Polson boys rally past Hamilton
BUTTE — Colton Graham scored 17 points and Polson rallied in the fourth quarter to take a 40-37 win over Hamilton at the Western A boys’ basketball divisional Thursday.
Barring an upset late Thursday, the Pirates (14-10) were the only Northwest A team to advance to the semifinals at the Civic Center. They’ll play Frenchtown, a 48-36 winner over Libby, today at 4 p.m.
Libby (9-7) and Hamilton (8-9) will play a loser-out game at 10 a.m..
Butte Central beat Ronan 67-50 in Thursday’s evening session. Columbia Falls and unbeaten Dillon squared off in the late game.
Jarrett Wilson added nine points for Polson, which trailed 33-27 heading to the final quarter. The Pirates played Frenchtown on Jan. 14, taking a 52-50 victory.
Hamilton 15 8 10 4 - 37
Polson 6 11 10 13 - 40
HAMILTON — Tanner Hanson 8, Austin Drake 10, Liam O’Connell 5, Eli Taylor 6, Tyler Burrows 6, Jack Ellis 2.
POLSON — Xavier Fisher 4, Jrrett Wilson 9, Darian Williams 3, Colton Graham 17, Trevor Lake 6, JC Steele 1.
Frenchtown 48,
Libby 36
Caden Williams scored a game-high 17 points for Libby, but the Loggers were undone by their slow second and fourth quarters.
The Broncs, putting three players in double figures, did most of their damage there.
Libby fell into a 10 a.m. loser-out game with Hamilton today.
Libby 14 4 12 6 — 36
Frenchtown 15 8 12 13 — 48
LIBBY — Caden Williams 17; Jay Beagle 7; TJ Andersen 6; Ryder Davis 2; Ryker McElmurry 2; Keilen Rausch 2.
FRENCHTOWN — Carson Shepard 14; Devin Shelton 12; Brandon Finley 11; Wyatt Hayes 5; Tel Arthur 4; Jeff Jacobs 2.
Butte Central 67,
Ronan 50
Dougie Peoples scored 25 points and Kyle Holeter 16 for the Maroons (11-6), who scored 44 second-half points to eat up a 30-23 deficit.
Leonard Burke scored 23 points for the Chiefs (9-7), 15 coming in the first half.
Dillon 65,
Columbia Falls 38
Connor Curnow had 15 points and nine rebounds for the Beavers (15-0), who will play Butte Central (11-6) in today’s 7 p.m. semifinal.
Jace Fitzgerald added 13 points as Dillon outscored the Wildcats (7-10) 39-17 in the second half.
Allen Knapton and Cade Morgan had 10 points each to lead Columbia Falls, which plays Ronan in a loser-out today at 1. Jace Hill checked in with six points and eight boards.
Columbia Falls 11 10 8 9 - 38
Dillon 14 12 23 16- 65
COLUMBIA FALLS — Cade Morgan 10, Mason Peters 2, Align Anderson 8, Jace Hill 6, Allec Knapton 10, Cooper Babcock 2.
DILLON — Daxon Graham 9, Cole Truman 7, Jonathan Kirkley 9, Connor Curnow 15, Jace Fitzgerald 13, Jonny Reiser 1, Caden Hansen 2, Eli Nourse 3, Callahan Hoffman 6.