The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

The High school basketball season kicked into high gear this past weekend as a Harlem Wildcats, Chinook Sugarbeeters, Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and Turner Tornadoes all begin the conference season

Each team has a couple of its games under their belt, having played in their own respective preseason tournaments but now the games have a bit more meaning as District 2B and District 9C play got underway.

The Chinook Sugarbeeters and Harlem Wildcats both picked up a pair of important wins to begin their conference season. Friday the Sugarbeeters topped the Thunderbirds in Hays 88-56 and Saturday blasted the Big Sandy Pioneers 68-23. The Wildcats battled to a 59-53 win over the Malta Mustangs Friday and earned a 59-56 win over the Wolf Point Wolves on Saturday.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds bounced back on Saturday to defeat the test to Chester/Joplin-Inverness Hawks 53-42. The Turner Tornadoes suffered a pair of setbacks to the North Star Knights, 65-42 and the Fort Benton Longhorns 63-54 to begin conference play.

Friday night in Hays the Sugarbeeters looked to get off to a fast start in the District 9C opener. Junior Isaac Bell helped the Sugarbeeters do just that by dropping in a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter.

Junior Riley Kellam added six points in the post and junior Cord Schneider pitched in four to help Chinook lead 18-11 after 8 minutes of action.

The Sugarbeeters caught fire in the second quarter with a big assist from freshman Ethan Bell. Ethan came off the bench to convert 7 of 8 opportunities from the charity stripe, knock down a 3-point bomb and scored a couple of baskets for fourteen points in a 31 point Sugarbeeter second-quarter.

Chinook also got six more points Isaac Bell and Kellam as Chinook led 49-24 at the break..

The Sugarbeeters kept applying pressure in the second half and gave every kid on the bench an opportunity to play in the conference opener.

Sophomore Hunter Neibauer scored eight points in the final stanza and freshman Reece Elliot came off the bench to score 11 as the Sugarbeeters secured at 88-56 District 9C opening victory.

Ethan Bell finished with a game-high 19 points including 8-9 from the Charity stripe to lead the Sugarbeeters while Riley Kellum added 16 points and seven rebounds. Isaac Bell finished with 15 points while Neibauer added 12 points and seven rebounds..

Saturday playing in front of the home town fans for the first time, the Sugarbeeters looked to keep the momentum going.

Chinooks offense can score from anywhere on the court, with a number of different players who can put the ball in the basket but the defense that they play can often be overlooked.

Saturday night against Big Sandy, in the first quarter alone the Sugarbeeters drew five charges, three from junior Trajun Hannum and two from Junior James Christensen, put that alongside Isaac Bells 16 points and Chinook held a commanding 28-5 lead after eight minutes of action.

The Sugarbeeters scored 16 more in the second to push the Sugarbeeter lead to 44 -18 at the break. In the end Chinook went to two over the years

Chinook would allow the Pioneers to score just five second half points in securing a 68-23 win to go 2-0 in District 9C play.

Isaac Bell finished with 25 points in the win and dropped in three from long range. Kellam recorded another double/double finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Schneider added 10 points in Chinooks win.

The Harlem Wildcats under first year head coach Cole McCabe certainly have a lot to look forward to this season and got their conference schedule off to a great start Friday night in their home opener against the Malta Mustangs.

Harlem got four points from senior Ryle Foote and a three point bucket from sophomore Brad Cichosz to lead 13-8 heading into the second quarter.

Cichosz drained another from downtown in the second as the Wildcats maintained their advantage, taking a 29-24 lead into halftime.

Both teams came to play in the conference opener and each had an answer in a back and forth third quarter. Cichosz dropped in another from beyond the arc and Foote added four more to the Wildcat total helping Harlem to a 42-38 lead with eight minutes remaining.

Foote took over down the stretch scoring ten points in the final stanza including his final two points on a baseline drive to take a 57-53 lead with :14.8 left in the contest.

Harlem would secure the win moments later taking the home opener over Malta 59-53.

Foote led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points while Cichosz added 15 with three bombs from beyond the arc.

Saturday the Wildcats trailed the Wolf Point Wolves 16-14 after eight minutes and 30-26 at the halftime intermission.

The defenses of both teams controlled the tempo during the third quarter with each team scoring nine points making the score 39-35 entering the fourth quarter.

Cichosz took control of the contest in the final frame knocking down two from long range and converting 5-7 from the free throw line scoring a4 fourth quarter points to help the Wildcats secure a 59-56 win over the Wolves and move to 2-0 on the District 2B season.

Cichosz finished with 26 points in the win while Foote added 21.

