BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Sentinel boys drop Columbia Falls, Flathead boys fall in Great Falls
COLUMBIA FALLS — Columbia Falls could not rebound from a horrible second quarter, losing 63-48 to Missoula Sentinel on Saturday in a boys nonconference contest between Class A and AA teams.
Sentinel jumped out to a 24-16 lead after the first period, but outscored the Wildcats 12-2 in the second quarter for a 36-18 halftime lead.
“The boys played great halfcourt defense,” Columbia Falls coach John Anderson said.
“Sentinel was able to beat us in transition and shot the lights out.”
Anderson said the Wildcats “went cold” in the second quarter.
“We had a lot of bunnies we didn’t make there,” he said.
“There was a lid on the basket in the second quarter.”
Tyler Murphy led Columbia Falls in scoring with 13 point.
Sam Beighle had 18 points and Mitch Roberts 12 for Sentinel.
Missoula Sentinel 24 12 14 13 — 63
Columbia Falls 16 2 12 18 — 48
MISSOULA SENTINEL — Wacey Thompson 8, Sam Beighle 18, Mitch Roberts 12, Will Mytty 6, Mitch Reynolds 3, Bridger Deden 8, Ethan Jones 2, Jory Breen 4, Griffin Line 2.
COLUMBIA FALLS — Nathan Riley 1, Logan Stephens 9, Austin Green 1, Tyler Murphy 13, Steven DeCamp 9, Dakota Bridwell 9, Matthew Morrison 2, Mason Tucker 2, DJ Schrade 2.
C.M. Russell 61, Flathead 55
GREAT FALLS — C.M. Russell used a strong second half to rally past Flathead for the Class AA nonconference victory.
Flathead held a 28-20 lead at the intermission, but was outscored 41-27 after that.
Matt Marshall tallied 16 points for Flathead.
Karl Tucker II had 22 points and Sam Vining 16 for CMR.
Flathead 15 13 14 13 — 55
Russell 9 11 25 16 — 61
Flathead — Matt Marshall 4 5-6 16, Cade White 3 3-6 9, Kye AuClaire 1 0-2 2, Bridger Johnson 6 1-1 13, Wyatt Smith 3 0-0 6, C.J. Dugan 0 0-1 0, Tyler John son 3 0-2 9. Totals: 20 9-18 55.
C.M. Russell — Chris Moore 0 1-2 1, Sam Vining 4 4-4 16, Carrison Rothwell 0 1-3 1, Xavier Pace 4 0-0 10, Karl Tucker II 8 6-11 22, Trevor Pepin 4 1-2 9, Caleb Gagne 1 0-0 2. Totals: 21 13-21 61.
Fouls – Flathead 22, Russell 17. Fouled out – White, Dugan. 3-pointers – Marshall 3, T. Johnson 3, Vining 4, Pace 2.
Whitefish 48, Thompson Falls 44
WHITEFISH — Derek Kastella scored 17 points and Whitefish held on to knock off Thompson Falls.
The Bulldogs raced out to a 13-4 lead at the end of one quarter, but the Blue Hawks pulled within 21-19 at halftime. Whitefish stretched the lead to 35-30 after three.
Jacob Henry joined Kastella in double-figures with 11 points for Whitefish.
Tanner Laws scored 14 points to lead Thompson Falls. The Bulldogs held Blue Hawks star Trais Hoisington to six points.
Thompson Falls 4 15 11 14 — 44
Whitefish 13 8 14 13 — 48
THOMPSON FALLS — Trais Hoisington 6, Tanner Laws 14, Corey Tessier 9, Joe Lundberg 2, Joe Fields 9, Tyler Riffle 4.
WHITEFISH — Derek Kastella 17, Jacob Henry 11, Zander Wold 6, Sawyer Silliker 8, Matt Brewer 4, Ryan Kemm 2.
Polson 67, Libby 48
POLSON — Matthew Rensvold scored a career high 31 points as Class A Polson defeated Class B Libby in a nonconference contest.
Rensvold scored 19 points in the first half as the Pirates held a 29-24 lead. Polson put the game away with a 27-point third quarter.
Ryggs Johnston, who had five treys in the contest, topped Libby in scoring with 17 points.
Libby 17 7 13 11 — 48
Polson 14 15 27 11 — 67
LIBBY — Jonny Cielak 7, Ryggs Johston 17, Gabe Peck 3, Anthony Johnson 10, Stetson Enyert 1, Erik Lauer 10.
POLSON — Wyatt Decharme 6, Jevon Niemeyer 2, Payton Lefthand 8, Tanner Wilson 5, Haden Smith 2, Shade May 4, Matthew Rensvold 31, Hudston Smith 4, Julian Jones 5.
