In the first action from the District 9C basketball tournament in Havre on Wednesday, fans were first treated to a comeback as the No. 4 seed Fort Benton Longhorns boys picked up the victory over the No. 5 North Star Knights, (62-55).
Fort Benton was able to overcome a 15-point deficit and trailed in each of the first three quarters. The fourth quarter was where the Longhorns finally made the pass. Eli Argenbright led the way for Fort Benton with 20 points and was named player of the game, while Kaden King also scored 20 in a losing effort for North Star.
In the second game of the double-header, No. 3 Turner defeated No. 6 Big Sandy, (58-43). The Tornadoes continued to cause havoc on the floor and get their great season in high gear with good ball movement and clutch shooting, getting a combined 40 points from Ryan Doyle and Carson Maloney. Lane Demontiney put up 22 points in a losing effort for the Pioneers.
The final game of the night was not close as the No. 2 CJI Hawks stomped on the No.7 Hays-Lodgepole Thunderbirds, (83-29). There was a running clock by the time the second half started. Karson Pulst finished with 19 points for the Hawks, all of them coming in the first half, while Jacoby Ball was the big man on campus for the Thunderbirds, scoring 14 of the 29 Thunderbird points.
The action will continue on Thursday morning with the first loser-out game of the boys’ District 9C between Hays-Lodgepole and Big Sandy. The 9C girls tournament will begin after that with No. 4 Box Elder and No. 5 Turner taking the court around 11am. Stay tuned throughout the day to New Media Broadcasters for action of the District 9C basketball tournament first on KRYK before shifting over to KOJM for the boys’ semifinals.
