Polson sweeps Whitefish

Polson Girls 57, Whitefish 15
As the score would indicate, this wasn't even close. Polson pushed the ball inside and got 19 of their points from the free throw line. Riley Kenney led the Lady Pirates again with 19 points.

Polson started the game with an 11-0 run that basically set the tone and the clock was running by the third quarter. After outscoring the Lady Bulldogs in the first quarter 15-5, they exploded offensively in the second, scoring 26 points and went in at halftime with the 53-12 lead.

The Lady Pirates remain undefeated in conference.

Polson - 15 - 26 - 12 - 4 - 57
Whitefish - 5 - 5 -2 - 3 - 15

Lady Pirates scoring - Riley Kenney 19, Breanne Kelley 9, Mariah Hamel 9, Nina Orozco-Charlo 5, Heidi Rausch 4, Mackenzie Banner 4, Jonna Grant 3, Jessica Bagnell 2, Jordan Quinn 2

Polson Boys 58, Whitefish 38
The Polson boys got off to a 12-0 start and never really looked back. The Pirates led by 31-15 at halftime and cruised to a 58-38 victory over the Bulldogs, to bounce back from a two-game losing streak.

Even though his shooting was a tad off, Louis Mohr led the team with 19 points, as Polson scored double digits in every single quarter.

Three Pirates were in double digits (Mohr with 19, Kyle Bagnell with 10 and Sheldon Fisher with 10), and Vince DiGiallonardo was close with nine points.

Polson - 17 - 14 - 11 - 16 - 58
Whitefish - 6 - 9 - 10 - 13 - 38

Pirates scoring - Louis mohr 19, Kyle Bagnell 10, Sheldon Fisher 10, Vince DiGiallonardo 9, Tyler Krell 5, Zach Camel 3, Cody Fischer 2

Here are some photos from both games...

Mission Boys 46, Arlee 41

ST. IGNATIUS - Wow, talk about two teams taking swings at one another. This could be Mission's signature win of the season, as the Bulldogs (6-6) found themselves down 30-23 at the end of three quarters. After holding Arlee (8-3) in check for most of the first half, Mission got outscored 22-5 in the third to give up a ten-point lead.

Bulldogs junior Austin Durglo was the hero in the game as he scored 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Sophomore Dylan Evans hit all six of his free throws in the fourth quarter and as a team, Mission his 11 of 10 free throws in the last eight minutes of the game as they outscored Arlee 23-11 in the fourth quarter for the win.

Arlee - 2 - 6 - 22 - 11 - 41
Mission - 2 - 16 - 5 - 23 - 46

Warriors scoring - Kasey Bridgewater 14, Junior Sansavere 10, Thomas McClure 7, Trae Burland 6,  Jesse Pfau 2, Dakota Desjarlais 2

Mission scoring - Austin Durglo 18, Dylan Evans 8, Stuart Grant 8, Josh Durglo 8, Nikko Alexander 3,  Spencer Ahlborn 1

Noxon 82, Two Eagle River 77 (2OT)

Noxon 82, Two Eagle River 77 (2OT)

This one had all the excitement you would expect from a double overtime matchup as the Eagles played their fourth straight game that went right down to the wire. While the result was a loss, you can't put a price on the kind of experience this provides for young Two Eagle.

"These games make us stronger," said Two Eagle head coach Clayton Malatare, Sr. His son Clayton hit three three-pointers in the first half to help the Eagles build their lead.

"Clay is there every game," Malatare said. "He's finally starting to shoot the dang ball."

The Eagles jumped out to a 20-11 lead in the first quarter as Skyler Rossbach scored six points in the period and Two Eagle went on a 15-0 run.

Noxon showed fight in the second period but couldn't cut into the lead too much, trailing 37-29 at the half. After trading blows in the third, the Red Devils went on a 10-1 run in the fourth to take the 67-65 lead with less than a minute left in the game.

Two Eagle's Artie Mendoza came through in the clutch, hitting the game-tying basket with 14.7 seconds to go in regulation. Noxon had a big chance to take the lead but two missed technical foul shots, thanks to the loud and proud Two Eagle crowd, to send the game into overtime.

"We played our hearts out," Malatare said. "We had some foul trouble. The young guys came in a played tough."

