Three of the four Blaine County boys basketball teams were in action this past weekend as the Harlem Wildcats, Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds and Turner Tornadoes kicked off their 2019-20 seasons over the weekend. The Chinook Sugarbeeters will have to wait until this weekend to begin their season at the Shelby preseason tournament.

The Wildcats and Thunderbirds were in Great Falls taking part in the Native American Classic being played on the campus of CMR High School. The Tornadoes were in Glasgow at the 5th Annual Class C Showcase.

The Harlem Wildcats paid some serious dues a season ago. The team dealt with some big injuries and a roster that saw three freshman start and many underclassman contribute a ton of minutes to the teams effort. Wins were hard to come by but the experience gained by the young roster was extremely beneficial.

Harlem was looking to cash in on some of those benefits and get the season started on a high note with a strong showing in Great Falls.

They did that and more. Friday night they began with a fast first quarter start against St. Ignatius, leading 24-9 early. Harlem showed they still had some lessons to learn as St. Ignatius kept chipping away at the lead, trailing just 47-45 entering the fourth quarter.

The Wildcats closed out the contest strong, outscoring St. Ignatius down the stretch 22-12 to secure a 69-57 season opening win. Sophomore RJ Ramone powered the Wildcat offense with 24 points in the contest. Senior Brad Cichosz added 19 and sophomore Tyler Cichosz 15 in the win. All three knocked down a trio from beyond the arc.

Saturday night had the Wildcats and Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds facing off in a Blaine County showdown. The Wildcats would take a 16-13 lead into the second quarter of action but an aggressive counter punch from the Thunderbirds gave Hays/Lodge Pole 32-30 halftime lead.

Harlem regained the lead with a solid third quarter effort and held a 49-46 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats would again show that they have learned how to finish games strong, finishing off the Thunderbirds with a 18-12 fourth quarter to win the contest 67-58.

Brad Cichosz and sophomore Daniel Lawrence each tallied 19 points in the win for the Wildcats. Lawrence scored all 19 of his points in the second half including five bombs from beyond the arc. Sophomore Daniel Henry led the Thunderbird attack with 12 points, Bringing Good added 11 in defeat.

The Hays/Lodge Pole Thunderbirds opened the season Friday night against the Heart Butte Warriors at the Native American Classic in Great Falls. The Thunderbirds seem to always be rebuilding at the start of the season but always seem to figure things out with their rotation by the end of the year.

This weekend seemed to showcase the process with a number of different roster combinations taking the floor. Against the Warriors the Thunderbirds battled start to finish, but were never able to sustain any momentum. The Warriors led 15-9 after eight minutes but a strong second quarter had the Thunderbirds down just 29-26 by intermission. Heart Butte extended the lead by two in the third, holding a 42-37 advantage with eight minutes remaining.

The Thunderbirds couldn't close the gap down the stretch and dropped their season opener 59-49. Senior Wyman Bringing Good led the way for the Thunderbirds with 13 points in the contest. Sophomore Tyshawn Shambo added eight in the loss.

The Turner Tornadoes are a young team and are working hard to find their identity to start the season. They were in Glasgow this past weekend to kickoff the new season at the Class C Showcase.

The Tornadoes began with a contest against the Plentywood Wildcats. The Wildcats were too much early on for the Tornadoes, jumping out to a 31-14 lead by halftime. Plentywood extended the lead by 13 in the third quarter but the Tornadoes kept battling, winning the fourth quarter 20-18. In the end the Tornadoes fell 72-44.

Junior Austin Welsh led the attack with 20 points and junior Shane Kimmel added 17 to the Tornado effort.

Saturday they faced another stiff test against the North Country Mavericks. Turner fell behind early 12-3 but turned things around with a solid second quarter effort to trim the deficit to 25-18 by halftime. North Country extended the lead to 42-30 to start the fourth but the Tornadoes would fail to score down the stretch, falling 63-30.

Kimmel led the Tornadoes with 11 markers while Welsh added 9 in the loss

Plentywood 72 Turner 44

Plentywood 14 17 23 18 - 72

Turner 5 9 10 20 - 44

Plentywood - Tyson Flickinger 11 2-3 28, Jordan Trupe 5 2-5 15, Justin Henderson 4 0-0 8, Cayden Trupe 2 0-0 4, Reese Wirtz 2 5-10 9, Chris Hagen 2 0-2 4, Morgan Cummings 2 0-1 4, Quinn Aber 0 0-1 0. Team Totals 28 9-22 72.

Turner - Shay Humphreys 0 0-0 0, Austin Welsh 6 8-11 20, Jack Harmon 1 2-4 5, Shane Kimmel 6 1-3 17, Charlie Calvert 0 0-0 0, Colton Honey 0 0-0 0, Trevor Kimmel 1 0-2 2. Team Totals 14 11-20 44.

Three Point Field Goals - Plentywood 7 (Loden Idler 3, Jon Ret Taylor 1, Trey Johnson 1), Turner 5 (Shane Kimmel 4, Jack Harmon 1); Team Fouls - Plentywood 21, Turner 17; Fouled Out - Plentywood (Quinn Aber), Turner (Jack Harmon).

North Country 63 Turner 30

North Country 12 13 17 21 - 63

Turner 3 15 12 0 - 30

North Country - Jon Ret Taylor 2 1-6 6, Jeremy Longtree 0 2-3 2, Trey Johnson 3 1-2 8, Cordell Younken 0 0-0 0, Jesse Lee 5 1-4 11, Loden Idler 4 1-2 12, Dustin Ostrom 5 0-0 10, Brady Albus 1 0-0 2, Aiden Albus 1 0-0 2, Beau Simenson 4 2-5 10, Ryder Jones 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 25 8-22 63.

