Hellgate upsets Glacier
Glacier post Jaxen Hashley floats up a shot in a crowd of Missoula Hellgate defenders during the first half at Glacier on Saturday. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)
Glacier forward Pat O'Connell dribbles through the Missoula Hellgate press during the second quarter at Glacier. (Aaric Bryan/Daily Inter Lake)
Missoula Hellgate found a way to limit Glacier on the court, handing the Wolfpack its first loss in nearly two months in a 67-56 Western AA boys basketball game on Saturday afternoon at Glacier High School.
Hellgate (13-5 overall, 7-3 Western AA) pulled ahead before halftime, holding Glacier to just eight points in the second quarter to take a 26-22 lead.
Glacier cut the lead to three points at the end of the third quarter but couldn’t get any closer, falling behind in the fourth quarter as the Knights closed out the game from the free-throw line.
Knights freshman Rollie Worster scored a game-high 30 points to lead Hellgate.
Brec Rademacher scored 14 points, Jaxen Hashley had 12 points and Tadan Gilman 10 points for Glacier (16-2, 9-1). The Wolfpack remains in first place despite the loss and already has a spot at the state tournament locked up with two games to play.
Hellgate 10 16 16 25 — 67
Glacier 14 8 17 17 — 56
HELLGATE — Derrius Collins 1 5-6 8, Bridger Liston 0 1-2 1, Dylan Holst 1 0-0 3, Kade Lunday 4 0-0 8, Bridger Deden 2 3-4 8, Landon Youbles 3 3-3 9, Rollie Worster 8 11-15 30. Totals: 19 23-30 67.
GLACIER — Pat O’Connell 3 1-1 7, Jaxen Hashley 4 4-4 12, Collin Kazmier 1 0-0 3, Caden Harkins 1 1-2 4, Jeremiah Martin 0 1-2 1, Brec Rademacher 5 0-0 14, Tadan Gilman 4 0-0 10, Torin Bowden 2 1-2 5. Totals: 20 8-11 56.
3-point goals—Hellgate 6 (Worster 3, Deden, Holst, Collins), Glacier 8 (Rademacher 4, Gilman 2, Kazmier, Harkins). Rebounds—Hellgate 31 (Deden 9), Glacier 24 (Hashley 7). Total fouls—Hellgate 15, Glacier 21. Fouled out—none.
Flathead 57,
Missoula Big Sky 40
Flathead bounced back from a slow start, rallying to win big in a Western AA rout of Missoula Big Sky at Flathead High School.
The Braves (9-9 overall, 5-5 Western AA) fell behind early, trailing 16-8 after the first quarter, but caught fire in the second quarter. Flathead went on a 23-7 run ahead of halftime, taking control of the contest with a 31-23 lead at halftime.
Flathead continued to pull away after the break, outscoring Big Sky 15-10 in the third quarter and 11-7 in the fourth.
Tyler Johnson hit four 3 pointers and was perfect from the free-throw line, piling up a game-high 24 points to lead the Braves. Sam Elliott had 15 points.
Jordan Casselman led Big Sky (2-15, 1-9) with 14 points.
Big Sky 16 7 10 7 — 40
Flathead 8 23 15 11 — 57
BIG SKY — Alex Simmons 4 0-0 10, Nick Wakai 2 1-2 6, Nick Yovotich 5 0-4 10, Jordan Casselman 5 0-0 14. Totals: 16 1-6 40.
FLATHEAD — Cade White 1 0-0 2, Cooper Barrett 1 0-0 3, Wyatt Potter 0 0-1 0, Bridger Johnson 1 1-2 3, Eric Seaman 1 1-2 3, Cole Gunderson 1 0-0 3, Tyler Johnson 8 4-4 24, Sam Elliott 4 7-8 15, Anthony Jones 1 0-0 2, Dawson Smith 0 2-2 2.
3-point goals—Big Sky 7 (Casselman 4, Simmons 2, Wakai), Flathead 6 (T. Johnson 4, B. Johnson, Seaman). Rebounds—Big Sky 23 (Yovotich 6), Flathead 36 (T. Johnson 9). Total fouls—Big Sky 18, Flathead 7. Fouled out—none.
Polson 78, Whitefish 31
POLSON — The Polson boys jumped out on Whitefish early and limited the Bulldogs to 10 points in the second half in a Northwest A rout.
The Pirates (13-5 overall, 5-1 Northwest A) led 24-7 after the first quarter and outscored Whitefish 21-7 in the third quarter to turn the game into a blowout.
Jeremiah North Piegan had 24 points, Matthew Rensvold had 17 points and Tanner Wilson 15 points for Polson. Rensvold also had 14 rebounds to post a double-double.
Derek Kastella led Whitefish (7-11, 2-4) with 11 points.
Whitefish 7 14 7 3 — 31
Polson 24 16 21 17 — 78
WHITEFISH — Derek Kastella 11, Murphy Wick 3, Sawyer Silliker 5, Ryan Kemm 3, Lee Walburn 3, Dillon Botner 6.
