Flathead nips CMR in triple OT

Eric Seaman hit a free throw with less than a second to play in the third overtime, giving Flathead a 70-69 Class AA nonconference boys basketball win over Great Falls C.M. Russell on Friday evening at Flathead High School.

Seaman drove to the basket with time running out and was fouled. He missed the first free throw, but cashed in on the second for the victory.

He finished with 14 points.

“For an early season game, both teams played really well,” Flathead coach Ross Gustafson said.

“Both teams executed fairly well. I thought we played a little more together than CMR.”

Gustafson said Flathead had opportunities to win it in the first OT, but “didn’t convert,” he said.

He said CMR had opportunities in the second OT, but also “didn’t convert.”

“Players stepping up,” Gustafson said of what the difference was in the third overtime.

“That togetherness really pushed us over the top.”

Wyatt Potter and Tyler Johnson led Flathead in scoring with 17 points each.

Xavier Pace had 15 points Garrison Rothwell 13 for CMR.

Flathead opened the season with a thrilling 52-51 nonconference win last Saturday over Class A Whitefish.

The Braves (2-0) are back in action today at Class AA Great Falls High for a 4:30 p.m. tipoff.

CMR 12 17 13 16 4 2 5 — 69

Flathead 8 15 19 16 4 2 6 — 70

C.M. RUSSELL — Daniel Silverstein 4-6 1-2 10, Sam Vining 4-12 1-1 10, Jake Horner 4-6 0-0 10, Tyler Patrick 0-0 1-1 1, Garrison Rothwell 5-10 2-2 13, Xavier Pace 6-10 2-2 15, Reece Green 2-3 1-1 5, Bryce Depping 2-5 1-1 5, Jake Wilkins 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 27-53 9-10 69.

FLATHEAD — Cade White 1-2 0-0 2, Cooper Barrett 2-6 0-0 6, Wyatt Potter 5-12 5-6 17, Bridger Johnson 3-6 3-4 9, Eric Seaman 4-6 5-8 14, Cole Gunderson 0-1 1-1 1, Tyler Johnson 5-15 6-7 17, Sam Elliot 2-5 0-0 4. Totals: 22-53 20-26 70.

3-point goals—CMR 6-18 (Horner 2-4, Silverstein 1-2, Vining 1-4, Rothwell 1-3, Pace 1-3), Flathead 6-22 (Potter 2-5, Barrett 2-6, Seaman 1-1, Tyler Johnson 1-7, Elliot 0-2, Gunderson 0-1). Rebounds—CMR 31 (Pace 7), Flathead 30 (Tyler Johnson 5, Potter 5). Assists—CMR 13 (Silverstein 4, Rothwell 4), Flathead 12 (Potter 3, Tyler Johnson 3). Team Fouls—CMR 23, Flathead 15. Fouled out—Vining. Technical fouls—Silverstein.

Western A Tipoff

Butte Central 46,

Columbia Falls 37

MISSOULA — A strong second half wasn’t quite enough help Columbia Falls battle back in a loss to Butte Central.

Columbia Falls was held to 11 points in the first half to trail by 16 at intermission.

Columbia Falls then outscored Butte Central in the second half, 26-19, to fall nine points short.

Tanner Krump had 11 points and Dan McCloskey 10 for Butte Central.

Stephen DeCamp and Dakota Bridwell shared scoring honors for Columbia Falls with nine points each.

Butte Central 18 9 8 11 — 46

Col. Falls 8 3 11 15 — 37

BUTTE CENTRAL – Sam Jounston 4, Tanner Kump 11, Nate McGree 7, Dan McCloskey 10, Cade Holter 2, Luke Heaphy 8, Archie Petritz 2, Aaron Richards 2.

COLUMBIA FALLS – Austin Green 7, Logan Stephens 6, Stephen DeCamp 9, Dakota Bridwell 9, DJ Schrade 3, B. Fagerland 3, Matthew Morrison 2.

Dillon 66, Polson 44

MISSOULA — A big first half helped Dillon drop Polson.

Dillon led 34-20 at the break and outscored Polson in the second half 32-24.

Troy Andersen led Dillon, and all scorers, with 20 points. Matthew Rensvold had 18 points for Polson.

Dillon 13 21 14 18 — 66

Polson 7 13 14 10 — 44

DILLON – Clay Allison 1 0-0 2, Troy Andersen 6 7-8 20, R.J. Fitzgerald 1 0-0 2, Michael Haverfield 3 0-0 7, Coby King 0 2-2 2, Andrew Lemiuex 1 0-0 2, Jamey Richardson 3 0-1 8, Kyson Wilson 1 0-0 2, Tanner Haverfield 8 2-2 21. Totals 24 11-13 66.

