Bigfork sweeps divisional hoop championships
RONAN — Having already clinched a berth at the state tournament before tip-off, Bigfork competed in the Western B divisional championship game without the slighest bit of pressure.
So much was evident on the scoreboard.
The Vikings played the same brand of loose, free, explosive basketball that allowed it to plow through the regular season undefeated in a 70-58 victory over Missoula Loyola on Saturday night to claim the Western B boys crown at the Ronan Event Center.
The Bigfork girls also won the divisional championship, defeating Deer Lodge 41-36.
Anders Epperly and Logan Gilliard tied for scoring honors with 18 each. Clayton Reichenbach and Beau Santistevan notched 12 points apiece.
Epperly helped ice the game in the fourth quarter, sinking 11 of his 12 attempts from the free-throw line in the period.
The Vikings improved to 21-0 on the season.
Bigfork pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring Loyola 18-8. The Vikings previously defeated the Rams twice in the regular season.
Jack Lincoln paced Loyola with 14 points.
Bigfork 17 13 18 22 — 70
Loyola 16 12 8 22 — 58
BIGFORK: Anders Epperly 18, Clayton Reichenbach 12, Colton Reichenbach 3, Logan Taylor 1, Chase Chappuis 6, Logan Gilliard 18, Beau Santistevan 12.
MISSOULA LOYOLA: Jack Lincoln 14, Scotty Twite 8, Jacob Hollenback 11, Ryan Tirrell 5, Charles Burns 3, David Koppang 10, Bridger Bell 2, Joey McElroy 5.
Anaconda 79,
Thompson Falls 48
RONAN — Anaconda rebounded from a crushing double-overtime loss to Bigfork on Friday to rout Thompson Falls in the consolation semifinals.
Braxton Hill sent home 25 points for Anaconda to outdo Danny Hoisington’s 20 for Thompson Falls.
Dawson West (15), Braedon Sawyer (13) and Michael Galle (12) also scored in double figures for Anaconda.
The Copperheads outscored the Blue Hawks 46-18 in the first and fourth quarters combined.
Anaconda 21 17 16 25 — 79
Thompson Falls 6 17 13 12 — 48
Anaconda: Kyle Gochanour 3, Michael Galle 12, Braedon Sawyer 13, Beroy Wilson 3, Dawson West 15, Braxton Hill 25, Riley Cobban 4, Zeke Buck 3, Peyton Klanecky 1.
Thompson Falls: Ryan Schraeder 2, Dylan Beckman 3, Danny Hoisington 20, Grant Lundberg 7, Trey Fisher 2, Kade Pardee 2, Nate Thibeault 6, Jake Long 4.
Florence-Carlton 49,
Deer Lodge 40
RONAN — A trio of double-digit scorers snapped Florence-Carlton out of an early lull and sparked it in the second half of a win over Deer Lodge in the consolation semifinals.
Marcus Zeiler led the comeback with 16 points, 15 of which came in the second half. He was 8 of 10 from the charity stripe.
Tyce Pederson added 10 points for Florence-Carlton.
Brendan Bailey scored all 10 of his points in a furious fourth-quarter rally for the Falcons. Behind Bailey’s three 3-pointers, Florence-Carlton outscored Deer Lodge 21-10 in the final eight minutes.
The Falcons bested Deer Lodge 34-15 in the second half after trailing 25-15 at the half.
Deer Lodge 12 13 5 10 — 40
Florence 6 9 13 21 — 49
DEER LODGE: Ben Anderson 7, Judd Applegate 7, Greydon Nicholson 11, Dyllon McDermid 13, Dalton Pavley 2.
FLORENCE-CARLTON: Tyce Pederson 10, Marcus Zeiler 16, Brendan Bailey 10, Dillion Christopherson 3, Jacob Round 2, Brent Stoppel 4, Parker Hotsinpiller 4.
Anaconda 66,
Florence-Carlton 49
RONAN — Anaconda put the game out of reach early in a win over Florence-Carlton in the consolation finals.
The Copperheads led 36-15 by halftime.
Florence-Carlton picked up the pace in the second half behind Marcus Zeiler’s 27 points.
Braxton Hill paced Anaconda with 23 points. Zeke Buck added 13, and Michael Galle chipped in 11 for the Copperheads.
Florence 6 9 17 17 — 49
Anaconda 18 18 18 12 — 66
FLORENCE-CARLTON: Tyce Pederson 3, Marcus Zeiler 27, Brendan Bailey 1, Dillon Christopherson 2, Jacob Round 4, Brent Stroppel 12.
ANACONDA: Michael Galle 11, Braedon Sawyer 9, Dawson Weist 2, Trent Mikalatos 8, Braxton Hill 23, Zeke Buck 13.
Girls
Bigfork 41, Deer Lodge 36
RONAN — Make it a clean sweep for Bigfork.