Saturday in Chester the Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds evened their District 9C record at 1-1 with a 53-42 win over the Hawks.

The Thunderbirds opened up a big lead early and cruised to the road win.

The Thunderbirds led 17-4 after eight minutes and 38-18 at the break before securing the 53-42 win.

Senior Chance Main led the Thunderbird attack scoring 15 points in the win. Senior David Main added nine and senior Isiah RunsAbove 12.

Teams played games early this week with many being contested on Tuesday and Wednesday. Full results will be included in next weeks paper.

Boys Basketball Box Scores

Chinook 88 Hays/Lodge Pole 56

Chinook 18 31 11 28 - 88

Hays/L.P. 11 13 13 19 - 56

Chinook: Isaac Bell 6 1-5 15, Ethan Bell 5 8-9 19, Hunter Neibauer 5 2-8 12, James Christensen 0 0-1 0, Trajan Hannum 2 0-0 5, Reese Elliot 4 3-4 11, Rylee Kellam 6 4-7 16, Cord Schneider 4 0-1 8, Tamer Jamieson 0 2-4 4. Team Totals 32 20-39 88.

Hays/L.P.: Moke Cliff 3 0-0 6, Tony Sears 2 1-2 6, Jeff Stiffarm 5 0-0 13, David Main 0 0-0 0, Chance Main 8 0-0 18, Michael Ball 2 0-0 6, Siris Grandchamp 0 0-0 0, Isiah RunsAbove 2 2-2 7, Spencer Grandchamp 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 22 3-4 56.

Three Point - Chinook 4 (Isaac Bell 2, Trajan Hannum 1, Ethan Bell1), Hays/L.P. 9 (Jeff Stiffarm 3, Chance Main 2, Michael Ball 2, Tony Sears 1); Total Fouls - Chinook 14, Hays/L.P. 29; Fouled Out - Hays/L.P. - Moke Cliff, Michael Ball, Damien Bradley; Technical Fouls - Hays/L.P. 4.

Harlem 59 Malta 53

Malta 8 16 14 15 - 53

Harlem 13 16 13 16 - 59

Malta: Rhett Simonton 0 0-0 0, Konnor Kuhne 1 2-4 4, Landon VanWichen 7 4-4 18, Kevin Henry 5 0-4 10, Tel Jensen 2 1-2 5, Tanner Smith 2 0-0 4, Kendall Koss 1 0-0 2. Cooper Oxharat 3 2-3 10. Team Totals 21 9-17 53.

Harlem: Taggert Devaney 1 0-3 3, Samual Main 2 5-6 9, Zane Fox 1 0-0 3, Kyle Young Jr. 3 0-3 7, Lane Allen 0 0-0 0, Brad Cichosz 5 2-4 15, Ryle Foote 10 2-3 22. Team Totals 22 9-19 59.

Three Point - Malta 2 (Cooper Oxharat 2), Harlem 7 (Taggert Devaney 1, Zane Fox 1, Kyle Young Jr. 1, Brad Cichosz 4); Total Fouls - Malta 17, Harlem 17; Fouled Out - Malta - Konner Kuhne.

North Star 65 Turner 42

Turner 10 14 5 13 - 42

North Star 13 19 19 14 - 65

Turner: Austin Welsh 1 3-4 5, Jack Harmon 0 0-0 0, Kurt Calvert 1 0-0 2, Cody Welsh 7 0-1 15, Shane Kimmel 2 1-2 5, Ethan Heilig 0 0-0 0, Eddie Harmon 6 4-9 17, Tracer Heilig 2 2-2 6. Team Totals 19 14-31 54.

North Star: Austin Hanson 1 0-0 2, Dylan Miller 12 4-5 31, Dane Miller 1 0-0 2, Caden Rettig 0 2-2 2, Brody Wendeln 1 0-0 3, Payne Ditmar 2 0-0 4, Hayden Masser 2 0-0 4, Jon Sonju 0 0-0 0, Thomas Nerat 0 2-2 2, Daniel Nerat 1 0-0 2. Team Totals 26 9-11 65

Three Point - Turner 2 (Cody Welsh 1, Shane Kimmel 1), North Star 4 (Dylan Miller 3, Brody Wendeln 1); Total Fouls - Turner 12, North Star 12; Fouled Out - Turner (Cody Welsh).

Chinook 68 Big Sandy 23

Big Sandy 5 13 3 2 - 23

Chinook 28 16 17 7 - 68

Big Sandy: Wyatt Labuda 0 0-0 0, Park Proulx 0 0-0 0, Ryan Roth 3 3-4 12, Brady Plenniger 0 1-4 1, Jeremiah Genereux 0 0-0 0, Kade Strutz 1 4-9 6, Clint Darlington 1 0-0 0, Brock Proulx 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 12 8-19 23.

