Butte withstands rally by Flathead boys
Daily Inter Lake
BUTTE - A wild fourth quarter that saw Flathead make up a 12-point deficit ended with Butte pulling out the Western AA victory Saturday.
Trailing 56-44 with 6:23 Hunter Hickey scored the next 12 points for the Braves, who moved in front 64-63 midway through the period when Ethan VandenBosch made a steal and fed Joston Cripe for a layup.
Jake Olson answered for Butte, however, and the Bulldogs didn’t trail again.
Olson scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth period, when the teams combined for 62. Cripe scored 10 of his 23 in the final eight minutes as well; Hickey had 15 of his 17 in the frame.
Gabe Adams scored 15 points and VandenBosch added another 14 for Flathead, before both players fouled out.
The Braves play at Glacier Friday in the first crosstown matchup of the season.
Flathead 14 14 12 34 - 74
Butte 14 20 15 28 - 77
FLATHEAD — Hunter Hickey 6 3-4 17, Ethan VandenBosch 6 0-1 14, Gabe Adams 5 5-6 15, Ezra Epperly 1 0-2 3, Joston Cripe 7 5-7 23, Luke Leech 1 0-0 2, Connor Phillips 0 0-0 0, Gavin Chouinard 0 0-0 0, Tyler Larosn 0 0-0 0. Totals 26 13-20 74.
BUTTE (2-2) — Blake Drakos 1 2-4 5, Zach Merrifield 1 0-0 3, Cael Stenson 1 10-12 12, Billy Kelly 2 4-4 9, Jake Olson 10 5-6 25, Mikey O’Dell 4 1-2 11, Kenley Leary 3 0-0 8, Eric Loos 0 2-2 2, Kooper Klobucar 0 2-2 2. Totals 22 26-32 77.
3-point goals - Flathead 9 (Cripe 4, Hickey 2, VandenBosch 2, Epperly), Butte 7 (O’Dell 2, Leary 2, Drakos, Merrifield, Kelly). Fouls - Flathead 27, Butte 21. Fouled out - VandenBosch, Adams.
Elsewhere
CLASS AA
Missoula Hellgate 59, Glacier 29
MISSOULA — Josh Wade scored 13 first-half points while Missoula Hellgate built a 34-9 lead and the Knights cruised past Glacier in Western AA boys’ basketball action Saturday afternoon.
Cayve LaRance added 11 for the Knights. Will Salonen’s seven points led the Wolfpack (1-2). He hit a pair of 3-pointers.
Glacier’s next action is Friday: Flathead visits for the first cross-town boys’ game of the season.
Glacier 4 5 11 9 - 29
Hellgate 21 13 15 10 - 59
GLACIER — Jaxson Olsen 1 4-6 6, Weston Price 1 1-3 3, JT Allen 0 0-0 0, Will Salonen 2 1-2 7, Tyler Hausmann 2 0-0 5, Colin Presnell 0 0-0 0, Ty Olsen 0 2-2 2, Kyle Jassman 0 1-2 1, Connor Sullivan 1 0-0 3, Luke Bilau 0 0-0 0, Noah Dowler 1 0-0 2, J. Weber 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 9-15 29.
MISSOULA HELLGATE — Beckett Arthur 4 2-2 9, C. Kinch 1 2-2 4, Josh Wade 4 2-2 13, Cayve LaRance 3 4-4 11, T. Nilson 2 0-0 4, D. Bowe 2 2-2 8, Zach Johnson 2 3-3 7, Ian Finch 1 1-5 3, Leo Filardi 0 0-0 0, Brogan Callaghan 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 16-20 59.
3-point goals - Glacier 4 (Salonen 2, Hausmann, Sullivan), Hellgate 7 (Wade 3, Bowe 2, Arthur, LaRance). Fouls - Glacier 19, Hellgate 15. Fouled out - none.
CLASS A
Polson 58, Libby 46
POLSON — Jarrett Wilson scored 16 points and Polson built an early 12-point lead that held up in a Northwestern A matchup with Libby.
Xavier Fisher added 11 points for the Pirates. Caden Williams had a game-high 17 points for the Loggers.
Libby 10 14 12 10 - 46
Polson 19 14 9 16 - 58
LIBBY — Cy Stevenson 11, Jay Beagle 13, Caden Wiliams 17, T.J. Andersen 5.
