Basketball roundup: Nicholson, Watsch lead Whitefish past Libby
LIBBY — Keaton Nicholson scored 14 points, AJ Watsch added 12 and Whitefish opened Northwestern A conference play with a 55-46 win over Libby Saturday.
Whitefish (2-3 overall, 1-0 conference) led 28-22 at halftime and extended its lead to 44-28 with a big third quarter.
Jared Winslow and Michael Curtiss led Libby (0-3, 0-1) with 14 points apiece.
Whitefish 12 16 16 11 — 55
Libby 9 13 6 18 — 46
WHITEFISH — Keaton Nicholson 14, AJ Watsch 12, Garrett Anderson 9, Hugh Ramlow 8, EJ Havens 5, Alex Wilson 4, Cody Olson 3. Totals: 23 7-15 55.
LIBBY — Jared Winslow 14, Michael Curtiss 14, Collin Johnson 12, Jonny Cielak 4, Erik Lauer 2. Totals: 16 11-20 46.
Bigfork 67, Plains 37
PLAINS — Bigfork broke loose with a 21-point third-quarter to down Plains in District 7B play.
Bigfork (4-0, 2-0) held Plains to four points in the third period to take a commanding 52-27 lead.
Christian Evans tossed in 17 points and Jon Landon 12 for Bigfork.
Bigfork 17 14 21 15 — 67
Plains 8 15 4 10 — 37
BIGFORK – Christian Evans 17, Jon Landon 12, Isaac Martel 9, Cameron Nissen 9, Josh Sandry 8, Wyatt Fisher 6, Adam Jordt 2, Tyler Piazolla 2, Ryder Trent 2.
PLAINS – Aaron Baker 12, Ryan Ovitt 9, Alec Cole 5, Brady Ovitt 4, Kyle Revier 3, Keith Woodward 2, Trent Brouillette 2.
Eureka 58, Ronan 57
RONAN — Austin Perez scored with 15 seconds remaining to give Eureka a come-from-behind victory over Ronan in Class B play.
Eureka outscored Ronan 21-11 in the final eight minutes.
Trey Bohne topped Eureka in scoring with 15 points. Dalton Smith finished with 14, 10 coming in the last quarter.
Timmy Woll led Ronan with 12.
Eureka 10 13 14 21 — 58
Ronan 10 18 18 11 — 57
EUREKA – Austin Perez 8, Zach Sturdevant 2, Myles Griffin 2, Colton Henrie 5, RJ Glover 3, Dalton Smith 14, Trey Bohne 15, Chase Bohne 9.
RONAN – Colton McCrea 3, Bryce Cullen 6, Jarred DuPuis 6, Timmy Woll 12, Alex Quequesah 11, Jeremiah North Piegan 9, Daniel Aylesworth 10.
Hamilton 62, Polson 55
POLSON — Hamilton started and finished strong to beat Polson in Class A action.
Cedrick Smith tallied 16 points for Polson.
Hamilton 16 12 18 16 – 62
Polson 9 20 15 11 – 55
HAMILTON – Josh Heath 14, Chris Cleveland 9, Ty Burt 3, Teague Blome 7, Brett Huxtable 11, Cameron Kohn 5, Josh Bauder 13.
POLSON – Cedrick Smith 16, Chris McDonald 2, Andrew Weltz 17, Zadin Bautista 3, Andrew Curley 6, Tanner Wilson 10, Joe Gallatin 1.
Girls
Plains 46, Bigfork 44
BIGFORK — Plains finished off a steal with a layup by Kimberly Earhart with 10 seconds remaining to give Plains the District 7B victory.
Bigfork had a couple chances at the end, but couldn’t get the ball to drop.
Earhart finished with 10 points. Hailey Phillips led Plains in scoring with 14.
Josie Spoklie had 11 for Bigfork (3-1, 1-1).
Plains 8 5 16 17 — 46
Bigfork 14 9 12 9 — 44
PLAINS — Kimberly Earhart 10, Sami Kenzie 2, Hailey Phillips 14, Carly VonHeader 6, Kayla Holmes 2, Leah Thompson 12.
BIGFORK — Riley Coleman 4, Alauna Weilacher 4, Mattison McAnally 4, Lana Berg 13, Josie Spoklie 11, Tessa Robertson 8.
Hamilton 66, Polson 20
HAMILTON — Hamilton jumped on Polson early, taking a 19-3 first-period lead, and never looked back in winning the Class A nonconference matchup.
Taylor Goligoski paced the Hamilton attack with 29 points.
Nichole Lake led Polson (0-4) in scoring with seven points.
Polson 3 9 4 4 — 20
Hamilton 19 30 13 4 — 66
POLSON – Nichole Lake 7, Peyton Anderson 4, Skyla Krantz 3, Jaylin Kenney 2, Dylan Quinn 2, Monika Frame 2.
HAMILTON – Taylor Goligoski 29, Jaylee Albert 12, Brianna Huggans 10, Sami Kratofil 10, Mckayl Rothie 3, Kali Hayes 2.
Libby 49, Whitefish 30
LIBBY — Balanced scoring and a fast start allowed Libby to down Whitefish in Northwestern A play.
Libby (1-2, 1-0) jumped out to an 18-2 advantage and led 34-10 at the half.
Whitefish (0-4, 0-1) rallied late with an 18-point fourth quarter.
Shyla Stevenson led Libby in scoring with nine points. Dayln Germany and Devon Gallagher were next with eight each.
Haley Nicholson tallied six points to pace Whitefish.
Whitefish 2 8 2 18 — 30
Libby 18 16 6 9 — 49
WHITEFISH – Haley Nicholson 6, Allie Schulz 5, Katie Fyall 5, Allix Larsen 4, Simone Craft 2, Myndi Holbrook 2, Anna Peterson 1, Makenna Benbrook 1, Cevana Lawshe 1, Victoria Buls 1.
LIBBY – Shyla Stevenson 9, Dayln Germany 8, Devon Gallagher 8, Taylor Quinn 7, Hailley Moe 4, Bailie Rosling 4, Gavy Oliver 4, Dani Hawthorne 2, Trinity Wallace 2, Jenna Barrick 1.
Ronan 48, Eureka 26
RONAN — Aspen Jore scored 13 points and Raymi Clairmont followed with 11 as Ronan dropped Eureka in a Class B matchup. The Maidens jumped out to a 15-1 lead and never looked back.
Amanda Peterson led Eureka with eight points.
Eureka 1 7 8 10 — 26
Ronan 15 8 8 17 — 48
EUREKA – Amanda Peterson 8, Whitney Williams 4, Caty Gonderio 3, Evynn Anderson 3, Stacy Cooper 3, Ashlen Pacella 3, Courtney Lemer 2.
RONAN – Aspen Jore 13, Raymi Clairmont 11, Malia Hamel 8, Kendra Starkel 8, Courtney Taylor 6, Laurel Rigby 2.