In overtime, it was Marcus Brown time as the junior scored six points for the Eagles in extra time. It looked like Two Eagle had control but Noxon scored the final five points of the period, including a miracle three-pointer as time expired for a second overtime.

"Marcus stepped up well and he's stepped up for us all year inside," Malatare said. "For his size he plays way bigger."

In the second overtime, Noxon pulled away for the victory but it wasn't east as Two Eagle had several chances but just couldn't get a field goal to fall.

"Their bigs got the best of us," Malatare said of the post play for Noxon in the game.

Five Eagles were in double digits.

Two Eagle - 20 - 17 - 18 - 12 - 7 - 3 - 77
Noxon - 11 - 18 - 16 - 22 - 7 - 8 - 82

Eagles scoring - Marcus Brown 17, Clayton Malatare 16, TJ Cutfinger 15, Artie Mendoza 13, Skyler Rossbach 10, Trevor Butterfly 4, Wesley Nowlan 2

Here are some photos from the game...

Wrestling: Columbia Falls 45, Ronan 37

(From the Daily Interlake)

RONAN - Columbia Falls picked up six forfeits on Thursday en route to a 45-37 wrestling dual victory over Northwesten A Ronan.

Justin Whitman added a pin at 125 and Sal Baccaro picked up a decision to round out the MatCat scoring.

Columbia Falls is back on the mats today, 6:30 p.m., hosting Polson in a conference match.

Columbia Falls 45, Ronan 37
98 - Harland Jordan, C-Falls wins by forfeit
105 - Caleb Bauman, C-Falls wins by forfeit
112 - Chase Rhine, Ronan pins Taylor Mitchell-Hearon in :23
119 - Sal Baccaro - C-Falls defeats Brandon Dumont, 5-3
125 - Justin Whitman, C-Falls, pins Connor Benn in :57
130 - Cody Haden, C-Falls, wins by forfeit
135 - Kohl Thompson, C-Falls, wins by forfeit
140 - Shelby Grant, Ronan pins Brian Shaffer in 3:42
145 - Dustin Goldsby, Ronan, defeats Jason Willians, 12-4
152 - Jacob Burgess, C-Falls wins by forfeit
160 - Quentin Denton, Ronan, pins Mark Hader in 4:24
171 - Cole McArthur, Ronan, pins Josh Folson in 5:28
189 - Toby Cheff, Ronan, pins Marcus Ross in :50
215 - Colby Roberts, Ronan, defeats Jacob Babcock 11-7
HWT - Cody Bartos, C-Falls, wins by forfeit

Montana wrestling polls

It's polling lime ladies and gentlemen! Shall we take a gander at the top wrestlers in the state?

Class A wrestling poll
1. Belgrade
2. Havre
3. Frenchtown
4. Glendive
5. Corvallis
6. Polson
7. Miles City
8. Laurel
9. Lewiston
10. Dillon

Top Wrestlings from Lake County (by weight class)

98
1. Carlos Quinones, Polson
6. Lucas Polk, Polson
105
2. Dylan Moll, Polson
112
3. Craig Feistner, Polson
119
6. Drew Fouty, Polson
130
6. Jose Quinones, Polson
135
3. Jacob Young, Polson
145
5. Mike Devlin, Polson
6. Shelby Grant, Ronan
152
6. Colton Lenz, Polson
160
3. Cole McArthur, Ronan
189
1. Toby Cheff, Ronan
285
3. Josiah Clairmont, Polson

Griz pick up road win against Idaho State

Montana improved their league record to 6-1 and some records were set last night...

POCATELLO, Idaho. - It takes a lot to get Brian Qvale excited.

Brian Qvale was excited Thursday night.

Qvale, Montana's lone senior, scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and became the Big Sky Conference's all-time leader in blocked shots with three more rejections in the Grizzlies' 75-65 win over Idaho State in front of 2,176 fans at Reed Gym.

Qvale got block No. 213 to pass former Griz Daren Engellant (1988-92) with 15:40 to play in the first half when he turned back ISU 7-footer Deividas Busma from point-blank range.

The Griz will host Montana State on Saturday night. Should be a battle royal.

Lady Griz: THEY'RE BACK!

Big win for the Lady Griz yesterday against the Idaho State Bengals. They did it the old-fashioned way, with good, hard-nosed defense.

