Bigfork boys spill Deer Lodge in West B divisional opener

RONAN — Deer Lodge held the explosive Bigfork offense in check like few teams have this year.

But when offense was tough to come by, the defense stepped up for the Vikings.

Bigfork limited Deer Lodge to eight points in the first half and cruised to another comfortable win — 44-27 — in its first-round matchup at the Western B divisional boys basketball tournament on Thursday morning at the Ronan Event Center.

Beau Santistevan and Logan Gilliard each poured in 12 points to lead the Vikings offensively.

Bigfork led 29-8 at halftime and was never seriously threatened despite being outscored in the second half.

Bigfork (19-0) advances to semifinal play today at 4 p.m. versus Anaconda while Deer Lodge falls into loser-out action at 8 a.m. versus Eureka.

Bigfork 15 14 11 4 — 44

Deer Lodge 5 3 10 9 — 27

Bigfork — Anders Epperly 9, Colton Reichenback 5, Randy Stultz 2, Logan Taylor 4, Logan Gilliard 12, Bean Saintstevens 12.

Deer Lodge — Ben Anderson 2, Judd Applegate 6, Greydon Nicholson 8, Dyllon McDermid 2, Zack Havener 2, Tristan Smith 5, Dalton Paeley 2.

Anaconda 59, Eureka 23

RONAN — Braxton Hill racked up 36 points as Anaconda rolled over Eureka.

Hill scored 15 points in the first quarter alone, more than Eureka’s total in the first three quarters combined.

Anaconda led 29-11 at the half and 40-13 after three quarters.

Colton Cooper led Eureka with seven points.

Anaconda moves on to semifinal play today versus Bigfork at 4 p.m. In loser-out action, Eureka meets Deer Lodge at 8 a.m.

Anaconda 19 10 11 19 — 59

Eureka 5 6 2 10 — 23

Anaconda — Braxton Hill 36, Trent Mikalatos 12, Kyler Gochanour 2, Riley Cobban 1, Zeke Buck 2.

Eureka — Austin Calleder 2, Corbin Hurst 3, Quade Anderson 3, Colton Cooper 7, Alex Lowell 3, Corey Chaney 5.

Missoula Loyola 65, Troy 19

RONAN — Eleven players scored for Missoula Loyola, which rolled to an easy victory over Troy.

Jack Lincoln topped the scoring parade with 14 points. Bridger Bell added 12 for Loyola, which led 39-11 at the half.

Troy was held to four points scoring in the first, third and fourth quarters.

Missoula Loyola advances to a semifinal game today at 5:40 p.m. against Florence-Carlton.

Troy falls into loser-out action at 9:40 a.m. versus Thompson Falls.

Missoula Loyola 16 23 13 13 — 65

Troy 4 7 4 4 — 19

MISSOULA LOYOLA — Jack Lincoln 14, Scotty Twite 4, Jacob Hollenback 2, Ryan Tirrell 2, Charles Burns 8, Cooper Waters 4, David Koppang 8, Bucky Crippen 5, Bridger Bell 12, Liam Haffey 4, Joey McElroy 2.

TROY —Austin McCully 3, Jay Stever 2, Dylan Cummings 2, AJ Faur 2, Hunter Leighty 2, Alex Fruend 4.

Florence-Carlton 69, Thompson Falls 42

RONAN — Marcus Zeiler rattled the nets for 40 points in Florence-Carlton’s romp over Thompson Falls.

Zeiler had 15 field goals, seven from 3-point range, and was 3 of 5 shooting at the free-throw line.

He had 13 points in the first quarter, seven in the second, eight in the third and 12 in the fourth.

Brent Stroppel added 10 points for the victors.

Florence-Carlton led 33-19 at the half and outscored Thompson Falls 36-23 in the final half.

Danny Hoisington and Payton Frields led Thompson Falls offensively with 15 and 13, points, respectively.

Thompson Falls had a rough night at the free-throw line, making just nine of 22 attempts.

