Polson boys punch ticket to state
RONAN — The Polson Pirates punched their ticket to the Class A State basketball tournament on Saturday, earning the fourth Western seed.
Polson lost 63-35 to Butte Central in the consolation round but beat Whitefish earlier in the day in loser-out play.
Browning won the boys Western AA title, beating Frenchtown 52-45 in the championship.
Browning beat Whitefish in loser-out play and then triumphed 48-22 over Dillon in the consolation game to earn the third Western seed for the state tournament.
Corvallis edged Hamilton 44-43 in the girls championship game to take the Western A title.
Polson 50, Whitefish 44
Colton Graham poured in 15 points, 13 in the first half, and the Polson Pirates beat the Whitefish Bulldogs 50-44 in consolation play at the boys Western A Divisional Tournament at Ronan High School.
Polson had a seven-point lead after the first quarter and Whitefish narrowed the gap by halftime with a 17-point second quarter.
Justin Conklin led the Bulldogs with 14 points and Jayce Cripe added 10.
Whitefish 4 17 11 12 — 44
Polson 11 15 10 14 — 50
WHITEFISH — Justin Conklin 14, Jayce Cripe 10, Bodie Smith 9, Sam Menicke 6, Talon Holmquist 5.
POLSON — Colton Graham 15, Ryker Wenderoth 11, Trevor Lake 9, Xavier Fisher 6, Anton Lefthand 5, Gunner Grisak 4.
Girls
Browning 49, Whitefish 33
Browning shot off to an early lead against Whitefish, scoring 19 points in the first quarter, and didn’t relent as they rolled to a win in the loser-out bracket.
Dulci Skunkcap paced the Lady Indians, who led 33-15 at the half, with 20 points.
For Whitefish, Gracie Smyley led with 10 points. Hope Brown added eight.
Whitefish 7 8 10 8 — 33
Browning 19 14 7 9 — 49
WHITEFISH — Gracie Smyley 10, Hope Brown 8, Erin Wilde 4, Taylor Means 4, Jadi Walburn 2, Kali Brubaker 2, Ashley Gunsel 2, Payton Kastella 1.
BROWNING — Dulci Skunkcap 20, Walker Running Crane 7, Tatum Running Crane 5, Tamika Guardipee 5, Mecca Bullchild 3, Chalissa Kipp 3, Kelsey MadPlume 2, Alena Burdeau 2, Hailey Racine 2.
Western A Divisional
Boys
Ronan
(4 teams advance to State)
Thursday
Frenchtown 48, Polson 39
Butte Central 56, Ronan 30
Whitefish 49, Hamilton 42
Browning 67, Dillon 59
Friday
Polson 65, Ronan 55, loser-out
Hamilton 52, Dillon 32, loser-out
Frenchtown 49, Butte Central 33, semifinal
Browning 68, Whitefish 39, semifinal
Saturday
Polson 50, Whitefish 44, loser-out
Butte Central 41, Hamilton 40, loser-out
Butte Central 63, Polson 35, consolation
Browning 52, Frenchtown 45, championship
Western A Divisional
GIRLS
Ronan
(4 teams advance to State)
Thursday
Corvallis 50, Columbia Falls 32
Whitefish 41, Dillon 37
Hamilton 45, Ronan 37
Frenchtown 37, Browning 29
Friday
Dillon 47, Columbia Falls 35, loser-out
Browning 77, Ronan 46, loser-out
Corvallis 41, Whitefish 23, semifinal
Hamilton 43, Frenchtown 39, semifinal
Saturday
Dillon 46, Frenchtown 34, loser-out
Browning 49, Whitefish 33, loser-out
Browning 48, Dillon 22, consolation
Corvallis 44 (15-6) vs. Hamilton 43