With defense that would've made Dick Butkus proud, Montana jumped back into the Big Sky Conference race Thursday.

The Lady Griz basketball team did a number on the best shooting team in the league, holding Idaho State to its lowest point total in 13 games. Montana didn't shoot well either, but used grit and persistence to post a 61-54 comeback win at Dahlberg Arena.

"We did a really good job with our defense, and they're hard to guard," said Montana coach Robin Selvig after his squad held the top scorer in the conference, Chelsea Pickering, without a point. "It was a frustrating game. I don't know if I've seen a game we missed so many shots around the basket. It was just getting unbelievable but we hung in there."

The Lady Griz (3-2 conference, 8-10 overall) leapfrogged the Bengals (2-2, 11-6) and Northern Arizona in the Big Sky standings. Montana is now one game out of second with league leader Montana State (4-0, 10-8) coming to town Saturday.

How much are Griz fans getting sick of trailing Montana State in the standings?

Big Sky basketball roundup

It was a huge night of basketball yesterday in the Big Sky Conference, here are some happenings from around the country.

Eastern Washington 72, Northern Arizona 59
EWU (2-4 conference, 5-13 overall) snapped a five-game losing streak to stun the Lumberjacks (2-4 conference, 10-8 overall) and win their second conference game of the year. Kevin Winford's led with 14 points for the Eags, while Cameron Jones had 21 for Northern Arizona.

Northern Colorado 77, Sac State 72
The Bears (6-0 conference, 10-7 overall) continue to be a machine with a win over the Hornets (3-15 overall) to stay undefeated.

The two leading scorers in the Big Sky Conference, Devon Beitzel and Elliot Lloyd scored 25 and 18 points respectively.

Portland State 71, Weber State 69
The Vikings (3-3 conference, 10-8 overall) got their conference record back up to .500 by defeating the Wildcats (3-3 conference, 9-8 overall) at home. They were led by Melvin Jones, who scored 15, and came back from a 37-33 halftime deficit to win.

The Vikings went on a 12-0 run in the second half to take the lead.

Mission vs. Ronan

Mission Girls 49, Ronan 23
The Lady Bulldogs won their fourth-straight game, defeating Class A Ronan behind 15 points by Kyla Mitchell. It wasn't easy though as both teams battled in the first quarter defensively and Mission held the slim 5-2 lead.

Mitchell scored eight points in the second quarter, as the Lady Bulldogs finished off the period with a 6-1 run for the 21-10 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Mission went on an 15-3 run to pull away for the victory thanks to the performance of Stephanie Lewandowski, who scored eight of her 12 points in the period.

Ronan - 2 - 8 - 5 - 8 - 23
Mission - 5 - 16 - 15 - 13 - 49

Maidens scoring - Tailyr Irvine 7, Ashleigh Lynch 3, Courtney Claremont 4, Alice VanGunten 2, Marissa McCrae 2, Justice Burland 2, Trinity Rosenbaum 2, Ashley Grandchamp 1

Lady Bulldogs scoring - Kyla Mitchell 15, Stephanie Lewandowski 12, Cecelia Koskela 7, Ashley Courville 6, Donilyn Rossbach 4, Breanna Steele 3, Loren Erickson 2

Ronan Boys 66, Mission 37
Ronan was able to limit their turnovers and ended a four-game losing streak with a win over Mission. They got off to a quick start and were able to continue the momentum through the game.

Ten different Chiefs scored for Ronan, with Kevin Wroblewki leading the way with 15 points and Justin Dustybull adding 14. Mission was led by Dylan Evans, who had 11.

Ronan - 22 - 20 - 16 - 8 - 66
Mission - 9 - 12 - 6 - 10 - 37

Chiefs scoring - Kevin Wroblewski 15, Justin Dustybull 14, Jarod Tanner 8,  Lucas Black 8, Jackson Jore 6, Marcus Hungerford 6, Gordon North Piegan 3, Brady Oakland 2, Robert Fanna 2, Chris Clary 2

Bulldogs scoring - Dylan Evans 11, Stuart Grant 8, Austin Durglo 7, Nikko Alexander 5, Austin McDonald 4, Spencer Ahlborn 2

Here are some photos from the game...