Florence 53, Bigfork 49
FLORENCE — Florence took charge down the stretch, holding off a strong push from Bigfork in a narrow nonconference victory in a game between two of the last unbeaten teams in Class B.
The Vikings fell behind after a big first quarter, trailing 28-22 at half. Bigfork trailed by nine entering the fourth quarter, but rallied to take the lead midway through the period.
Florence scored a putback in the final seconds to take the lead for good.
Jon Landon led the Vikings with 16 points and Joseph Potkonjak had 11.
Bigfork 12 10 10 17 — 49
Florence 7 21 13 12 — 53
BIGFORK – Anders Epperly 2, Adam Jordt 7, Joseph Potkonjak 11, Jon Landon 16, George Gibson 7, Garrett Beville 6.
FLORENCE – Bo Zeiler 9, Marcus Zeiler 11, Levi Clagett 12, Cody Liles 2, Jake Christopherson 9, Dan Mickelson 10.
Stillwater Christian 62, Helena Christian 42
HELENA — Stillwater Christian School improved to 12-1 overall with its 20-point victory over Helena Christian in a Montana Christian Athletic Association Western Division game.
Stillwater, up 33-20 at the half, outscored Helena 29-22 in the final half.
Joe Hooker topped the offense with 16 points. BJ Bach was next with 13.
Brad Asbury tallied 14 points for Helena Christian.
Stillwater 14 19 14 15 — 62
Helena Christian 8 12 9 13 — 42
STILLWATER CHRISTIAN — Micah Friesen 7, Clayton Hashley 2, BJ Bach 13, Jared Feveit 2, Joe Hooker 16, Isaac Neumann 9, Nicholas Sulzbacher 6, Rylee Metzger 2, Chasen Waltman 3, Bo Mackay 2.
HELENA CHRISTIAN — Seth Kerttula 5, Connor Koenig 5, Cole Koenig 2, Brad Asbury 14, Tanner Marks 12, Zach Fenlason 4.
Girls
Stillwater Christian 32, Helena Christian 22
HELENA — Serena Koch scored 10 of her game-high 12 points in the first half as Stillwater Christian defeated Helena Christian in a Montana Christian Athletic Association Western Division game.
Lulu Neuman had 10 rebounds and added six points for SCS (6-5, 2-1).
Emma Kerttula led Helena with 12 points.
Stillwater Christian 10 10 7 5 — 32
Helena Christian 10 7 2 3 — 22
HELENA CHRISTIAN — Jaelynn Harlan 1, Faith Dobyns 5, Emma Kerttula 12, Shelby Austin 4.
STILLWATER CHRISTIAN — Rochelle Fisher 2, Serena Koch 12, Haleigh Schwartz 1, Lulu Neumann 6, Alisa Venman 7, Ramey Metzger 1, Helen Hashley 3.
Bigfork 60, Florence 32
FLORENCE — The Bigfork girls pulled away early to earn a nonconference win over Florence.
Miranda Campbell had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Lana Berg 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Valkyries, who led 11-4 after the first quarter and 30-11 at half. Jaime Berg scored 12 points for Bigfork.
Ally Rust and Danielle Zahn each had seven points to lead Florence.
Bigfork 11 19 14 16 — 60
Florence 4 7 12 9 — 32
BIGFORK—Haile Norred 9, Jaime Berg 12, Emilee Park 1, Mattison McAnally 6, Katie Thomas 7, Lana Berg 11, Miranda Campbell 14.
FLORENCE—Alexis Toulde 2, Joey Janetski 3, Autumn Round 2, Ally Rust 7, McKenna Liles 6, Danielle Zahn 7, Chloe Arthur 3, Meghan St. Germain 2.
Whitefish 63, Thompson Falls 48
WHITEFISH — Whitefish exploded for 23 points in the second quarter to run away with a nonconference win against Class B Thompson Falls.
Dani Douglas scored 23 points, including 11 in the second quarter to spur the Bulldogs to victory. Coral Schulz scored 14 points for the Bulldogs.
Shey Hannum had 23 points to lead Thompson Falls.
Thompson Falls 16 11 15 6 — 48
Whitefish 8 23 17 15 — 63
THOMPSON FALLS—Lindsay Laws 14, Shey Hannum 23, Maya Stiles 3, Haley Wilson 1, Brooke Jacobs 2, Haley Morgan 5.
WHITEFISH—Dani Douglas 23, Coral Schulz 14, Allie Schulz 7, Annisa Brown 4, Haley Nicholson 3, Makenna Benbrook 8, Cailyn Ross 4.