Florence-Carlton moves on to semifinal action today at 5:40 p.m. versus Missoula Loyola.

Thompson Falls has a loser-out game at 9:40 a.m. with Troy.

Florence-Carlton 17 16 16 20 — 69

Thompson Falls 7 12 16 7 — 42

FLORENCE-CARLTON — Tyce Pedersen 6, Marcus Zeiler 40, Brenden Bailey 2, Dillon Christoperson 5, Jacob Round 2, Brent Stroppel 10, Parker Hotsinpiller 4.

THOMPSON FALL — Danny Hoisington 15, Payton Frields 13, Nate Thibeault 9, Jake Long 5.

Girls

Florence-Carlton 61, Thompson Falls 34

RONAN — A trio of double-digit scorers led top-seeded Florence-Carlton to a blowout win over Thompson Falls.

Danielle Zahn scored a game-high 21, and Makenna Liles and Rilee Mangun added 14 and 12, respectively, for the victors.

Florence-Carlton led 34-18 at halftime and 48-24 after the third quarter.

Megan Baxter paced Thompson Falls with 15 points.

Florence-Carlton heads for semifinal play today at 7:20 p.m. versus Deer Lodge.

Thompson Falls has a loser-out test at 11:20 a.m. against Eureka.

Thompson Falls 6 12 6 10 — 34

Florence-Carlton 18 16 14 13 — 61

THOMPSON FALLS — Riley Wilson 2, Belle Cooper 6, Haley Morgan 1, Jody Detleff 10, Megan Baxter 15.

FLORENCE-CARLTON — Emma Stenstewm 6, Brooklyn Newbery 2, Jewel Zeiler 6, Rilee Mangun 12, Makenna Liles 14, Danielle Zahn 21.

Deer Lodge 37, Eureka 19

RONAN — Deer Lodge nearly doubled the score on Eureka in an 18-point victory.

Deer Lodge outscored Eureka 13-0 in the third quarter to take a 34-11 lead.

Riley Gray led Deer Lodge in scoring with 11 points.

Megan Hanson was the high-pointer for Eureka with five points.

Deer Lodge advances to semifinal play tonight at 7:20 versus Florence-Carlton.

Eureka drops to loser-out action at 11:20 a.m. against Thomspon Falls.

Deer Lodge 11 10 13 3 — 37

Eureka 6 5 0 8 — 19

DEER LODGE —Darcy Walker 2, Josee Applegate 8, Riley Gray 11, Jordan Senecal 2, Kamryn Scully 2, Alyssa Lamb 2, Jessie Graveley 2, Ariel Clark 8.

EUREKA — Megan Hanson 5, Avory Escobar 1, Sienna Utter 3, Roxanna Hawkins 2, Liz Pacella 3, Maggie Graves 1, Erynn Thier 4.

Bigfork 52, Anaconda 38

RONAN — Bigfork held Anaconda scoreless for the first eight minutes and never trailed in posting the victory.

Bigfork was up 25-13 at the half and 36-19 after three quarters.

Jaime Berg led Bigfork offensively with 19 points. Ellie Berreth was next with 14.

Sydney Peterson topped Anaconda with 11 points.

Bigfork struggled at the free-throw line, hitting on 19 of 34 attempts.

Bigfork moves on to semifinal play tonight at 9 p.m. against Troy or Missoula Loyola, who played a late game after deadline on Thursday.

Anaconda falls to loser-out action versus the Troy/Missoula Loyola loser at 1 p.m.

Bigfork 9 16 11 16 — 52

Anaconda 0 13 6 19 — 38

BIGFORK — Abby Lembke 2, Ellie Berreth 14, Shae Anderson 8, Abby Ellison 2, Heidi Schneller 1, Jaime Berg 19, Jordan Nelson 4, Rakiah Grende 2.

ANACONDA — Claire Miller 6, Sydney Peterson 11, Ariedna Matson 2, Isabell Saltenberg 4, Logan Stetzner 9, Johanna Forsber 6.

Troy vs. Missoula Loyola

Results not available by press deadline.