POLSON – J’von Johnson 3 0-0 7, Jaydon Bautista 2 2-3 7, Tanner Wilson 2 1-2 5, Jeremiah North Piegan 1 0-0 3, Shade Main 2 0-0 4, Matthew Rensvold 7 4-7 18. Totals 17 7-12 44.

Stevensville 73,

Whitefish 45

MISSOULA — Stevensville tallied more than 20 points in each of the first three periods to blow by Whitefish.

Stevensville led 41-23 at the half and 64-35 heading into the fourth quarter.

Dalton Bragg tallied 18 points to pace Stevensville. James Fry added 17 and Colby Meeds 12.

Derek Kastella was the top scorer for Whitefish with 10 points.

Stevensville 21 20 23 9 — 73

Whitefish 14 9 12 10 — 45

STEVENSVILLE – Colby Meeds 12, Jared Kingsbury 8, James Fry 17, Dalton Bragg 18, Chayse Richards 7, Alex Gavlak 3, Lewis Estrada 8.

WHITEFISH – Alex Keuylian 9, Derek Kastella 10, Tucker Blake 2, Vegard Ellingsen 4, Ryan Kemm 9, Lee Walburn 7, Dillon Botner 4.

Shelby/Cut Bank TipOff

Bigfork 56, Malta 48

Anders Epperly and Clayton Reichenbach tallied 14 points each to lead Bigfork past Malta.

Bigfork, up 16-12 after the first period, led 25-20 at haltime.

Jace Bishop topped Malta in scoring with 15 points.

Bigfork 16 9 12 19 — 56

Malta 12 8 9 19 — 48

BIGFORK – Anders Epperly 14, Clayton Reichenbach 14, Beau Santistevean 9, Logan Gilliard 7, Logan Taylor 5, Randy Stultz 3, Colton Reichenbach 2, Luke Schmit 2.

MALTA – Jace Bishop 15, Nate Costin 13, Ostin Welch 11, Taylor Matthews 5, Blake Sjostrom 4.

Three Forks Invitational

Big Timber 74, Ronan 38

THREE FORKS — Ezekiel Misa did the bulk of Ronan’s scoring, tossing in 22 points in a losing effort.

Kell Schwers topped Big Timber with 29 points. Blake Finn added 19.

Big Timber outscored Ronan 33-16 in the second half.

Ronan 15 7 9 7 — 38

Big Timber 24 17 22 11 — 74

RONAN – Ezekiel Misa 22, Kasey Mock 6, Jackson Duffy 5, Anthony Camel 3, Isaiah Arrow Top Knot 2.

BIG TIMBER – Kell Schwers 29, Blake Finn 19, Casey Gunlikson 9, Ethan Bullock 6, Jacob Roberts 5, Dennis Boshart 3, Cody Hathaway 2, Shayden King 1.

Girls

CMR 63, Flathead 54

GREAT FALLS — C.M. Russell outscored Flathead 27-20 in the second half to claim a 63-54 Class AA nonconference victory.

CMR led 36-34 at halftime.

Tiana Johnson scored 16 points and Mary Heaton 12 to pace Flathead (1-1).

Kyra Willis had 17 points for CMR while Akasia Denton and Tristin Achenbach both tallied 12.

Flathead hosts Great Falls High today for a nonconference contest at 4:30 p.m.

Flathead 13 21 13 7 – 54

CMR 13 23 16 11 – 63

Flathead – Kylee Meredith 4, Averie Olson 1, Mary Heaton 12, Sierra Siblerud 6, Kelsey Gillespie 9, Clara Vandenbosch 4, Taylor Henley 2, Tiana Johnson 16. Totals 18 16-23 54.

CMR – Akasia Denton 12, Mady Skawinski 6, Tristin Achenbach 12, Sam Payne 2, Kayci Edwards 5, Addison Gardner 9, Kyra Willis 17. Totals 16 25-39 63.

3-point goals – Gillespie 2; Denton, Skawinski, Edwards, Gardner, Willis 2. Total fouls – Flathead 20, CMR 19. Fouled out – Meredith, Siblerud; Achenbach.

Stillwater Christian 52,

St. Ignatius 42

Stillwater Christian jumped out to a 12-0 lead en route to the 10-point nonconference victory over St. Ignatius.

Dori Smith led the Stillwater offense with 17 points.

Bryar McCrea led St. Ignatius with nine points.