Turner - Shay Humphreys 0 0-0 0, Austin Welsh 1 7-9 9, Jack Harmon 1 2-2 5, Shane Kimmel 4 2-8 11, Charlie Calvert 0 0-0 0, Colton Honey 0 0-0 0, Trevor Kimmel 2 1-2 5. Team Totals 7 12-21 30.

Three Point Field Goals - North Country 5 (Loden Idler 3, Jon Ret Taylor 1, Trey Johnson 1), Turner 2 (Jack Harmon 1, Shane Kimmel 1); Team Fouls - North Country 18, Turner 18; Fouled Out - Turner (Shane Kimmel).

Harlem 69 St. Ignatius 57

St. Ignatius 9 19 17 12 - 57

Harlem 24 10 13 22 - 69

St. Ignatius - John Komitius 1 1-2 3, Kolten Gardipee 0 0-3 0, Zorum LaFromboise 0 0-0 0, I. Nesawtywa 4 2-2 12, Joe Sturts 0 0-0 0, Ross McPherson 1 1-2 3, Ayden Rosenbaum 0 1-2 1, Jedi Christy 10 5-9 28, Layne Spidel 3 1-2 7, Kellan McClure 1 0-0 3, Hayden Currie 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 20 11-22 57.

Harlem - Brad Cichosz 7 2-4 19, Tyler Cichosz 3 0-3 15, RJ Ramone 10 1-2 24, Daniel Lawrence 1 2-6 5, Truth Brockie 0 0-0 0, Trent Main 4 0-0 8, Jeiton Long Fox 2 0-0 4, Cassius Johnson 1 0-0 2. Team Totals 32 5-15 69.

Three Point Field Goals - St. Ignatius 6 (Jedi Christy 3, I. Nesawtywa 2, Kellan McClure 1), Harlem 10 (Brad Cichosz 3, RJ Ramone 3, Tyler Cichosz 3, Daniel Lawrence 1); Team Fouls - St. Ignatius 18, Harlem 20; Fouled Out - Harlem (Trent Main).

Heart Butte 59 Hays/Lodge Pole 49

Heart Butte 15 14 13 17 - 59

Hays/Lodge Pole 9 17 11 12 - 49

Heart Butte - Ethan Grant 1 3-6 6, Cameron Falcon 8 2-2 21, Kyle Sarturn 0 0-0 0, Thomas Young Runner 0 0-1 0, Dillon Kipp 2 0-5 4, Tien Heavy Runner 4 0-2 9, Jamal Comes At Night 0 0-0 0, Leo Kipp 2 1-2 5, Marcus Rutherford 4 5-8 14, Wyatt Whitcomb 0 0-0 0, Josiah Butterfly 0 0-0 0, Cliffton Bull Shoe 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 21 11-26 59.

Hays/L.P. - Siris Grandchamp 0 4-4 4, Deshon Shambo 2 0-0 6, Wyman Bringing Good 5 3-4 13, Tyshawn Shambo 3 2-5 8, Estevan Granados 1 3-4 5, Ethan Werk 1 0-0 2, Brandon Castillo0 0-2 0, Daniel Henry 2 1-2 5, Lane Kirkaldie 1 3-4 6, Isaiah Denny 0 0-0 0, Desmond Yatlin 0 0-0 0, Cash Messerly 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 13 16-25 49.

Three Point Field Goals - Heart Butte 6 (Cameron Falcon 3, Ethan Grant 1, Tien Heavy Runner 1, Marcus Rutherford 1), Hays/L.P. 3 (Deshon Shambo 2, Lane Kirkaldie 1); Team Fouls - Heart Butte 20, Hays/L.P. 23; Fouled Out - Heart Butte (Cameron Falcon), Hays/L.P. (Lane Kirkaldie, Estevan Granados).

Harlem 67 Hays/Lodge Pole 58

Hays/Lodge Pole 13 19 14 12 - 58

Harlem 16 14 19 18 - 67

Hays/L.P. - Ethan Werk 1 0-0 2, Siris Grandchamp 0 3-4 3, Daniel Henry 3 3-4 12, Tyshawn Shambo 3 1-4 7, Wyman Bringing Good 4 2-5 11, Davonte Sullivan 0 0-0 0, Estevan Granados 0 0-0 0, Deshon Shambo 4 0-0 8, Brandon Castillo 0 0-0 0, Lane Kirkaldie 4 3-5 11, Isaiah Denny 0 0-0 0, Desmond Yatlin 0 0-0 0, Cash Messerly 0 0-0 0. Team Totals 19 12-22 58.

Harlem - Brad Cichosz 7 3-5 19, Tyler Cichosz 4 3-7 13, RJ Ramone 4 0-0 9, Daniel Lawrence 7 0-0 19, Truth Brockie 0 1-2 1, Trent Main 2 1-2 5, Jeiton Long Fox 0 0-0 0, Cassius Johnson 0 1-2 1. Team Totals 24 9-18 67.

Thunderbird sophomore Deshon Shambo scores over the top of the Harlem defense.

Three Point Field Goals - Hays/L.P. 4 (Daniel Henry 3, Wyman Bringing good 1), Harlem 10 (Daniel Lawrence 5, Brad Cichosz 2, Tyler Cichosz 2, RJ Ramone 1); Team Fouls - Hays/L.P. 18, Harlem 19; Fouled Out - None.