A couple of hours after the Bigfork boys captured the divisional championship with a win over Missoula Loyola, the Bigfork girls did the same with a victory against Deer Lodge.
Tied at 27 after three quarters, the Valkyries outscored the Wardens 14-9 in the final period.
Jaime Berg poured in a game-high 20 points to lead Bigfork to the championship. Twelve of those points came from the charity stripe. She made six free throws in the fourth quarter alone to ice the game for the Valkyries.
Bigfork limited each of Deer Lodge’s eight scorers to seven points or fewer.
Deer Lodge 5 11 11 9 — 36
Bigfork 7 11 9 14 — 41
DEER LODGE: Darcy Walker 7, Josee Applegate 3, Riley Gray 2, Jordan Senecal 3, Rachael Nicholson 6, Kamryn Scully 5, Alyssa Lamb 4, Ariel Clark 6.
BIGFORK: Abby Lembke 4, Ellie Berreth 3, Shae Anderson 7, Abby Ellison 6, Jaime Berg 20, Rakiah Grende 1.
Florence-Carlton 62,
Missoula Loyola 55
RONAN — The second quarter was a decisive one in Florence-Carlton’s victory over Missoula Loyola in the consolation finals.
The Falcons outscored the Breakers 17-7 in the second period of a seven-point win.
Danielle Zahn dropped a game-high 21 points to pace Florence-Carlton.
Tessa Burke led Loyola with 20.
Loyola 11 7 19 18 — 55
Florence 10 17 17 18 — 62
MISSOULA LOYOLA: Brooke Twite 6, Sam Clevenger 5, Syd Koppang 4, Violet Whitegrass 2, Tessa Burke 20, Kenna Guenther 5, Laney Denning 13.
FLORENCE-CARLTON: Emma Stensrud 8, Brooklyn Newbary 2, Jewel Zeiler 4, Rilee Mangun 11, Danielle Zahn 21, Teriauna Amt 16.
Missoula Loyola 48,
Eureka 32
RONAN — Missoula Loyola dominated the final three quarters to end Eureka’s season in the consolation semifinals.
Deadlocked at 11 after eight minutes, Loyola preceeded to outscore Eureka 37-21 over the final three quarters.
Erynn Thier scored 14 points to lead the Lions. The Breakers limited Eureka’s star guard, Sienna Utter, to five points, including just one field goal.
Tessa Burke racked up 12 of her game-high 16 points in the second half to help Loyola distance itself.
Eureka 11 2 10 9 — 32
Loyola 11 9 14 14 — 48
EUREKA: Avory Escobar 2, Sienna Utter 5, Rhianna Hawkins 1, Maggie Graves 8, Karlee Frost 2, Erynn Thier 14.
MISSOULA LOYOLA: Sam Clevenger 6, Syd Koppang 12, Violet Whitegrass 1, Tessa Burke 16, McKenna Round 2, Kenna Guenther 2, Kylie Esh 7, Laney Denning 2.
Florence-Carlton 65,
Anaconda 51
RONAN — Danielle Zahn and Makenna Liles both turned in big scoring performances to lead Florence-Carlton over Anaconda in the consolation semifinals.
Zahn dropped a game-high 22 points, and Liles was right on her heels with 19. Rilee Mangun added 10 to the Falcons’ cause.
Logan Stetzner led Anaconda with 12.
Florence-Carlton led 31-20 by halftime and stretched its lead late by outscoring Anaconda 19-11 in the fourth quarter.
Florence 14 17 15 19 — 65
Anaconda 9 11 20 11 — 51
Florence-CARLTON: Emma Stensrud 4, Joey Janetski 8, Jewel Zeiler 2, Rilee Mangun 10, Makenna Liles 19, Danielle Zahn 22.
Anaconda: Sydney Peterson 11, Megan Reich 7, Isabell Saltbengerger 6, Logan Stetzner 12, Johanna Forsberg 9.
Late Friday
Bigfork 62,
Missoula Loyola 49
RONAN — Jaime Berg helped Bigfork overcome an early deficit and advance to the Western B divisional championship in semifinal action against Missoula Loyola late Friday night.
Berg poured in a game-best 21 points and was perfect from the foul line at 6 for 6.
Loyola, which led 10-8 after a quarter, made a run in the fourth quarter with 23 points, but Bigfork countered with 22 of its own to maintain a double-digit margin.
The Valkyries outscored the Breakers by a combined 32-16 in the second and third quarters.
Bigfork 8 15 17 22 — 62
Loyola 10 8 8 23 — 49
BIGFORK: Abby Lembke 9, Ellie Berreth 4, Shae Anderson 12, Abby Ellison 2, Jaime Berg 21, Jordan Nelson 8, Rakiah Grende 6.
MISSOULA LOYOLA: Brook Twite 2, Sam Clevenger 14, Syd Koppang 8, Tessa Burke 10, McKenna Rains 4, Kylie Esh 9, Laney Denning 2.