Chinook: Isaac Bell 11 0-0 25, Ethan Bell 0 3-4 3, Hunter Neibauer 3 0-0 6, James Christensen 2 0-0 4, Trajan Hannum 1 0-0 2, Reese Elliot 1 0-0 2, Rylee Kellam 8 0-0 16, Cord Schneider 4 0-1 10, Tamer Jamieson 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 31 3-5 68.

Three Point - Chinook 3 (Isaac Bell 3, Ethan Bell1), Big Sandy 3 (Ryan Roth 3); Total Fouls - Chinook 18, Big Sandy 12; Fouled Out - Big Sandy (Brock Proulx).

Harlem 59 Wolf Point 56

Wolf Point 16 14 9 17 - 56

Harlem 14 12 9 24 - 59

Wolf Point: Trey Fourstar 0 0-0 0, Logan Heser 3 0-3 7, Marques Whitehas 0 0-0 0, Nick Page 1 2-4 4, Deshan Smoker 0 0-0 0, Lance St. Germaine 5 0-0 11, James Lien 1 5-7 7, Joseph Williamson 11 2-4 27, Hezekiah Follet 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 21 9-18 56.

Harlem: Taggert Devaney 1 0-0 2, Samual Main 1 1-2 3, Zane Fox 0 0-0 0, Jeremy Tincher 0 0-0 0, Kyle Young Jr. 1 0-0 2, Lane Allen 1 3-4 5, Brad Cichosz 8 7-11 26, Ryle Foote 7 3-5 21. Team Totals 21 14-22 59.

Three Point - Wolf Point 5 (Joseph Williamson 3, Nick Page 1, Lance St. Germaine 1), Harlem 3 (Brad Cichosz); Total Fouls - Wolf Point 17, Harlem 19; Fouled Out - None.

Fort Benton 63 Turner 54

Fort Benton 14 14 15 20 - 63

Turner 13 12 16 13 - 54

Fort Benton: Damon Bird 7 0-0 16, Jace Thompson 0 1-2 1, Billy Urlrech 0 0-0 0, Hayden Diekhans 8 5-8 21, Max Lane 1 2-4 4, Logan Giles 2 1-3 5, Ethan Phyle 0 0-0 0, Dayen Cook 0 0-0 0, Garret Diekhans 4 4-8 12, Joey Taylor 0 0-0 0, Jack Pimperton 0 0-0 0.

Turner: Austin Welsh 0 4-8 4, Kurt Calvert 0 0-0 0, Cody Welsh 9 3-10 22, Shane Kimmel 2 1-2 5, Ethan Heilig 0 0-0 0, Eddie Harmon 6 4-9 17, Tracer Heilig 2 2-2 6. Team Totals 19 14-31 54.

Freshman Reece Elliot scores two points during the Sugarbeeters 68-23 win over the Big Sandy Pioneers. Elliot had a fine weekend on the court including scoring 11 points in their win Friday.

Three Point - Turner 2 (Cody Welsh 1, Eddie Harmon 1), Fort Benton 2 (Damon Bird 2); Total Fouls - Turner 22, Fort Benton 26; Fouled Out - Fort Benton (Garrett Diekhans), Turner (Cody Welsh, Shane Kimmel).

Hays/Lodge Pole 53 Chester/J-I 42

Hays/L.P. 17 21 7 8 - 53

Chester/J-I 4 14 16 4 - 42

Hays/L.P.: Moke Cliff 1 2-2 4, Damian Bradley 3 0-1 7, Jeff Stiffarm 1 1-2 4, David Main 2 4-6 9, Chance Main 6 1-1 15, Siris Grandchamp 1 0-0 2, Isiah RunsAbove 5 1-4 12, Spencer Grandchamp 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 19 9-16 53.

Chester/J-I: Jackson Diemert 1 5-10 7, Andrew Woods 1 2-4 4, Nathan Bender 0 0-2 0, Spencer Richter 3 4-7 11, Evan Dahinden 1 0-0 2, Braeden Temple 0 0-0 0, C. Davis 3 0-0 6, Tyler Wanken 4 4-5 12. Team Totals 13 15-28 42.

Three Point - Chester/J-I 1 (Spencer Richter 1), Hays/L.P. 6 (Chance Main 2, Jeff Stiffarm 1, Isiah RunsAbove 1, David Main 1, Damian Bradley 1); Total Fouls - Chester/J-I 19, Hays/L.P. 24; Fouled Out - Hays/L.P. (Chance Main), Chester/J-I (Spencer Richter).