Lozeau finished the game with 18 points, three three-pointers, four assists, and three steals. Qualtier notched 12 points, three assists and three steals. Kolby Finley went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line and finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Tayen Edmo had nine points to go along with five rebounds.

Ronan found itself down 31-28 at halftime but took the lead in the third quarter and outscored the Wildcats 30-15 in the fourth quarter.

It was Ronan’s conference opener and a matchup against a 5-1 Columbia Falls team.

At Ronan

RONAN 74, LIBBY 41

RONAN SCORING: Laurance Lozeau 14, Jhett McDonald 14, Wade Qualtier 12, Tayen Edmo 9, Sean Small 6, Kolby Finley 4, Connor Durglo 4, Siouxpixm Qualtier 4, Chad Higgins 3, Teddy SpottedEagle 2, Tryance Matt 2

At Ronan

RONAN 75, COLUMBIA FALLS 60

C-Falls - 10 - 21 - 14 - 15 - 60

Ronan - 12 - 16 - 20 - 30 - 75

RONAN SCORING: Laurance Lozeau 18, Wade Qualtier 12, Kolby Finley 11, Tayen Edmo 9, Jhett McDonald 8, Sean Small 8, Trey Samsel 4, Teddy SpottedEagle 3, Chad Higgins 2

Polson drops matchup against Browning

Browning has a big third quarter in a 55-46 victory over Polson in Northwestern A Conference boys basketball action on Thursday, Jan. 16. The Pirates were led by Malakai Curley, who turned in 14 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, and five in the loss.

The first half was a close affair, with the Indians and Polson tied 19-19 at halftime. Browning, however, would outscore the Pirates by seven points in the third quarter and take command of the game.

Cason Graham added nine points to Polson’s total to go along with five rebounds. Maddox Bird had seven points, four rebounds and three steals.

Browning was led by Jude Reevis’ 20 points. The loss dropped Polson to 4-4 on the year, while the Indians improved to 4-3.

At Browning

BROWNING 55, POLSON 46

Polson - 9 - 10 - 14 - 13 - 46

Browning - 11 - 8 - 21 - 15 - 55

POLSON SCORING: Malakai Curley 14, Cason Graham 9, Maddox Bird 7, Cody Haggard 6, Jesse Vail 5, Holden Emerson 3, Kyson Michel 2

Curley scores career-high in Whitefish win

Polson pulled away from Whitefish in the first and second halves of its 66-55 Northwestern A Conference victory on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Malakai Curley scored a career-high 29 points, hitting 13 buckets in the win.

The game was tied 14-14 after one quarter, but the Pirates created a 36-29 halftime lead. Whitefish would cut into the lead in the third quarter and only trail by five in the third quarter. Polson responded and outscored the Bulldogs 12-6 in the fourth.

Cason Graham had 15 points and six rebounds for the Pirates, while Kyson Michel had 12 points, five assists and three steals.

At Whitefish

POLSON 66, WHITEFISH 55

Polson - 14 - 22 - 18 - 12 - 66

Whitefish - 14 - 15 - 20 - 6 - 55

POLSON SCORING: Malakai Curley 29, Cason Graham 15, Kyson Michel 12, Maddox Bird 5, Cody Haggard 3, Holden Emerson 2

Mission falls to Eureka

Mission played Eureka close but fell 70-59 in Western 7B basketball action on Thursday, Jan. 16. Lex LaFrombois led the Bulldogs with 33 points.

Eureka was ahead 33-24 at halftime, but the Bulldogs fought back to within two points in the third quarter before the Lions pulled away in the fourth, outscoring Mission by seven points.

Jason Leishman scored eight points, while Vinny Shepard had seven points for the Bulldogs.

Mission dropped to 0-2 in league play and 2-7 overall.