St. Ignatius 0 12 13 17 — 42

Stillwater 12 12 16 12 — 52

ST. IGNATIUS — Kardyna Buck 8, Bryar McCrea 9, Afton Brander 5, Nalani Linsebigler 3, Ran Dee Charlo 6, Leila Marsh 4, Addison Arlint 7.

STILLWATER — Cora Boll 5, Ramey Metzger 3, Adrianna Lambert 8, Chloe Erb 3, Dori Smith 17, Alicia Warricks 4, Helen Hashley 4, Lulu Neumann 8.

Shelby/Cut Bank TipOff

Shelby 56, Bigfork 45

Bigfork doubled the score on Shelby in the opening quarter, 16-8, and held a 31-29 advtange at the half, but Shelby used a 21-point fourth quarter to pull out the victory.

Abbey Aklestad tossed in 23 points for Shelby. Ashton Daniels added 11.

Abbey Ellison led Bigfork with 12 points. Haile Norred was next with 10.

Bigfork 16 15 9 5 — 45

Shelby 8 21 9 18 — 56

BIGFORK – Abbey Ellison 12, Haile Norred 10, Jaime Berg 9, Rakiah Grende 8, Reese Nissen 4, Ansleigh Edgerton 2.

SHELBY – Abbey Aklestad 23, Ashton Daniels 11, Bailey Johnson 7, Brittany Brusven 7, Skyler Martin 6, Brielle Aklestad 2.

Florence 56, Libby 29

Libby never recovered from a slow start in losing to Florence.

Florence jumped in front 11-3 and led 27-10 at intermission.

Chloe Arthur had 17 points and Danielle Zahn 16 for Florence.

Brooklyn Rainer topped Libby offensively with 12 points.

Florence 11 16 17 12 — 56

Libby 3 7 7 12 — 29

FLORENCE – Chloe Arthur 17, Danielle Zahn 16, Makenna Liles 6, Alexis Taulbee 4, Emma Stenrud 4, Autumn Round 3, Jewel Zeiler 3, Rilee Mangun 3.

LIBBY – Brooklyn Rainer 12, Jayden Winslow 9, Madisen Monigold 3, Abby Ennega 2, Khalyn Hageness 2, Samee Bradeen 1.

Western A Tipoff

Columbia Falls 67,

Butte Central 47

MISSOULA — A strong offensive attack, led by Kiara Burlage with 16 points, lifted Columbia Falls over Butte Central.

Cydney Finberg netted 15 points for the Wildkats and Peyton Kehr 12.

Columbia Falls held a 36-21 halftime lead.

Mollie Peoples topped Butte Central, and all scorers, with 27 points. Emily St. John added 16.

Butte Central 11 10 14 12 — 47

Columbia Falls 18 18 11 20 — 67

BUTTE CENTRAL – Kloie Thatcher 2, Mollie Peoples 27, Emily St. John 16, Olivia Bolton 2.

COLUMBIA FALLS – Dani Douglas 16, Cydney Finberg 15, Peyton Kehr 12, Kiara Burlage 16, Sydney Hovde 6, Hannah Gedlaman 2.

Dillon 47, Polson 31

MISSOULA — Dillon used a 15-0 start to spill Polson.

Dillon led 26-4 at the half.

Polson came to life offensively in the second half, outscoring Dillon 27-21.

Kaelyn Smith was Polson’s top scorer with eight points.

Brynley Fitzgerald tallied 16 points for Dillon.

Polson 0 4 12 15 — 31

Dillon 15 11 11 10 — 47

POLSON — Laura Lefthand 7, Kaelyn Smith 8, Quinn Motichka 7, Mahala Buffalo 3, Mollie Fisher 6.

DILLON — Paige Rouse 2, Kylie Christiansen 6, Kendall Peterson 7, Kelsy Truman 4, Savannah Hildreth 4, Bailey Beviochaa 4, Brynley Fitzgerald 16, Kathleen Tatanka 4.

Three Forks Invitational

Ronan 52, Fairfield 30

THREE FORKS —A fast start allowed Ronan to coast by Fairfield.

Ronan led 19-9 after the opening quarter and enjoyed a 29-17 edge at the half.

Alicia Camel dropped on 22 points for Ronan. Micalann McCrea was next with 14.

Natalie Klinker scored 11 points for Fairfield.

Ronan 19 10 9 14 — 52

Fairfield 9 8 8 5 — 30

RONAN – Micalann McCrea 14, Louetta Conko-Camel 3, Alicia Camel 22, Hannah Moss 4, Kianna Finley 2, Lee Camel 7.

FAIRFIELD – Allix Goldhahn 6, Natalie Klinker 11, Chesney Rogers 4, Alexis McWilliams 2, Kaitlyn Jones 4, Mariah Maddox 3.