POLSON — JC Steele 4, Xavier Fisher 11, Jarrett Wilson 16, Sam Fisher 2, Darian Williams 5, Colton Graham 9, Braunson Hendriksen 7, Trevor Lake 4.
Browning 64, Columbia Falls 60
COLUMBIA FALLS — Blayne DeRoche scored 16 points to lead a balanced Browning offense and the Indians held off Columbia Falls in Northwestern A play Saturday.
Joseph Bullshoe and Jesse Carlson added 14 each for Browning, which built a 13-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Jace HIll scored 10 of his game-high 23 points as Columbia Falls rallied only to fall short. The Wildcats hit four threes in the final 8 minutes.
Browning 15 11 13 25 - 64
C. Falls 12 7 18 23 - 60
BROWNING — Blayne DeRoche 16, Cody Carlson 7, Thunder Smith 3, Joseph Bullshoe 15, Cash Lazyboy 2, Jesse Carlson 14, Luke Juneau 4, Brayds Vielle 3.
COLUMBIA FALLS — Cade Morgan 1, Mason Peters 6, Alihn Anderson 11, Jace Hill 28, Alec Knapton 14.
CLASS B
Eureka 68, Troy 27
TROY — Joey Kindel, Hazen Bohne and Gavin Banks fueled a 30-5 first quarter run for Eureka, which went on to beat Troy in District 7-B play.
Banks hit two 3-pointers, Kindle scored seven points and Bohne had six as well in the first eight minutes. Danny Dunn led the Lions with 13 points, while Michael Foote had a game-high 14 for Troy.
Eureka 30 15 16 7 - 68
Troy 8 5 8 6 - 27
EUREKA — Joey Kindel 10, Danny Dunn 13, Gavin Bates 12, Hazen Bohne 9, T.J. Carr 7, Carson Komac 1, Caleb Utter 5, Colter Cassaza 8, Corbin Hurst 2, Tristan Butts 1.
TROY — Trevor Grant 4, Paxton Fisher 9, Michael Foote 14.
Florence-Bigfork
postponed
The varsity game scheduled for Saturday between visiting Florence and Bigfork has been postponed because several Bigfork players are under quarantine. A makeup date had not been determined.
GIRLS
CLASS B
Eureka 62, Stillwater Christian 47
EUREKA — Kyla Bohne scored 23 points and Rhianna Hawkins added 15 in Eureka’s non-conference girls’ basketball win over Stillwater Christian Saturday.
Bohne scored all of her points in the first three quarters to help the District 7-B Lions to a 48-31 lead.
Zoe Linn had 15 points for Stillwater, an MCAA member. Madison Morken added 12 in a losing cause.
Stillwater 11 10 10 16 - 47
Eureka 17 13 18 14 - 62
STILLWATER CHRISTIAN — Bailey Pruitt 4, Zoe Linn 15, Marae Tintzman 3, Madison Morken 12, Sophia Sulzbacher 7, Emma Anderson 6.
EUREKA — Michael Shea 2, Kyla Bohne 23, Rhianna Hawkins 15, Katie Schmidt 9, Reena Simmons 4, Jadyn Pluid 9.
Bigfork 56, Florence 48
BIGFORK — The Bigfork Valkyries took charge of a see-saw game in the fourth quarter to chalk up a non-conference win over the Florence Falcons.
The Vals were led by Emma Berreth with 26 points and Scout Nadeau with 14. The Falcons got 10 points from Kelsen Zahn.
Florence 10 19 12 7 - 48
Bigfork 8 17 15 16 - 56
FLORENCE — Kelsen Zahn 10, Trista Williams 9, Kylie Kovatch 9, Kasidy Yoeman 7, Olivia Coulter 5, Josie Lewis 5, Kolbi Wood 3.
BIGFORK — Emma Berreth 26, Scout Nadeau 14, Madison Chappius 9, Alexis Saari 3, Audrey Buenz 2, Callie Martinz 2.
CLASS AA
Butte-Flathead
makeup Feb. 23
Saturday’s game between Butte and Flathead in Kalispell, which was postponed by COVID-19 concerns with Butte, has been rescheduled for Feb. 23 at 5:30 p.m.
There is cross-town wrestling that night at Flathead as well, so the girls’ game will take place in the Gene Boyle Gym.