At St. Ignatius

EUREKA 70, MISSION 59

Eureka - 17 - 16 - 16 - 21 - 70

Mission - 13 - 11 - 21 - 14- 59

MISSION SCORING: Lex LaFrombois 33, Jason Leishman 8, Vinny Shepard 7, Harlon Leishman 6, Jake Helser 3

Arlee Warriors drop two games

The Warriors dropped their first game of the season, falling to Western 6B foe Loyola on Thursday, Jan. 16, and their second to Florence, Jan. 18.

Arlee trailed 22-13 after one quarter and 38-20 at halftime against Loyola, which opened up the second half with a 22-6 run.

Florence jumped out to 30-9 lead in the first quarter, and the Warriors couldn’t overcome that deficit. The loss dropped Arlee to 8-2 on the year and 1-2 in league play.

At Arlee

FLORENCE 77, ARLEE 44

Arlee - 9 - 8 - 15 - 12 - 44

Florence - 30 - 16 - 16 - 15 - 77

At Missoula

LOYOLA 80, ARLEE 36

Arlee - 13 - 7 - 6 - 10 - 36

Loyola - 22 - 16 - 22 - 20 - 80

Charlo’s Cox scores 54 against Noxon

Despite Karsen Cox’s 54 points, Charlo fell to Noxon 95-85 in a Western 13C basketball action on Saturday, Jan. 18. Cox nearly doubled his previous career-high of 28 points and has tallied more than 400 career points for the Vikings.

Noxon jumped out to a 27-7 first-quarter lead and went into halftime with a 46-26 advantage. The Red Devils extended their lead by four points in the third quarter, but Charlo outscored their opponent 35-21 in the fourth.

Cox also had eight rebounds, while Tasker Brown had 19 points and 13 rebounds. Ranson Hout had nine points and five rebounds.

Noxon improved to 10-1 on the year and 4-0 overall.

The Vikings also lost to undefeated St. Regis on Friday, Jan. 17, 65-46. Cox again led the Vikings with 19 points, while Kenyan Dumont also reached double digits with 11 points.

Charlo led 11-7 after one quarter, but St. Regis went on an 18-9 run in the second quarter for a 25-20 halftime lead. The Tigers scored 22 points in both the third and fourth quarters to pull away.

St. Regis improved to 10-0 with the victory

Overall, Charlo fell to 0-5 in league play and 2-8 overall.

At Charlo

NOXON 95, CHARLO 85

Noxon - 27 - 19 - 28- 21 - 95

Charlo - 7 - 19 - 24 - 35 - 85

CHARLO SCORING: Karsen Cox 54, Tasker Brown 19, Ranson Hout 9, AJ Kobilansky 3

At St. Regis

ST. REGIS 65, CHARLO 46

Charlo - 11 - 9 - 13 - 13 - 46

St.Regis - 7 - 18 - 22 - 22 - 65

CHARLO SCORING: Karsen Cox 8 2-8 19, Kenyan DuMont 3 5-6 11, Tasker Brown 3 2-9 8, Ranson Hout 3 0-2 6, Avery Long 2

Two Eagle drops one to Noxon

Both offenses were finding the basket, but Noxon defeated Two Eagle 87-79 in Western 13C action on Friday, Jan. 17.

Noxon led by four points after the first quarter and had a 53-41 halftime lead. Two Eagle cut into the lead by eight points in the third but couldn’t replicate that in the fourth quarter.

Rhiley Gates led the Eagles with 28 points, while Talon Addison had 27 points.

Two Eagle fell to 5-6 overall and 2-3 in league play with the loss.

At Pablo

NOXON 87, TWO EAGLE 79

Noxon - 25 - 28 - 22 - 12 - 87

TERS - 21 - 20 - 30 - 8 - 79

TWO EAGLE RIVER SCORING: Rhiley Gates 28, Talon Addison 27, Lathan PrettyWeasel 6, Kayson Gates 6, Jayvian Burke 4, Jason Trahan 3, Wyatt Thomas 2, Thomas Addison 2, Jamian Adams 1

    Two Eagle's Jayvian Burke sets his sights on the basket during last week's game against Noxon. (Christa Umphrey photo)