POLSON — J’Von Johnson 6, Robin Erickson 2, Jayden Bautista 8, Tanner Wilson 15, Jeremiah North Piegan 24, Connor Lanier 4, Matthew Rensvold 17, Parker Toth 2.
Stevensville 66,
Columbia Falls 56
STEVENSVILLE — Stevensville slowly pulled away from Columbia Falls in a nonconference contest.
Columbia Falls (3-15) trailed by only four points in the first quarter but continued to fall behind as the game went on. The Wildcats were down 32-24 at halftime and 49-38 after three quarters.
Logan Stephens had 23 points for Columbia Falls, Austin Green added 11 and Quintin Schriver 10.
Jarod Kingsbury had 23 points to lead Stevensville (7-11).
Columbia Falls 11 13 14 18 – 56
Stevensville 15 17 17 17 – 66
Columbia Falls – Austin Green 11, Logan Stephens 23, Quintin Schriver 10, Dakota Bridwell 8, DJ Schrade 4.
Stevensville – Jarod Kingsbury 23, James Fry 13, Dalton Bragg 9, Chayse Richards 10, Alex Gavlak 8, Luis Estrada 3.
GIRLS
Flathead 59, Big Sky 36
MISSOULA — Flathead dominated the first half, trouncing Missoula Big Sky in a Western AA conference game to end its five-game losing streak.
The Bravettes (8-10, 3-7) took off in the first quarter, but really took advantage in the second, outscoring Big Sky 24-6 into halftime to take a 42-17 lead.
Flathead extended the lead to 54-22 after three quarters before coasting to the finish.
Tiana Johnson had 18 points and both Kylee Meredith and Averie Olson had 12 points for Flathead.
Kelsi McEnaney had 16 points to lead Big Sky (2-15, 0-10).
Flathead 18 24 12 5 — 59
Big Sky 11 6 5 14 — 36
FLATHEAD — Kylee Meredith 5 0-2 12, Averie Olson 5 2-4 12, Mary Heaton 1 4-7 6, Sierra Siblerud 1 0-0 2, Kelsey Gillespie 2 1-2 6, Sara Clarin 1 1-2 3, Tiana Johnson 7 1-1 18.
BIG SKY — Megan Sweeney 2 4-4 10, Chelsea Todd 1 0-2 2, Sydney Louvar 1 0-0 2, Kesli McEnaney 3 10-14 16, Sydnee Zanto 1 2-2 5, Emma Tew 0 1-2 1.
3-point goals—Flathead 6 (Johnson 3, Meredith 2, Gillespie), Big Sky 3 (Sweeney 2, Zanto). Total fouls—Flathead 17, Big Sky 15. Fouled out—none.
Missoula Hellgate 30, Glacier 20
MISSOULA — Glacier struggled to score in a Western AA loss at Missoula Big Sky.
The Wolfpack (7-11, 5-5) led after the first quarter, but just 4-2, and couldn’t get its offense going. Glacier never got to double digits in a quarter and made only seven field goals in the game.
Ellie Stevens had 10 points to lead Glacier.
Syd Riddle had 23 points for Hellgate (7-11, 4-6), outscoring her opponents by herself.
Glacier 4 8 4 4 — 20
Hellgate 2 13 5 10 — 30
Glacier – Ellie Stevens 4 2-3 10, Nikki Krueger 1 0-0 2, Anna Schrade 3 2-3 8.
Hellgate – Kaci Paffhausen 1 1-3 3, Maddie Hamilton 0 3-5 3, Syd Riddle 7 5-5 23, Kaitlin Olson 0 1-2 1.
3-point goals – Glacier 0, Hellgate 4 (Syd Riddle 4). Total fouls – Glacier 12, Hellgate 8. Fouled out – none.
Polson 44, Whitefish 28
POLSON — Polson (4-14, 2-4) won its second Northwest A conference game of the season, topping Whitefish in its last home game of the season.
Whitefish (0-18, 0-6) finished the regular season winless.
Stats weren’t made available for the game.
Columbia Falls 87, Stevensville 33
STEVENSVILLE — Columbia Falls left little doubt in a blowout of Stevensville, finishing the regular season undefeated in Class A.
The Wildkats (17-1) led 33-6 after the first quarter and 58-11 at halftime in the rout.
Dani Douglas had 24 points to lead Columbia falls, who had four players score in double figures.
Evynne Alexander led Stevi (4-14) with 10 points.
Columbia Falls only loss is to Class AA Missoula Sentinel, which is undefeated.
Columbia Falls 33 25 25 4 – 87
Stevensville 6 5 14 8 – 33
Columbia Falls – Dani Douglas 24, Hannah Gedlaman 6, Haylie Peacock 2, Cydney Finberg 8, Peyton Kehr 13, Ryley Kehr 2, Kiara Burlage 15, Sydney Hovde 17.
Stevensville – Megan Pendergast 3, Evynne Alexander 10, Angel Richards 8, Haley Kampka 4, Kayla Schmiedeke 2, Makayla Davids 6.