Polson boys top Libby; Bigfork stuns Whitefish

POLSON — Malakai Curley scored a game-high 14 points and Polson pulled away from Libby in the second half for a 53-39 win in a Northwest A boys basketball play-in game Thursday evening.

Kyson Michel added 11 points for the Pirates (10-9), Cason Graham tallied 10. Polson outscored the Loggers 16-5 in the third quarter to break open the game. 

Ryan Beagle led the Loggers (3-16) with 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Isaac Lamere pitched in 10. 

Polson next hosts Bigfork Saturday at 5 p.m., with the winner taking the Northwest A’s No. 4 seed at the Western A divisional March 6-8 in Whitefish. 

Bigfork edged Whitefish 47-45 Thursday. 

Libby    9    11    5    14    -    39 

Polson     9    15    16    13    -    53

LIBBY — Aidan Rose 2, Ryan Beagle 13, Isaac Lamere 10, Alderic Martineau 4, Bransen Holzer 8, James Woody 2. 

POLSON — Kyson Mitchell 11, Jesse Vail 3, Holden Emerson 3, Maddox Bird 5, Malakai Curley 14, Cody Haggard 7, Cason Graham 10. 

Bigfork 47, Whitefish 45 

Treker Hickey scored 18 points and led a closing 17-1 run lifted the Vikings to a come-from-behind win. 

CJ Thew hit two 3-pointers and Dudley hit another in the third quarter as Whitefish built a 40-28 lead, and the Bulldogs were still up 44-30 on Thew’s basket with 6:28 left. 

The Bulldogs scored one more point: A free throw by Cooper Dudley with 2.7 seconds left. He missed the second on purpose, but Bigfork secured the rebound and win. 

Tamret Savik scored all of his five points in the final period, including a basket that tied the game at 44-44 with 1:30 left. 

After Whitefish missed two free throws, Hickey hit two with 48 seconds left, and Quinn Herring hit another with :08 remaining. 

Austin Savik added 12 points for Bigfork (7-12). Hickey had seven in the fourth quarter. 

Will Sisson and Scott Dalen had 13 each to lead Whitefish, which ended up 6-13. 

Whitefish    17    10    13    5    -    45 

Bigfork    17    6    5    19    -    47

WHITEFISH — Carson Gulick 3, Will Sisson 13, CJ Thew 8, Cooper Dudley 8, Scott Dalen 13. 

BIGFORK — Tamret Savik 5, Quinn Herring 3, Treker Hickey 18, Austin Savik 12, Alex Ochs 9.